On the ballot: Gillibrand is seeking a third term

Kirsten Gillibrand is on the ballot this year but remarkably under the radar for a race for a U.S. Senate seat. She is running for her third full term in New York.

In this campaign, the key themes are similar to races across the country: economy, affordability and immigration.

These were highlighted by Ms. Gillibrand's Republican opponent, Mike Sapraicone, a retired New York City police detective. Since his retirement, he has run a private security company used by companies based in New York City.

Mr. Sapraicone has made public safety a cornerstone of his Senate candidacy, placing it at the top of the “issues” page on his campaign website. One of his goals is to “demand New York State liberal politicians to repeal the cashless bail law that is responsible for releasing dangerous criminals back onto our streets.” (Stephen Kiely, a Republican running for the seat Fred W. Thiele Jr.'s state Assembly candidate also pushed this idea.)

For Ms. Gillibrand, health care is high on her priority list. Among her accomplishments, she counts her work “to lower prescription drug prices, protect access to reproductive health care, and strengthen and expand our health care workforce.” Their website also promotes laws specific to New Yorkers, including the “9/11 Health Act, which created the federal World Trade Center Health Care Program.”

The two candidates went head-to-head in a debate at State University at Albany on Oct. 23 hosted by Spectrum News that focused on immigration, among other topics. Ms. Gillibrand mentioned the rejection of a bipartisan immigration bill earlier this year “that should have been supported, but President Trump derailed it for political reasons,” adding, “He said, 'Don't vote for this bill, I want that.' it is like that.' be an election issue.” ”

Mr. Sapraicone avoided the subject of Mr. Trump and instead attacked Senate Democrats. “The Democrats have the majority in the Senate. “You’ve been a senator for 15 years,” he said. “Why couldn’t you even introduce this bill to the Senate so it would have been passed in the Senate and sent to the House? How can this fail?”

Ms. Gillibrand had a quick answer: “Because Donald Trump told the House not to vote for this bill.”

As of this reporting, 11 days after Election Day, Ms. Gillibrand is ahead by 22 points, according to polling on the website FiveThirtyEight.

Ms. Gillibrand, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, has been a senator since 2009 and serves as chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities. She also serves on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the Senate Agriculture Committee and the Senate Committee on Aging.

She was appointed by then-Gov. David Paterson fills the seat vacated by Hillary Clinton when she became secretary of state in the Obama administration. Ms. Gillibrand has served in the House of Representatives since 2007.