Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand expressed regret that Democrats delayed addressing the immigration crisis, saying bipartisan solutions should have been pursued earlier to meet the urgent concerns of voters.
Immigration was a top issue in the 2024 election, with many voters favoring reduced asylum opportunities, but Democrats struggled to pass a bipartisan border bill after key negotiators abandoned it, Fox News reported.
“For me, it would have been great if we could have gotten these commonsense, bipartisan ideas on the table two years ago, like really, a while ago, because the urgency has been very top of mind for certain communities in New York,” the New York Democrat told Fox News Digital.
Gillibrand noted that voters also prioritized safety concerns, including immigration, fentanyl trafficking, and gun violence, over other issues like abortion rights.
Reflecting on the campaign, Gillibrand criticized Republicans for using identity politics to divide voters and argued that Democrats should focus on pragmatic solutions.
She highlighted the economy and cost of living as pivotal issues in winning swing voters and red or purple districts.
Gillibrand hopes to lead the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for 2026, the arm of the Party tasked with electing Democrats to the Senate.
She emphasized the importance of engaging with voters early to build connections and address their concerns. She said the outcome of the 2024 election shows what voters are concerned about.
“They wanted to make sure their kids were safe. So issues like immigration and fentanyl trafficking and gun trafficking were really important to them,” she told Fox News Digital.
Gillibrand identified potential candidates for flipping Senate seats, including North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, and acknowledged that regaining the Senate majority may take more than one election cycle.
Drawing on her own experience of flipping a red congressional district blue in 2006, she expressed optimism about recruiting strong candidates to achieve long-term Democratic goals.