Gillibrand to visit Pittsburgh on July 11

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TNS

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) attends a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on February 25, 2019. (Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/TNS)

By Brian Gentry, Senior Staff Writer

Kirsten Gillibrand, a senator from New York and a Democratic candidate for the 2020 presidential race, will visit Pittsburgh on the morning of July 11, according to a press release from Gillibrand’s campaign.

Gillibrand’s Pittsburgh visit is part of her “Trump Broken Promises Tour,” in which the candidate will visit Rust Belt states won by Trump. During the two-day tour, she plans to visit Ohio and Michigan in addition to Pennsylvania.

Gillibrand said in the press release announcing the tour that she is touring the Rust Belt to “roll out” new policies to benefit working people in these areas, and will focus on issues such as lowering the cost of prescription drugs and ending the outsourcing of jobs.

“The just-announced ‘Trump Broken Promises Tour’ will shine a bright light on President Trump’s abject failure to keep his word to the American people on kitchen table issues that impact their lives each day,” Gillibrand said.

Campaign spokesperson Maria Hurtado said details about the Pittsburgh visit would be provided in the coming days.

According to Real Clear Politics, a website that tracks polling averages, Gillibrand is currently polling at about 0.5% among Democrats. The leader in polling, former vice president Joe Biden, is averaging about 27.2%.

Pennsylvania is considered an important swing state in the presidential election. Trump won the state by less than 1% in 2016, while in the 2018 midterms, Democrats Sen. Bob Casey and Gov. Tom Wolf each won by more than 10%.

Pittsburgh has been a hotspot for presidential campaigns. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., visited Schenley Plaza in April, and Biden hosted his first campaign rally in Pittsburgh the same month. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., also focused on Pitt, announcing her support for Pitt’s grad student union in a Twitter video.