ES Insider Newsletter The hottest luxury and A List news Enter your email address Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive updates on cool openings and celebrity lifestyle news every week, by email Update newsletter preferences

By now, Tulsi Gabbard is a woman who is used to firsts. At age just 21, she became the youngest woman ever to be elected to the Hawaii State House and later, would go on to become the first Hindu member of Congress.

With a promising political career on the horizon, she has received praise from key figures on the left. Nancy Pelosi called her an “emerging star” whilst MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow predicted she was “on the fast track to being very famous.”

However, Gabbard’s track record hasn’t always been so complimentary. The Hawaiian Representative has been routinely criticised for her controversial foreign policy decisions, becoming known as the member of Congress most willing to advocate for Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. News reports have also brought up her past ties to anti-LGBTQ groups, which have raised widespread concern.

Her bid for the 2020 presidential run has so far got off to an underwhelming start, averaging under 1 per cent in national polls.

But Gabbard’s luck could be changing, thanks to a fiery performance during the Democratic debate on Wednesday, which saw her end the night as Google’s most searched candidate.

Could the underdog become a real contender for the Democratic nomination and even prove competition for President Trump? Here’s everything you need to know:

Who is Tulsi Gabbard?

Tulsi Gabbard is a US Representative for Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district.

Born in April 12, 1981 and raised in Hawaii, Gabbard has endured a career spanning the fields of politics and the military.

She enlisted in the Hawaii Army National Guard in 2003 and was voluntarily deployed a year later, serving with a field medical unit in Iraq.

In 2012, she defeated David Crowley in the 2nd Congressional District of Hawaii for the House of Representatives.

She is currently married to freelance cinematographer Abraham Williams.

When did she announce her presidential campaign?

Gabbard officially launched her 2020 presidential campaign on February 2, 2019 in Hawaii.

She will be competing with several other candidates for the Democratic nomination, which will be announced in July next year.

What are some of her key policies?

Immigration

Gabbard has criticised President Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policies and is a supporter of the Keep Families Together Act and the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which protects young people who came to the US as children from deportation.

In April 2019, she said: “We need to stop using immigrants as tokens in a political game and start talking solutions – funding to process asylum requests and targeted aid to address the decades of US intervention that contributed to the collapse of the countries they are fleeing.”

In 2015, Gabbard came under fire for voting in line with Republicans to impose “extreme vetting” measures on Iraqi and Syrian refugees.

Healthcare

Gabbard supports Senator Bernie Sanders Medicare For All Plan, which would provide universal healthcare to Americans via Medicare.

Her website statement reads: “All Americans should have access to affordable healthcare through Medicare or a public option. We must ensure universal healthcare and empower the government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to bring down the price of prescription drugs.”

Climate change

In 2015, Gabbard announced the OFF Fuel for a Better Future Act, which implements measures to for the US to minimise its reliance on fossil fuels in favour of renewable energy sources.

The bill calls for 80% of electricity sold to be generated from clean energy resources by 2027, increasing to 100% by 2035.

Icon/Gallery Created with Sketch.

1/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures California Senator Kamala Harris REUTERS 2/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Senator Bernie Sanders EPA 3/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Former vice president Joe Biden AFP/Getty Images 4/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Former Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke AFP/Getty Images 5/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures New Jersey Senator Cory Booker AP 6/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren AP 7/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Representative Tulsi Gabbard AP 8/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Former US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro Getty Images 9/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand Getty Images 10/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Spiritual adviser Marianne Williamson 11/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar Getty Images 12/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures New York Mayor Bill de Blasio 13/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Former Silicon Valley businessman Andrew Yang AFP/Getty Images 14/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Senator Michael Bennet Getty Images 15/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Congressman Joe Sestak Getty Images 16/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Miramar, Florida Mayor Wayne Messam Getty Images 17/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Governor of Montana Steve Bullock AFP/Getty Images 18/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Representative Seth Moulton Getty Images 19/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Billionaire activist Tom Steyer Getty Images 20/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel Getty Images 21/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper REUTERS 22/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Washington Governor Jay Inslee AP 23/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Former Representative John Delaney AP 24/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttgeig Getty Images 25/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Representative Tim Ryan Getty Images 1/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures California Senator Kamala Harris REUTERS 2/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Senator Bernie Sanders EPA 3/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Former vice president Joe Biden AFP/Getty Images 4/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Former Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke AFP/Getty Images 5/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures New Jersey Senator Cory Booker AP 6/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren AP 7/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Representative Tulsi Gabbard AP 8/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Former US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro Getty Images 9/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand Getty Images 10/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Spiritual adviser Marianne Williamson 11/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar Getty Images 12/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures New York Mayor Bill de Blasio 13/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Former Silicon Valley businessman Andrew Yang AFP/Getty Images 14/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Senator Michael Bennet Getty Images 15/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Congressman Joe Sestak Getty Images 16/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Miramar, Florida Mayor Wayne Messam Getty Images 17/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Governor of Montana Steve Bullock AFP/Getty Images 18/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Representative Seth Moulton Getty Images 19/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Billionaire activist Tom Steyer Getty Images 20/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel Getty Images 21/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper REUTERS 22/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Washington Governor Jay Inslee AP 23/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Former Representative John Delaney AP 24/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttgeig Getty Images 25/25 2020 Presidential Candidates - In Pictures Representative Tim Ryan Getty Images

LGBTQ+ rights

In the past, Gabbard has been criticised for her involvement in anti-LGBTQ+ group Alliance for Traditional Marriage, which was led by her father.

As a state legislator in Hawaii in 2004, she voted against a bill legalising same-sex civil unions.

Gabbard has since said her views on homosexuality have changed drastically.

“In my past, I believed things that were wrong, and worse, hurtful people in the LGBTQ community and their loved ones,” she said. “My views have changed significantly since then, and my record in Congress over the last six years reflects what is in my heart: A strong and ongoing commitment to fighting for LGBTQ+ rights.”

Gabbard now supports same-sex marriage and also opposes President Trump’s ban on transgender people serving in the US military.

Criminal justice reform

Gabbard has introduced legislation to decriminalise marijuana at the federal level.

During last night’s debate, she took aim at Senator Kamala Harris’ controversial record on criminal justice when she served as California’s attorney general.

“I’m concerned about this record of Senator Harris. She put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana,” Gubbard said.

She continued: “She blocked evidence that would have freed an innocent man from death row. She kept people in prison beyond their sentences to use them as cheap labour for the state of California, and she fought to keep cash bail system in place that impacts poor people in the worst kind of way.”

Harris was quick to defend herself, saying, “I did the work of significantly reforming the criminal justice system of the state of 40 million people which became a national model for the work that needs to be done. And I am proud of that work.”

What are her chances of winning the Democratic nomination?

Judging by the polls, her chances are frankly slim.

The latest figures by market research company Morning Consult put former vice president Joe Biden ahead in the national polls with 33%, followed by other favourites Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris.

But, as we witnessed with the outcome of the last presidential election, anything could happen. And, if the impressive reaction to her performance in the Democratic debates so far are anything to go by, Gabbard has much more still to give.