“I’ve also been very humbled by helping to start this national conversation about ending sexual violence," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said Friday to a meeting of the state committee. | AP Photo Gillibrand accepts nomination for another term, promises to serve all of it

ALBANY — The New York State Democratic Committee formally renominated Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand for her second full term, and cheered as she promised to be an ongoing voice in Democratic struggles against President Donald Trump.

“I’ve also been very humbled by helping to start this national conversation about ending sexual violence. Whether it’s sexual assault, sexual violence — wherever it happens,” Gillibrand said Friday to a meeting of the state committee.


“Do we value women? We do. Our party does value women. We as New Yorkers, we value women. And that is why we can never give up on these issues, we can never give in on these issues,” she said. “I pledge to you that even with President Trump in our Oval Office, I will never stop fighting to solve these problems. I will never stop fighting to find common ground because that is literally the only path to success.”

Republicans will convene March 2 to formally designate a candidate. GOP leaders say it will likely be Chele Chiavacci Farley, a private equity executive from Manhattan. She formally declared her candidacy earlier this month, accusing Gillibrand of not securing enough federal money for the state and focusing on her own ambitions.

Asked if she plans to serve a full term if elected in November, Gillibrand said, "I do."

"I really want to serve in the U.S. Senate," she said. "I’m very grateful for the opportunity to be nominated by my party, and I really want to make a difference for New Yorkers. ... I’m really focused on ’18, and I think all of us should be because most of the things we need to protect we could protect if we flip the House and flip the Senate. I would like to be part of that and keep serving in the U.S. Senate.”

Jessica Proud, a spokeswoman for the state GOP, said Gillibrand clearly has her eye on 2020.

"The only thing Kirsten Gillibrand cares about being nominated for is president," Proud said in a statement. "I’m surprised she took a break from her national media tour to return to New York, but voters won’t forget how she’s abandoned them for her personal ambitions and inside-the-Beltway political games.”

In addition to sexual harassment issues, Gillibrand touted her work securing health care for first responders to the Sept. 11 attacks, prohibiting insider trading by members of Congress, and winning a Superfund designation for Hoosick Falls, a Rensselaer County village whose water supply was contaminated by a factory that produced nonstick coatings.

The nominating convention was relatively staid. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the de facto leader of the Democratic State Committee, did not attend the event, as he did in 2016 when Sen. Chuck Schumer was re-nominated for a fourth term.

Gillibrand threw a dart at Cuomo, another possible 2020 contender, when she told reporters she found revelations emerging from the corruption trial of Cuomo confidante Joe Percoco to be “disturbing.” Cuomo has refused to comment on the ongoing trial.

Four women, including Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, spoke in support of Gillibrand, who was born in Albany and worked as a lawyer in New York City and Washington before successfully running in 2006 for a House seat in the New York's capital region.

She defeated Rep. John Sweeney (R-Clifton Park) in that election, running in her party’s right lane. She boasted an A rating from the National Rifle Association and opposed amnesty for immigrants — positions she rapidly reversed after former Gov. David Paterson elevated her to the Senate in 2009 to fill the seat vacated by Hillary Clinton.

“As I’ve said before, I was wrong,” Gillibrand told reporters, echoing a recent interview on “60 Minutes.” “I don’t think I spent enough time talking to families who were suffering gun violence throughout the state, and I didn’t spend enough time talking to families who were suffering from horrible immigration laws. I was wrong and now I’m going to fight for what I believe we should be doing: comprehensive immigration reform and ending gun violence with common sense gun reform.”