By MAGGIE HABERMAN, POLITICO – There’s a female politician from New York who is beloved by gay rights activists, has amassed a national fundraising network and is viewed by many Democrats as a viable presidential candidate.

And her name is not Hillary Clinton.

If Clinton runs for president, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s time won’t be in 2016. But the junior senator from New York, who holds Clinton’s former seat and is often overshadowed by the state’s better-known political figures, is quietly building a résumé that would allow her to be taken seriously should she ever decide to run for president.

As a Blue Dog Democrat from upstate New York, the former congresswoman was viewed with distrust — if not disdain — by the left when she snagged a surprise appointment to Clinton’s seat in 2009 amid fierce jockeying for the slot.

Since then, the 46-year-old Dartmouth-educated attorney has demonstrated impressive political chops. She has managed not only to ease liberals’ misgivings about her but also to win their enthusiastic support — all while maintaining her moderate cred and doing the kind of behind-the-scenes political scut work that could enable an eventual national bid.

“I find her to be very impressive,” said the champion of the left circa 2004, Howard Dean. “She often underwhelms people at first sight, [but] when you look under the hood, you find a first-class political mind and someone who has a great deal of skill.”

After skating to a full term in November, Gillibrand told President Barack Obama he would be wise to foster closer ties to the Senate’s 20 female members; he heeded that advice by having them over for dinner at the White House on Tuesday night. She recently hosted a fundraiser for Elizabeth Colbert Busch, the underdog-turned-favorite in a special House election in South Carolina against Republican Mark Sanford next month.

via Could Kirsten Gillibrand run for president? – Maggie Haberman – POLITICO.com.