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Kirsten Gillibrand picked as NY senator
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-01-23 16:57

ALBANY– US Democratic congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand is the New York governor's pick to fill Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's vacate Senate seat.


Kirsten Gillibrand [File photo] 

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An aide to the governor says that the 42-year-old Gillibrand will be named by Gov. David Paterson on Friday. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement has not been made.

Gillibrand (JIL'-uh-brand) was a dark horse, lacking the name recognition of Caroline Kennedy, who withdrew her candidacy, or even the seniority of other New York representatives vying for the job.

But she is a proven vote-getter in her sprawling eastern New York district. She picked off an entrenched Republican incumbent in 2006 and cruised to re-election last year.