Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar launched her presidential campaign Sunday amid reports of a toxic work environment in her Senate office.
Klobuchar did not address the reports that she would demean her staff, detailed by HuffPost and Buzzfeed, in her announcement speech. Her campaign has responded by telling the news outlets that the senator, recently elected to her third term, loves her staff.
Klobuchar garnered national attention during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who faced allegations of sexual assault when he was in high school. She won re-election in November by 24 points. Prior to joining the Senate in 2007, Klobuchar served as the Hennepin County Attorney.
Amy Klobuchar is running for president: Here are some congressional basics
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On Sunday Klobuchar offered a hopeful message centered on bridging divides in her announcement in Boom Island Park in Minneapolis. Roughly 9,000 people attended the event according to Klobuchar’s campaign.
“We are all tired of the shutdowns and the showdowns, the gridlock and the grandstanding. Today we say enough is enough,” Klobuchar said.
“Our nation must be governed not from chaos but from opportunity. Not by wallowing over what’s wrong, but by marching inexorably toward what’s right,” said Klobuchar. “That’s got to start with all of us.”
Klobuchar called for passing a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s Citizens United campaign finance decision, restoring the Voting Rights Act, and automatically registering people to vote when they turn 18.
She also said that, if elected, she would reinstate clean power plant rules and standards for gas mileage in the first 100 days and rejoin the Paris Climate Accords. She would also “put forth sweeping legislation to invest in green jobs and infrastructure.”
Klobuchar has signed on as a co-sponsor to a resolution proposing a so-called Green New Deal to eliminate U.S. carbon emissions, along with fellow Democratic presidential candidates in the Senate: Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Kamala Harris, of California, Cory Booker of New New Jersey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who formally launched her campaign on Saturday.
Along with her fellow Senate Democrats, the Democratic presidential primary field so far includes South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, and former Maryland Rep. John Delaney.
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