Shifra Dayak

AP World History
Period 3
Part 1: Kirsten Gillibrand (Background Information)

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was born in 1966 and raised in upstate New York, where she
currently resides with her husband and two sons. She attended Dartmouth University and went
on to obtain a juris doctor from the University of California Los Angeles School of Law,
eventually passing her bar exam in 1991. Before her political career, Gillibrand worked as a
partner at multiple Manhattan-based law firms, served as a law clerk for a judge at the United
States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and became involved in the Democratic National
Committee’s Women’s Leadership Forum. She also worked on Hillary Clinton’s U.S. Senate
Campaign in 2000 and built a close relationship with Clinton, by whom she was advised to run
for the House of Representatives in New York’s 20th Congressional District in 2006. The
heavily conservative district was home to three-term Republican incumbent John Sweeney, but
Gillibrand defeated him with 53% of the vote by running a centrist campaign. She won her bid
for re-election with 62% of the vote in 2008. When Clinton became Secretary of State in 2009
and resigned from her Senate position, Gillibrand was appointed by Gov. David Patterson to
succeed her. She won the 2010 special election, 2012 election, and 2018 election with more than
half the vote on all three occasions, and has since served in Congress. In January 2019,
Gillibrand launched a presidential exploratory committee amid rumors she would be a candidate
and began campaigning in several states (“Kirsten Gillibrand”).
Gillibrand’s policy positions constitute an interesting mix of progressive and conservative
views. During her tenure in the both the House and the Senate, Gillibrand was a strong advocate
for gay rights, expressing her support of legal same-sex unions and the Equality Act of 2017. On
the other end of the political spectrum, however, she was in support of second amendment rights,
held an A rating from the National Rifle Association, and was a gun owner; she also supported
laws calling for more border patrol funding and resources and opposed amnesty for
undocumented immigrants. Her policy positions have increasingly become more left-leaning —
she no longer owns guns and has publicly called for the abolishment of ICE and the support of
DACA (Ngo). Although she is less of a conservative Democrat today, her past exploration of
views across the political and social scale may help her appeal to a variety of voters, from
centrists of both parties to moderates and progressives of the Democratic party. Ultimately, her
universally-liked focus on family and justice will make her a equal contender in the election.
Based on a FiveThirtyEight Politics poll of activists in early-state participators in primary
elections, 22.9% of currently committed Democratic voters back Gillibrand (Masket). The
numbers are slightly lower in general Democratic polls, likely because of her controversial
history and right-leaning policy positions; however, as her campaign intensifies, she will
probably gain more leverage across the U.S.
 Shifra Dayak
AP World History
Period 3
Part 2: Kirsten Gillibrand (Description and Evaluation of Social Media)

Presidential hopeful Kirsten Gillibrand is active on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Her content is varied in each medium, but themes of activism and optimism can be found
through all three of her accounts. On Twitter, she primarily retweets graphics and news stories
about pressing current issues such as education funding or reproductive rights, accompanied with
her thoughts on said issue. It’s clear that she uses Twitter as a platform for people who want a
glimpse of only her political persona and would like to get a straightforward feel for her policy
positions on hot-button topics. Gillibrand’s Facebook essentially mirrors her Twitter account.
From retweeting the same news pieces regarding her policy positions to occasionally promoting
her campaign website, her account’s appearance is very professional. Her personal statements on
Facebook are a bit longer and include more detail on her opinions — for example, rather than
just voicing her support for the Green New Deal as she does on Twitter, she elaborates on why it
is a good policy. Her Instagram is slightly different, primarily because has casual content to
compliment policy-related posts. Recently, she has been posting art tributes to women and
African-American individuals in honor of Black History and Women’s History months; she also
uploads pictures of her family and videos of her interacting with constituents.
Gillibrand’s presence on Twitter and Facebook is definitely opinionated, which has both
positive and negative implications. On one hand, she is very straightforward and unabashedly
showcases her views on both accounts; this makes it clear that she is candid and driven. On the
other hand, her lack of emphasis on centrism (beyond a few surface-level appeals for bipartisan
support of bills like the Green New Deal) ensure that those who don’t agree with her extreme
positions will be instantly repelled when they stumble upon her social media. By failing to paint
herself as a person who appreciates compromise and subscribes to moderate views, she is likely
alienating herself from many potential supporters and decreasing her chances of appealing to a
wide base. Her Instagram account is much more desirable. By incorporating a variety of other
people into her posts, interacting with followers through the question and answer feature, and
giving viewers a glimpse into her personal life through photos with constituents and family
videos, she skillfully builds a reputation as an approachable and trustworthy candidate. While
she does post a fair amount of opinion-heavy political content on Instagram, it’s not as stark as
her usual news-headline format. Rather, she uploads multimedia pieces, from clips of her on talk
shows to bold graphics about gun control and immigration. This refreshing variety of content
allows Gillibrand to appeal to individuals from a plethora of groups instead of restricting herself
to extreme Democrats as she otherwise does. Generally, Gillibrand’s social media use is
admirable. She uses Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to prove that she is a committed candidate
who will fight for what she believes in. While she does have her downfalls when it comes to
extreme and unappealing content, her strong and welcoming presence on her social accounts will
undoubtedly be an asset to her 2020 campaign.
 Shifra Dayak
AP World History
Period 3

Part 3: Kirsten Gillibrand (Refining the Social Media Approach)

Of all the candidates in the running for the 2020 presidential election, Kirsten
Gillibrand’s story is perhaps one of the most interesting. From working in a variety of careers
pre-politics, to winning a heavily red district as a blue candidate, to balancing strong progressive
activism with moderate appeals for her traditionally-inclined constituents, Gillibrand has an
incredibly strong narrative. To build an even more effective social media approach, she should
take advantage of this narrative. In this era of polarization and invective-filled divisions in the
American political climate, a winning candidate needs to show that they can bring the American
people together regardless of ideology or socio-political standing, bring the concepts of centrism
and cooperation back to the political stage, and satisfy a variety of different needs and wants in
terms of policy. With her fitting narrative, Gillibrand would be able to effectively accomplish
this. By posting content emphasizing her past of bipartisan appeal, she could win voters from
both the Republican and Democratic parties. By highlighting her record of accomplishments and
diverse voting behaviors (from wanting slightly stronger immigration laws to being an avid
supporter of gay rights) in a story-like format, she could spark discussions across the board and
draw a diverse set of voters with varying political opinions to her persona. Gillibrand should also
employ emotion in her social media campaign, to an even greater extent than she already does.
The current political climate is plagued with issues of frustration and sadness, from climate
change to gun control. By taking advantage of the heightened emotional state of the country’s
voters in relation to the policy positions she cares about, Gillibrand can use her social platforms
send the message that she wants the best for the people and cares about the humanity — rather
than the money or statistics — behind issues. This skillful incorporation of emotion through an
appeal to voters’ passion for progress would be a surefire method through which to win over a
large number of voters who appreciate values of morality, love, and justice.
Narrative and emotion naturally go hand in hand and would have no problem coexisting
in a well-fashioned campaign. For Gillibrand to make the best use of both devices in her social
media and thus win over the most voters, she simply has to be careful about balance. Too much
narrative in her social media posts could make it appear as though she is focusing her campaign
on herself and her achievements rather than her service to voters, which seems to be a
deal-breaker for many Americans. Too much emotion in her content, on the other hand, would
give individuals the impression that Gillibrand is waffling about issues and does not have a
defined set of policy positions. By enveloping her campaigning methods entirely in appeals to
others’ fear and disappointment as well as their desires for humanity and equality, she would be
blocking herself off to voters who appreciate a more logical and statistical approach. However, if
she only uses narrative when she needs to advance her own credibility and ability to voters and
only uses emotion when she needs to make it clear that she has the best interest of the American
 Shifra Dayak
AP World History
Period 3
people in her heart, her campaign will be well-balanced and effective for an optimized number of
constituents. Gillibrand’s past and strengths cater to narrative and emotion two strategies which
she should incorporate in the social media aspect of her campaign, as well as through which she
can establish herself as a solidified, strong, and likely candidate in the 2020 election.
 Shifra Dayak
AP World History
Period 3
Part 4: Kirsten Gillibrand (Prospective Social Media Proposal)

When choosing what kinds of social media to focus on when building her campaign for
the 2020 presidential election, Kirsten Gillibrand should take her credibility and demeanor into
account. Not only does she have an impressive story to share in terms of her unexpected victory
in Congress and the support she has amassed from a politically diverse constituency since then,
she also has a passionate persona and strong personal morals. The two platforms through which
she could best showcase these characteristics and use them to build a positive reputation among
voters are Instagram (which she already uses) and YouTube. On Instagram, she should continue
engaging with various communities by posting diverse art, quotes, news clips, policy positions,
and more. By employing the outlet’s multimedia platform by sharing images of herself, graphics
of issues she wants the public to be educated about, and everything else in between, Gillibrand
can continue to build her policy portfolio and make it clear what values and positions she stands
for. Her Instagram can help her cultivate an image for herself — one of strong progressiveness,
passion for justice, and dedication to helping her community, three values that are integral to her
personality. YouTube’s emphasis on video would allow Gillibrand to directly engage with
potential voters and win them over. By using livestreaming and commenting functions,
Gillibrand can post videos of her speaking at length on issues she cares about and subsequently
allow constituents to provide written feedback. Not only will this process give her future voters a
personal, “homey” feel — almost like they’re talking to her face-to-face in a focused
conversation — it will also help her to hear directly from individuals things she should be
addressing or improving, allowing her to truly build her campaign as a candidate of the people.
Connections are incredibly important to any campaign and Gillibrand’s usage of YouTube could
help her make genuine connections with people over policy and anecdotes despite her busy
schedule and inability to meet with everyone in-person.
The key to maintaining a positive presence on Instagram would be for Gillibrand to post
often enough that her viewers are frequently reminded of her interesting background and decided
policy, but not so often that they feel as if they are facing inundation and thus lose their support
for her. One Instagram post a day, with diverse selections each time, is a good rule of thumb. By
posting photos of a rally one day, art from a supporter the next, and a picture of her family the
next, Gillibrand will be able to establish herself in the digital lives of her followers and provide
them with a well-rounded view of who she is both personally and politically. With this schedule,
she also will likely not alienate anyone from posting too many identical updates on her campaign
on her Instagram profile. Since her YouTube videos would be more involved, lengthier, and
denser (since she is using that platform to primarily convey her policy views and chat about
voters’ political frustrations rather than to give a glimpse into all areas of her life), they should
go up less frequently than her Instagram posts. One video each week would allow for Gillibrand
to have adequate time for other types of outreach, like constituent visits or press appearances, but
 Shifra Dayak
AP World History
Period 3
would give her voters just enough information to keep their stances on her fresh in their minds.
More than one video a week would likely overcrowd her schedule, making her a less prepared
and thus less appealing candidate, and give her viewers an overload of policy information that
would probably repel them away from her.
Gillibrand’s key to winning in 2020 is her establishment as a genuine candidate and
person. Running her own social media, at least for the most part, would be a key step in
achieving this goal and raising her chances of election next November. By choosing her own
posts, dictating the content of her responses to YouTube viewers, and scripting her own policy
video topics, she could uphold her valued concepts of honesty and transparency by showing her
potential voters who she really is, rather than a version of herself engineered by someone who is
the face of her social media. Although she should have a social media team to ensure that all her
content is appropriate and that she doesn’t waste her time on menial tasks but focuses on the
campaign instead, the legwork should be done by her. While another person can tweak her
wording, film, edit, and photograph for her, and hit the “post” button, Gillibrand should be the
person drafting captions, helping the conversation move on livestreams, and deciding what
pictures she wants to post. Although this is not a traditional route that candidates take, Gillibrand
needs to mark herself as different. To show Americans that she truly cares about them and wants
to connect with them in order to share her history and vision, she must be at the forefront of her
social media and give it a personal touch. Social media is an incredibly important tool — by
running her personal Instagram and YouTube, Gillibrand will be able to reach many potential
voters, make her intentions clear, and accumulate support.
 Shifra Dayak
AP World History
Period 3
Works Cited

“Kirsten Gillibrand.” ​Biography.com​, A&E Networks Television, 16 Jan. 2019,

www.biography.com/people/kirsten-gillibrand-21044423​.
Masket, Seth. “The 2020 Democrats Being Considered By Early-State Activists.”
FiveThirtyEight​, ABC News Internet Ventures, 26 Feb. 2019,
fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-2020-democrats-being-considered-by-early-state-activist
s/.
Ngo, Emily. “The Evolution of Kirsten Gillibrand.” ​Newsday​, Newsday, 16 July 2018,
www.newsday.com/news/nation/kirsten-gillibrand-new-york-senate-1.19819098​.