No, not of cash (though she's been fundraising at a might clip), but rather a second child. The Albany Times Union reported this evening that freshman Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand (NY-20) is pregnant and expecting the baby to come along next May. (Cue cheeky headlines, of which I suspect there will be more than a few.) I'm fairly certain that as of right now, she's the only pregnant member of Congress out of the 90 or so women currently serving -- I'm guessing that we don't need to inquire about the men for this question.
Gillibrand and her husband, Jonathan, say they always wanted a second child -- they already have a four year-old son -- and that she'll continue to commute between Washington and her Greenport, NY, home until the doctors tell her to stay put.
This evening's announcement may help explain why Gillibrand had been fundraising at such a frenetic pace through the end of the Third Quarter of this year, as she'll presumably have to cut back on that quite a bit over the coming months. It's probably a very good thing that she already has over $1.6 million cash on hand as of September 30.
One has to wonder whether Alexander ("Sandy") Treadwell, the former New York State GOP chairman, or any of the other GOP wannabes will try to subtly make some sort of issue out of her pregnancy. Coming from the party of supposed "traditional" family values, it wouldn't surprise me if they try to imply that she's not fully focused on her day job serving the 20th District and/or her constituents.
For some background on what Rep. Gillibrand has been up to during her eleven months in Congress, check out this New York Times series (registration required, I think). They've been following her around all year and writing up profiles here, here and here, though it doesn't appear there have been any recently. Also, Kossack devtob wrote up an informative diary several weeks ago about her fairly innovative approach to one key aspect of constituent service, helping local governments and nonprofits apply for federal grants.
In the meantime, though, best wishes to the happy family! It's so rare, it seems, to be able to report on joyous news around here.
Gillibrand for Congress
RaceTraker wiki: NY-20