Sen. Amy Klobuchar says she isn’t sweating the fact that older white men are leading the Democratic race for president.
Asked on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" if voters had expressed concerns about "whether women are breaking through in the way they'd like them to," the Minnesota Democrat rejected the idea that female candidates had fallen too far behind early in the primary race.
“Well first I’d note, you look in places like New Hampshire and Iowa the three women are usually in the top eight candidates, three of us,” Klobuchar countered. “We may not be at the top but that's pretty significant when you look at the entire field of 20-some people.”
She contended that her campaign was still gaining steam, pointing out that the first nominating contests of the primary are still far off and expressing confidence she could get there.
Early polling of the Democratic field consistently shows former Vice President Joe Biden with a comfortable lead, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and California Sen. Kamala Harris typically make up the middle tier of candidates, followed by a cluster of other hopefuls at the bottom of the pack.
The women running to unseat President Donald Trump next year have come under scrutiny from voters and the pundit class over concerns about “likability” and “electability,” questions many point out have not similarly plagued the men in the race, some of whom have far less political experience.
Klobuchar herself has been subjected to these labels after a rash of news reports criticizing the staff turnover in her Senate office and claiming she’s a rough boss.
Questions about whether a female candidate could beat Trump next year track with polling that typically shows a majority of Democrats value electability above all else when it comes to backing a primary candidate.Klobuchar acknowledged that she has her work cut out for her, but suggested that her efforts to claim the mantle of the pragmatic candidate would ultimately work in her favor.
“People have to get to know candidates — I'm from state that’s not that big,” she said. “I know I have to get out there and introduce myself, and talk about how I think if you’re gonna run for president, you have to have real solution for real problems and you have to show how you're going to pay for them.”
Still, she asserted that she was up to the challenge of overcoming the disadvantage of running against well-known male candidates.
“We have an operation that's growing and growing, and the fact that the guys are up front — well, the guys were better known from the beginning and I always say may the best woman win,” she said.
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine