Kirsten Gillibrand Sworn In As New York Senator

Moments ago, congresswomen Kirsten Gillibrand was sworn in to replace Hillary Clinton as New York’s junior US Senator. Clinton was confirmed as Secretary of State last week, creating the vacancy. New York Governor David Paterson announced his selection of Gillibrand late last week.

Last Thursday, Michael Bennett was sworn in as Colorado’s junior US Senator. He assumed the seat previously occupied by Ken Salazar, who was confirmed as Secretary of the Interior. Colorado Governor Bill Ritter selected Bennett for the post.

This leaves just one slot vacant. The Senate seat representing Minnesota that was formerly held by Norm Coleman remains unoccupied. The state has announced that the result of the statutory recount indicated that Al Franken had won the seat by 225 votes. However, Franken has not assumed the seat due to court challenges levied by the Coleman campaign.

Sources Say Gillibrand To Be New York's Senator

Sources close to New York Governor David Patterson say that Kirsten Gillibrand will be his choice to succeed Hillary Clinton in the US Senate. Clinton was confrimed as Secretary of State by a 94-2 vote in the Senate on Wednesday and resigned her Senate seat.

Gillibrand previously served as Special Counsel to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the Clinton Administration. She was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2006 and 2008.

Caroline Kennedy Withdraws Her Bid For the Senate

Caroline Kennedy has withdrawn her bid to be appointed to replace Hillary Clinton in the US Senate. She informed New York Governor David Patterson of her decision yesterday. The frontrunner now appears to be Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

Intrade Contracts for New York and Minnesota Seats

I’ve added a couple of things to the left sidebar. They both involve Intrade contracts. Intrade (www.intrade.com) is a real money futures market that has contracts on future political elections and events. The range of prices on the contracts is between 0 and 100. They correspond roughly to the perceived likelihood of the event in the eyes of those who are buying the contracts on this open market. The closer to 100 the contract is, the greater is the perceived likelihood that the even will occur. These contracts have proven to be quite accurate predictors. I’ll have more to say on such political futures markets a bit later. At this point, I’ve added the contracts on the appointment to fill the New York Senate seat occupied by Hillary Clinton. This is obviously contingent on her resigning to become Secretary of State. The other set of contracts I have up at this point involve the Norm Coleman’s Senate seat. The outcome is uncertain. The recount is underway and it is likely to be followed by challenges in court.