The Eye

"It doesn't matter," said Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime Democratic political consultant in the state. "Here's what matters: unions that turn out votes." The labor endorsements to watch for are those that can mobilize downstate Democratic voters -- which appear to be Gillibrand's Achilles heel at this early stage -- including the Teamsters union, the 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers union, and the United Federation of Teachers, which represents New York City's public school teachers. "In the primary she needs New York City, she doesn't need anything else," Sheinkopf said.

Gillibrand' has been working to woo New York's liberal establishment since her appointment to the seat by Gov. David A. Paterson in late January. Paterson's decision to name the upstate moderate to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton, who left the Senate to become secretary of State, was met with disappointment by many in the party who considered Gillibrand too conservative on issues like gun control and immigration.

In a separate move Monday, Gillibrand announced -- in Spanish -- the hiring of two new staffers with strong credentials in Latino politics for her New York City office. Kristina Cabrera, chairwoman of the New York-based Latina PAC, will be Gillibrand's director of intergovernmental affairs, while Gustavo Rivera, a native of Puerto Rico and constituency director for Barack Obama's presidential campaign in Florida, was named director of outreach.

Gillibrand's latest announcements come as a new Marist poll released today showed she still has a ways to go in winning over Democrats -- Gillibrand led Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney 36 percent to 31 percent in a hypothetical primary match-up , with 33 percent of registered Democratic voters undecided. Other potential primary challengers include Reps. Steve Israel and Carolyn McCarthy.