Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand says she’s ready to hit the ground running as the next senator from New York.

Gillibrand, who is expected to be sworn in Tuesday, met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, New York Gov. David Paterson and senior New York Sen. Chuck Schumer Sunday. The second-term congresswoman, who worked on Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign, said Clinton "has always been a mentor of mine and someone I’ve always admired." The women talked foreign policy and the economy, and Clinton gave her tips on how to be an effective senator. Gillibrand knows she has some big shoes to fill, and despite being criticized by more liberal Democrats for being more center on issues such as gun control (she’s for protecting hunters’ rights – a more popular stance upstate, where she’s from), she said there’s "enormous space for common ground."

While Gillibrand, 42, is relishing her new role, critics like Long Island Rep. Carolyn McCarthy are already mounting their 2010 primary challenge against her. Rep. Peter King, R-NY, who called her selection a "fraud" and "backroom deal," said he’s "seriously considering" a Senate run against Gillibrand in 2010 (he also would have run against Caroline Kennedy). Essentially, many more left-leaning downstate New York politicians seem to think that the Senate should be filled with someone like them, and not more representatives of the rest of New York state. Newsday reports that there are even unconfirmed reports among Democratic operatives that former Gov. George Pataki could seek to make a political comeback by challenging Gillibrand for the Senate seat next year.

Politico elaborates on reports that congressional Democrats, many of whom wanted the Senate seat, are angry over what they see as Gillibrand’s excessive ambition. The lawmaker apparently ticked off some of her colleagues by trying to leapfrog up the seniority ladder in late 2008 to try to take a vacant seat on the Ways and Means Committee. "She’s smart and capable, but she’s rubbed people the wrong the way," said one New York City Democrat.

If her too-high ambition is the only big fault opponents can come up, we encourage them to find something else to do. And we have to wonder: If she were a man, would her ambition be criticized like this? We think not.  

Click here to read wOw’s "6 Things to Know About Kirsten Gillibrand."