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Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Sen. Amy Klobuchar leans on her Midwestern background and sensibilities to set herself apart from the growing list of Democrats seeking to unseat President Donald Trump in 2020. The Minnesota native announced her candidacy Feb. 10 during a rally near downtown Minneapolis. She touted herself as the granddaughter of an iron ore miner and daughter of a teacher and journalist.
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"I don't come from money," she said. "But what I do have is this: I have grit. I have family. I have friends. I have neighbors. I have all of you who are willing to come out in the middle of the winter, all of you who took the time to watch us today, all of you who are willing to stand up and say people matter."
During her announcement, Klobuchar said she's running for Americans who want access to good education and affordable prescription drugs.
She has also called for more affordable healthcare, online consumer protection, election security, reducing the role of money in politics, automatic voter registration and efforts to reduce climate change.
Klobuchar, who attended Yale University and the University of Chicago Law School, began her career as a lawyer, first at two private firms before being elected Hennepin county attorney, the state's largest prosecutor's office.
Her Senate website says she sought to make white-collar crime a particular focus during her time as a prosecutor.
In 2006, voters chose Klobuchar to become Minnesota's first elected female senator over Republican Mark Kennedy. She replaced outgoing Sen. Mark Dayton, a Democrat.
As senator, she has served on the judiciary, joint economic, commerce, science and transportation, agriculture, nutrition and forestry, rules and administration, joint printing and joint library committees. She's also a member of the NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus, which works to improve emergency response systems.
As a member of the judiciary committee, she questioned Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing. The two had a notable exchange in which she asked him if ever blacked out from drinking during hearings specifically on allegations he attempted to sexually assault a fellow teenager at a party in the 1980s.
"Have you?" he asked Klobuchar after she explained that she understood alcohol abuse because her father was an alcoholic.
Kavanaugh later apologized to Klobuchar for being confrontational in reaction to her line of questioning.
Klobuchar, 58, is married to John Bessler, a private attorney. They have a daughter.
