Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) was giving a campaign speech at an Iowa restaurant Monday evening when she was upstaged by a girl hankering for some ranch dressing.
The New York senator and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate was speaking to customers gathered at The Airliner eatery in Iowa City, Iowa, when University of Iowa student Hanna Kinney, tried to walk past Gillibrand in her quest to obtain the creamy salad dressing.
“Sorry, sorry, I’m just gonna get some ranch,” Kinney told Gillibrand, according to a CNN reporter’s video viewed more than 923,000 times on Twitter as of Wednesday afternoon, as she pushed past the senator in her quest to obtain the dressing.
People in the restaurant broke out laughing as Gillibrand told Kinney, “I’m sorry, go ahead,” before continuing her speech.
One other restaurant customer also remarked that the exchange was “very Iowa.”
Kinney told Fox News she was not expecting Gillibrand to be campaigning at the restaurant where she normally goes to eat every Monday after her Bible study.
She added that although she was aware of the upcoming Iowa caucus season, she “definitely wasn’t there for that reason.”
Kinney, a regular at The Airliner, admits she is “the designated ranch go-getter” and that restaurant workers handed her “a little squeeze bottle of it.”
After she got her ranch dressing, Kinney said had to make her way back through the crowd with Gillibrand in the middle of the restaurant.
When she confirmed she got her fix of the creamy condiment, the crowd cheered.
Kinney has become a social media sensation since the Monday night event, with many Twitter users tweeting about her with the hashtag #Ranch2020:
Kinney embraced the newfound fame, changing her Twitter nickname to “Ranch Girl” and tweeting at The Airliner that their ranch dressing “is amazing.”
The restaurant responded, telling her that the “next cup of ranch” would be on the house.