By Olivia Scheck
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
COLUMBUS CIRCLE — Hot off her election victory, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand stopped by Columbus Circle Wednesday morning to thank voters — and people who looked like voters.
The senator, who won with a decisive 61 percent of the vote Tuesday, stood at the top of the subway entrance near the Trump International Hotel and Tower shortly before 11 a.m., shaking hands and signing autographs.
"Um…It's just kind of random," said Laura Ramirez, an 18-year-old Fordham University student, whom Gillibrand thanked for her vote. "I'm actually not even registered."
Other passersby were more enthusiastic about meeting the senator, who was appointed to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2009.
Harold Ackerman, who declined to give his age but said he was an ad-man from Brooklyn, stopped to congratulate Gillibrand and have her sign a notebook.
Like Ramirez, Ackerman didn't make it to the polls on Tuesday but he said he "probably" would have voted for Gillibrand had he done so.
"We need more politicians like her," Ackerman added.
The photo opportunity lasted only a couple of minutes, with Gillibrand's campaign entourage and over-eager reporters swarming the exit of the busy subway station.
Before heading off, Gillibrand stopped to address the media. During the brief Q &A, she noted her pleasure at Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's reelection, the importance of small business and the economic hardships she's observed throughout the state.
Gillibrand campaign spokesman Glen Caplin said the Midtown appearance would be her only public stop that day.
