Gillibrand charts trip to Iowa, making 2020 run look imminent

The trip comes as Gillibrand inches closer to a bid and begins to build a campaign operation that is expected to be based in Troy, New York, an upstate town close to where Gillibrand lives, according to multiple Democrats who have talked to Gillibrand's team about the campaign.

A second Iowa Democrat tells CNN that Gillibrand and her team have begun courting possible staffers in the state and are reaching out a to a "ton" of possible supporters.

Sources also tell CNN that Gillibrand has hired Meredith Kelly, the former communications director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, to be the communications director on her expected 2020 run.

The hire signals that Gillibrand is close to making her bid official and an announcement could be imminent. The New York Times first reported Kelly's hire.

Gillibrand told CNN in December that she was "definitely thinking" about running for President and would "make a decision soon."

Politico first reported Gillibrand was planning the trip to Iowa.

Gillibrand's expected trip to Iowa will come two weeks after Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat who is exploring a run for president, headlined a series of events during a multi-day swing through the state.

A Gillibrand spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

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