Kirsten Gillibrand Speech Interrupted by Iowa Ranch Dressing Fanatic

While speaking to supporters at the Airliner restaurant in Iowa City this week, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) was briefly interrupted by a college student who was trying to squeeze past the presidential hopeful to get some ranch dressing. In a video captured by CNN’s DJ Judd, 22-year-old Hanna Kinney can be seen remarking, “Sorry, I’m just trying to get some ranch,” as she pushes past Gillibrand in the crowded restaurant. Kinney was leading a Bible study group on the second floor when she decided to make the run downstairs to grab the ranch.

This moment went viral on Twitter, earning Kinney the nickname “ranch girl.”

While Gillibrand has yet to acknowledge this lighthearted moment on the campaign trail, Kinney is embracing her new viral fame, changing her name on Twitter to “Hanna Kinney (Ranch Girl)” and responding to inquiries from new fans about her favorite pizza dip. “I love it and sometimes they bring it up to us and sometimes they don’t,” Kinney tells Intelligencer. “It’s one of those restaurants that make it homemade, which is very common in Iowa, to be honest. I was going down there to grab it — it’s not just me, a few of my other friends in Bible study enjoy the ranch — because it’s sort of my job in the group.”

Kinney has been careful to avoid talking about politics with any of her newfound fans. Although she identifies as “left-leaning,” the student says that there was no political motivation behind her interaction with Gillibrand. “I’m literally just a girl getting some ranch, and she just happens to be in the way, and the crowd just happened to be there,” Kinney tells the Washington Post.

• She was ‘on a mission’ for ranch dressing. Not even Kirsten Gillibrand’s campaign event could stop her [WP]
• Kirsten Gillibrand Could Not Stand Between This College Student and Her Ranch Dressing [Intelligencer]