CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. -- Our Ken Jubie sat down with Skidmore College Political Science Professor Bob Turner. He's been following Gillibrand's career since before she was elected to Congress. And says Paterson couldn't pick a better person.

“First and foremost, you need to have someone who is going to be an effective presence in Washington. And she is someone who, I think, can hit the ground running,” said Turner.

Even though she's just starting her second term representing the state's 20th district, Turner says she's a rising star who has built political capital in the House, built a strong rapport with her district's voters on both sides of the aisle, and perhaps most importantly, built up enough financial support to run her own Senate campaign in 2010 and maintain the seat for the Democratic Party.

“She is a ferocious fundraiser. And whoever is the next Senator from New York will need to raise upwards of 20 to 30 million dollars to be competitive in the next election,” Turner said.

Aside from having talent and treasure, two major reasons Turner says Governor Paterson is making a wise choice, Gillibrand, according to the professor, will also round out the Democratic ticket and help Paterson in his bid to remain Governor.

“She's from upstate. She's a woman. And he's neither of those things,” said Turner.

But the major knock against this upstate woman who represents a staunchly suburban and rural district, is that she doesn't necessarily relate well downstate. Still, Turner says that's a weakness she can overcome.

“I think she'll need to go downstate and do a downstate listening tour,” Turner said.

And perhaps while she's getting to know new constituents, Turner says the Republicans will be lining up candidates to fill her vacant seat in Congress. He says there are several viable options on that side of the aisle while the Democrats could have a hard time finding a strong candidate to win a special election.