Think back to that chaotic appointment of U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand courtesy of then-Gov. David Paterson.

Think back to how many high-powered Democrats were lining up to primary the vulnerable appointee, only to be discouraged by the state’s senior senator, Democrat Chuck Schumer.

At the time, they argued that Gillibrand was too upstate, not liberal  enough for a sophisticated state like New York and that she was something of a powderpuff not fit to compete on a larger stage.

They were wrong.

Now Gillibrand is poised to break — narrowly — Schumer’s blowout 71.2 percent victory for his second term against Assemblyman Howard Mills in 2004.

With 98 percent of precincts reporting, Gillibrand has 72 percent of the vote to Republican Wendy Long’s 27.2 percent.

Of course, Schumer will be able to maintain his record for margin victory, since Mills only polled about 24.2 percent of vote that year, thanks in part to not receiving the Conservative Party line.

But the Gillibrand victory this week leaves no doubt that she’s a serious force to be reckoned with, especially since several of the women Senate candidates she publicly supported — including Missouri’s Claire McCaskill and Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin — were victorious as well.

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