Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is meeting this morning with members of the Bronx Democratic organization, addressing the group at a meeting a day after her almost-official rival Harold Ford Jr. spoke to the county leader, Assemblyman Carl Heastie.

Gillibrand is stepping up her political game in all form since Ford made clear he’s likely to run – and since the GOP win in Massachusetts for Ted Kennedy’s senate seat scared every Democratic incumbent nationally.

Today she’s also set to be on Long Island to meet with black and Latino lawmakers – a meeting that sources say was scheduled in recent days, after word got around that Ford is planning to have meetings himself in the crucial suburban area early next week.