Van Jones Pops Up and Instantly Hurts Democrat

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's plan to attend a panel discussion next month with former Obama administration official Van Jones proves she's out of touch with New York voters, one of her election challengers says.

Bruce Blakeman, Gillibrand's only announced Republican challenger for the upcoming November election, said the event shows the Democratic senator is now "pandering to the left-wing fringe of her party."

"She shouldn't be meeting with him. She shouldn't be sharing the same platform with him. And I think it just proves she's out of touch with most New Yorkers," Blakeman told FoxNews.com.

Jones, the former White House green jobs adviser, was pushed out of the administration in September following criticism of his past remarks and the revelation that he once signed a petition supporting the "9/11 truther" movement -- which believes the Bush administration may have been involved in the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

A best selling author, environmental activist and lightning rod for controversy, Jones has stayed largely out of the public eye since leaving the administration. So Gillibrand's decision to participate in a forum with him has raised eyebrows, particularly because she was billed as a moderate when she was appointed to fill Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's seat last year.