Tulsi Gabbard: 5 things to know

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Tulsi Gabbard: 5 things to know

Find out about 2020 Democratic candidate Tulsi Gabbard’s background, including her love for surfing, veteran status, and lawsuit against Hillary Clinton.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, is one of several longshot presidential candidates to try their hand at the 2020 presidential nomination, and her campaign has managed to outlast governors, senators and other more well-known politicians.

Here are five things to know about Gabbard as the 2020 presidential election cycle is officially underway.

1. She's a surfer

Like many Hawaiians, Gabbard loves to surf.

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She transferred those skills from the waves to the mountain while campaigning in New Hampshire, however, as she went snowboarding with Fox News' Paul Steinhauser. Gabbard spent more days in New Hampshire than any other presidential candidate.

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2. She's suing Hillary Clinton

Gabbard espouses a rather unconventional U.S. foreign policy for the 21st century -- advocating that the U.S. stay out of foreign entanglements. As part of her rhetoric on the issue, Gabbard has struggled to condemn foreign tyrants like Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Gabbard's foreign policy stances led former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to call Gabbard “the favorite of the Russians” and say she was being groomed as a third-party candidate for the 2020 general election in November.

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Clinton never mentioned Gabbard by name, but when asked to confirm whether the former first lady was referring to Gabbard, Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill responded, “If the nesting doll fits.” That's a reference to popular Russian dolls.

In response, Gabbard sued Clinton for $50 million in a suit announced in January.

3. She's the first Hindu member of Congress

Hinduism is the dominant religion in India, one of the most populous countries in the world. But the U.S. did not have a Hindu member of Congress until Gabbard was elected in 2012.

Gabbard is also the first Samoan-American member of Congress with voting privileges (U.S. territories send representatives to Congress but they are not allowed to vote).

4. She's a veteran

Gabbard was a member of the 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Army National Guard of Hawaii and in 2004 deployed to Iraq where she served at a base in the Sunni Triangle, according to her campaign website. Gabbard says her experience serving informed her outlook on foreign policy.

Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, speaks during a Democratic presidential primary debate, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

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"She wondered if those who voted to send soldiers to Iraq really understood why they were there,"  her campaign website reads, "if lawmakers and the President reflected daily on each death, each injury, and the immeasurably high cost of war."

5. She's not the youngest candidate in the field

The 38-year-old Gabbard's birthday is on April 12, 1981, making her less than a year older than fellow Democratic contender Pete Buttigieg. The former South Bend mayor's birthday is Jan 19, 1982.

Interestingly, both Gabbard and Buttigieg would have been allowed to run for president in the 2016 election. On Jan. 20, 2017, the day Trump was sworn in, Buttigieg had just turned 35 one day earlier and Gabbard would have been 35 for almost nine months.

The Constitution requires that all presidents be at least 35 years old.

Fox News' Dom Calicchio contributed to this report.