NEVERTHELESS, SHE PERSISTED

Elizabeth Warren’s Greatest 2020 Strength—And Biggest Weakness

Her campaign has not been without its bumps, but the Senator has forged on with policy papers aplenty—and her persistence is paying off.

It appears increasingly likely that the 2020 Democratic primary field will be the most wide open in recent memory, and perhaps in the history of American politics. As candidates move through the nomination process, there are already arguments being made as to the strengths—and weaknesses—of those who have entered the field and their chances in a general election against President Trump.

Elizabeth Warren

Date of campaign launch: February 9, 2019

Sen. Elizabeth Warren has cultivated an image both as a populist crusader against big banks and a wonkish economic expert seeking to curtail unrestrained capitalism. She has introduced some of the most aggressive legislation on corruption and markets among her Senate colleagues and has taken on the mantle of the woman-led resistance to the Trump administration, thanks in part to Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) ill-phrased gripe against her: “Nevertheless, she persisted.”

Unlike many of her rivals, Warren has pledged not to hold fundraisers, dinners or calls with wealthy donors who tend to be the lifeblood of any successful presidential campaign. Instead, Warren has hit the campaign trial hard, taking thousands of selfies and adding to her already massive email list and existing infrastructure from her most recent Senate run. Perhaps as a result her fundraising totals have not been as high as other contenders. IN the first 24 hours after her exploratory committee on Dec. 31, she raised just under $300,000. Her quarterly fundraising numbers were similarly underwhelming totaling $6 million.

Polling and Perception:

Warren has tried to find a sort-of middle ground between Sanders’ type of Democratic Socialism and liberalism that involves a faith in markets. She’s clearly a proponent of regulation, but she’s tried to craft plans that also incorporate private industry participation in the regulatory regime. She’s teamed up with Republican lawmakers on marijuana legislation in addition to being functionally supportive of legalization. Throughout the primary Warren has released so many policy papers on a range of issues that “Warren has a plan for that!” is now printed on her official campaign swag from t-shirts to bumper stickers. 

All that being said, her presidential run has not been without its bumps. In seeking to fend off further attacks from Trump about her Native American lineage, Warren released the results of a DNA test in the fall and angered some progressives and Native Americans. The roll-out was so bad, political observers all but ruled her out, but Warren pushed on and the weeks leading up to the first debate the effort appears to be paying off. 

Two national polls in late June show Warren bouncing from the pack of candidates to third place behind former Vice President Joe Biden and Sanders.

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Gideon Resnick

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