After failing to finish higher than third place in the 18 states that have voted so far in the Democratic primaries, Elizabeth Warren, a progressive Senator from Massachusetts, left the race for president.
Warren was known as the candidate who had a plan for a wide range of policies that appealed to the left wing of the Democratic party, including public healthcare, student debt, paid family leave and criminal justice reform.
Failure to find traction
She made the announcement that she was ending her campaign outside of her home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she emphasized her failure to create a new lane in the race and the disappointment she felt for letting down girls across the country who wanted to see a female president.
“I thought that wasn’t right,” she said in reference to the argument that there were only two big tickets in the race this year, Biden and Sanders, “But evidently I was wrong.”
“All those little girls who are going to have to wait four more years, that’s going to be hard,” she added.
No news on endorsement
Warren did not endorse another candidate in her remarks.
Although Warren’s political outlook and policy ideas are similar to those of Bernie Sanders, the leading progressive in the race, there has reportedly been tension between the two candidates and their supporters over the course of the race.
One of those moments came in January when Warren alleged that Sanders had told her in a closed door meeting back in December 2018 that he didn’t believe a woman could win in 2020. Sanders denied saying this on stage in a January debate and Warren confronted him immediately afterward in an exchange caught on camera.
“I think you called me a liar on national TV,” Warren told Sanders, who replied, “Let’s not do (this) right now.”
Analysts have said that it would be premature to assume that all of Warren’s supporters would just automatically jump to back Sanders. Although the two candidates are generally aligned ideologically, Sanders’ calls for political revolution might not resonate with those who supported Warren because of her style and credentials.
“I do not think it’s a foregone conclusion they all go to Bernie,” said Jess Morales Rocketto, a veteran progressive strategist. “Or that even if Warren endorses Bernie, that all of her voters consolidate. Some of them might go with Joe Biden. More of them than people understand [sic] are up for grabs. This is a close race. Candidates should work hard to get their vote.”
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