Elizabeth Warren Drops Out Of 2020 Race
The race is now effectively a two-candidate contest between Biden, who as of Thursday has 596 delegates, and Sanders, who has 531.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren has dropped out of the 2020 Democratic primary, leaving only three candidates left in the race: Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, and Tulsi Gabbard.
Our work continues, the fight goes on, and big dreams never die. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. https://t.co/28kyKe777L
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) March 5, 2020
After a poor Super Tuesday performance, including a third place finish in her home state of Massachusetts, reports surfaced that she had spoken with both the Sanders and Biden campaigns on Wednesday about potential pathways forward.
Warren is dropping out today and will alert staff shortly, confirming @ShaneGoldmacher @AsteadWesley scoop. Someone w/ the campaign says she is contemplating not endorsing, endorsing Bernie, or even endorsing Biden.
— Alex Thompson (@AlxThomp) March 5, 2020
Gabbard has won only one delegate, leaving the race an effective two-candidate contest between Biden, who as of Thursday has 596 delegates, and Sanders, who has 531.
On Monday, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar suddenly dropped out of the primary and endorsed Biden alongside a slew of establishment Democrats, consolidating the moderate vote before Biden’s strong Super Tuesday performance. Mike Bloomberg’s departure and endorsement of Biden on Wednesday further cemented the centrist pick as Sanders supporters called upon Warren to drop out and back Bernie to unify the progressive vote.
After leading polls last fall amid a roll-out of detailed plans to restructure American capitalism, Warren’s campaign began to falter as criticism of her healthcare proposal and failure to grow her base left her unsuccessful in attempts to rebrand herself as the “unity” candidate between the moderate and progressive wings of the Democratic party.
Supporters praised Warren for bringing new ideas to the party, such as enacting antitrust action on big tech and financial regulation of private equity:
If the reports are true and @ewarren is suspending her campaign, I have two things to say:
1. Thank you for this campaign.
2. Thank you for the brilliant ideas—and the vital plans—that will go forward from this campaign.
Like this one ? https://t.co/94zyFEPabJ
— John Nichols (@NicholsUprising) March 5, 2020
Elizabeth Warren has been an effective Senator throughout her presidential bid, her office has been taking action time and again on issues well below the media radar. I expect that to continue.
— David Dayen (@ddayen) March 5, 2020
President Trump quickly commented on Warren’s withdrawal, insulting her as “Pocahontas” and blaming her for splitting the progressive vote and “probably” costing Sanders the Democratic nomination:
Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren, who was going nowhere except into Mini Mike’s head, just dropped out of the Democrat Primary…THREE DAYS TOO LATE. She cost Crazy Bernie, at least, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Texas. Probably cost him the nomination! Came in third in Mass.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 5, 2020
After coming in third in Iowa on Feb. 3 and fourth in New Hampshire, Warren reversed course on earlier pledges to reject super PAC money and opened her campaign to ‘Persist PAC’, whose leadership was closely connected to the oil and gas industry:
“Chris Koob, the treasurer of Persist PAC, the Super PAC that recently dropped $9 million on Elizabeth Warren ad buys, is the former COO of Securing America’s Energy Future, a military [and] business led oil advocacy group,” corruption researcher Rob Golbraith noted on Twitter. “It’s significant that Warren’s Super PAC is being run by the former head of an oil lobbying group given that Warren has pointed to [the Sunrise Movement’s] endorsement of Sanders as justification for reneging on her promise to reject Super PAC support.”
Law & Crime noted that Warren’s website continued to champion her rejection of super PACs after she used their support to top outside spending in Super Tuesday adds:
“Elizabeth rejects the help of Super PACs and would disavow any Super PAC formed to support her in the Democratic primary. We’ve got to overturn Citizens United because our democracy is not for sale,” according to Warren’s website. “In the meantime, Democrats should show some moral backbone by refusing their own Super PACs in the 2020 primary.”
The Guardian’s Arwa Mahdawi’s criticized Warren’s appeal to feminism in her excuse for reversing her no-super PAC pledge as opportunistic and insincere:
“So what caused this flip-flop? Feminism, apparently. Speaking the Thursday before last, Warren complained that ‘all of the men who were still in this race and on the debate stage … had either Super Pacs, or they were multibillionaires … And the only people who didn’t have them were the two women. And at that point, there were some women around the country who said, ‘You know, that’s just not right.’ The gender Pac gap swiftly closed; now Amy Klobuchar and Warren both have Super Pac support. Girl power at its finest!”
I don’t completely begrudge Warren taking Super Pac money. Her campaign has been flagging; flooding Super Tuesday markets with expensive ad buys is probably her best chance at changing that. However, I do begrudge the highly disingenuous way she framed her Super Pac backtrack as some sort of feminist position. There is nothing remotely feminist about using gender as an excuse to abandon your principles and embrace big money. Feminism is supposed to be about dismantling oppressive systems, not aligning yourself with them.”
While Sanders and Warren appeared to share a progressive alliance in earlier stages of the race, it is unclear if she will endorse him as critical primaries are held in Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota and Washington next Tuesday.
I know this is pretty anodyne analysis but this is what it is: either Warren takes a gamble that she can help Sanders win the nomination and perhaps change how the party and country look at political possibility or she plays it safe and assumes Biden will reward her.
— Eoin Higgins (@EoinHiggins_) March 5, 2020
“Would you consider asking Sen. Warren to be your running mate?” pic.twitter.com/8FQn082aUQ
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 5, 2020
The key is a major spectacle news event. Bernie gets the Warren endorsement and they do a rally together in Michigan. Enlist AOC. Make it huge. There’s no other way.
No TV debate for over a week so he can’t embarrass Biden before Michigan. This is his only hope.
— Ross Barkan (@RossBarkan) March 5, 2020
The same special interests win every election, regardless of the names on ballots. Candidates are vetted by Big Money in both parties, BEFORE you can vote for your perceived lesser evil — or your delusiive White Knight. A true independent has the chances of a snowball in hell.