LIBERAL ALLIES OF LIZ LOSE BIG IN BAY STATE
Elizabeth Warren’s humiliating home-state loss was also a reality check for the state’s superstar liberal elites, who struck out to the ultimate Democratic establishment figure, Joe Biden.
U.S. Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Joe Kennedy III and Katherine Clark and Attorney General Maura Healey — all leading Democratic figures with statewide ambitions — put their clout on the line for Warren and stumbled badly.
Their star power proved to be out of touch with moderate Democratic voters and independents who powered Biden to his stunning Massachusetts win.
“Much of the state made the decision that (Warren) was far too left wing for their tastes,” Republican consultant Rob Gray said. “Her politics are out of step with most of the state outside of certain big cities and liberal towns inside of 128.”
Biden had no money, just a few high-profile endorsements and didn’t even campaign in the Bay State, yet won more than a third of the state’s voters — easily besting liberal firebrand Bernie Sanders as well as Warren, who finished a devastating third place.
Pressley was an especially high-profile surrogate for Warren’s campaign. In backing Warren, she broke off from her fellow “squad” members, who all endorsed Sanders.
Warren’s campaign dispatched Pressley to places like South Carolina and North Carolina with large percentages of black voters, but Warren was crushed in those states.
U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, who faces a re-election primary battle against Kennedy this year, also endorsed Warren and campaigned heavily for her in Massachusetts.
“It’s never a great look when you pick a loser,” Gray said. “It certainly reduces your power quotient somewhat and also potentially your options.”
And what happened to
the great Warren “ground game” that we kept hearing about in the media? Warren’s organization, with all the paid staff, volunteers, fundraisers, as well as a supportive super PAC, were no match for Biden’s big Mo – Momentum.
Exit polls showed that more than half of all Massachusetts Democratic voters decided in the last few days before Super Tuesday, and among those late-deciding voters, Biden won 40%.
Warren won in big cities and places like Cambridge and Somerville but got crushed in the suburbs, a familiar tale of woe for Democrats in the past few gubernatorial elections. It’s a recipe for disaster for Democrats hoping to take back the Corner Office in 2022.
New voter registration numbers show that unenrolled voters now make up 56% of the Massachusetts electorate, an increase of six points over the past 20 years. Warren and Sanders combined won just 30% of moderate voters, according to exit polling.
Democrats need to heed these warnings if they want to win statewide in another two years, especially if Gov. Charlie Baker decides to go for a third term.
“Most of the state outside 128 is a lot more moderate, which is why four of the last five governors over a 30-year period have been Republicans,” Gray said.