The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Warren leaves race, mulls whom to back
Sen. Elizabeth Warren ended her presidential campaign but didn’t rush to endorse either Bernie Sanders or Joe Biden.
Elizabeth Warren, who electrified progressives with her “plan for everything” and strong message of economic populism, dropped out of the Democratic presidential race Thursday, days after the onetime front-runner failed to win a single Super Tuesday state, not even her own.
For much of the past year, her campaign had all the markers of success, robust poll numbers, impressive fundraising and a sprawling political infrastructure that featured staffers on the ground across the country. But once voting began in February, she never found a reliable base of supporters as Democrats coalesced around Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, her progressive rival, and former Vice President Joe Biden, who established himself as the leading centrist in the race.
“I refuse to let disappointment blind me — or you — to what we’ve accomplished,“Warren told her campaign staff on a call Thursday. “We didn’t reach our goal, but what we have done together — what you have done — has made a lasting difference. It’s not the scale of the difference we wanted to make, but it matters.“
Warren’s exit leaves the Democratic field with just one female candidate: Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who has collected only one delegate toward the nomination.
Despite Warren’s disappointing finish, she offers the potential of a coveted endorsement to Sanders and Biden, who are effectively the last candidates in the Democratic contest. She spoke with both men on Wednesday, according to their campaigns.
She hasn’t made a decision and is assessing who would best uphold her agenda, according to a person familiar with her deliberations who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Warren’s campaign began with promise. Last summer, she drew tens of thousands of supporters to Manhattan’s Washington Square Park, a scene that was repeated in places like Washington state and Minnesota.
Warren’s poll numbers began to slip after a series of debates in which she repeatedly refused to answer direct questions about if she’d have to raise taxes on the middle class to pay for Medicare for All.