Warren’s running hard, but for what?
Rivals: Liz snubs Mass. for prez try
Gushing Bay State Dems yesterday all but gave U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren the green light to launch her 2020 presidential campaign before she’s even been reelected to her Senate seat — despite outcry from opponents that Warren’s Oval Office jones is a higher priority than her constituents.
“Massachusetts has been a breeding ground for presidential candidates. It’s not a surprise that a U.S. senator from here might be interested,” said Phil Johnston, longtime Democratic consultant. “To some extent there’s some pride that voters in Massachusetts take in having a presidential candidate.”
But outraged Republicans say Warren’s political ambitions will leave local’s interests neglected.
“It couldn’t be more clear that she’s working for everybody in the Democratic Party across the country, and not for the people of Massachusetts,” said state Rep. Geoff Diehl (R-Whitman), who’s competing with GOP candidates Beth Lindstrom and John Kingston in the Sept. 4 primary to take on Warren.
The comments come as White House buzz again engulfed the freshman senator, who has recently delivered campaign-style speeches in Nevada and Utah even as three Republicans vie for her seat.
“Warren is in campaign mode. You need to put in the legwork, you can’t afford to let this year go by,” said Democratic strategist Mary Anne Marsh about Warren’s presidential ambitions. “If she runs she will be well-positioned, and she might be in a class by herself.”
Bounding for high office at the expense of one’s current electoral obligations is hardly unheard of in Massachusetts. Former U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry made no bones about considering a 2004 presidential run before he was re-elected to the Senate in 2002. Former Gov. Mitt Romney admitted in 2005 he was looking at a 2008 White House bid. Both were widely criticized for devoting more time to that than their jobs.
But Johnston said, “The higher you go, the more influence you have. The presidency is enormously powerful — I don’t think people object to that.”
But despite partisan enthusiasm and her own campaign’s actions, Warren loudly denied interest in the 2020 race to oust President Trump yesterday.
“I’m running for Senate in 2018 and I take nothing for granted,” Warren said when asked about a recent front-page New York Times article describing assertive steps toward a presidential run.
The Cambridge Democrat went even further to quell those rumors on national television earlier this year, telling CNN in March, “I am not running for president in 2020.”
Republican Senate candidate Lindstrom yesterday blasted Warren’s denials as duplicitous.
“Of course she’s running for president and it’s wrong to be dishonest with the people of Massachusetts about her plans,” Lindstrom said. “The problem is that Massachusetts is no longer her priority and that means she’ll vote against our interests if she thinks it helps her in 2020.”