Liz for president? Not so much, say Bay State voters

Does a little bit of Elizabeth Warren go a long way? Yes and no. That seems to be the consensus of those who know her best. At least that’s the take from the response to the latest poll of Massachusetts voters on the prospects of our senior senator’s presidential ambitions. In a University of Massachusetts/YouGov survey of probable Democratic presidential candidates, Warren, who’s all but said she’ll mount a presidential run in 2020, was only the third choice at 11 percent, trailing both former Vice President Joe Biden with 19 percent and failed presidential candidate Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders with 14 percent. Even Texas U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who recently lost a close U.S. Senate race to conservative Republican firebrand Ted Cruz, drew 10 percent. Another Bay State presidential wannabe, former Gov. Deval Patrick, registered a paltry 6 percent response. This poll reinforces Bay State voters’ previous tepid support of Warren’s higher aspirations. In a poll of likely Massachusetts voters released in September, the majority of those surveyed, 58 percent, didn’t think Warren should run for president. That contrasts with Warren’s overwhelming U.S. Senate reelection victory over Republican Geoff Diehl in November. Leading up to that election, a WBUR survey released in June of registered Massachusetts voters gave Warren a 53 percent favorability rating, along with an unusually high 33 percent unfavorable rating, especially for a sitting Democratic senator in such a blue state. Now some political analysts would say that at this early date, presidential polling is more about name recognition than allegiance to a particular candidate. But that wouldn’t even be a valid argument for a similar Warren result in a nationwide poll, never mind one conducted in her home state. No other prospective Democratic candidate has generated more national publicity than Warren, aided and abetted by her arch nemesis, President Trump, who continually adds fuel to the political fire by deriding her Native American ancestry claims. With an established national profile and a campaign war chest in the millions, Warren’s weak showing in her home state should be cause for concern. So, what are Massachusetts voters telling the rest of the country? Maybe they just want Warren to serve her full Senate term. But it’s also no secret that like Trump, Warren’s selfrighteous, abrasive style rubs people — even in her own party — the wrong way. A daily dose of her act on the presidential campaign trail could turn off as many voters as it attracts. Now 69, Warren would be 71 if she unseats Trump in 2020. For a party in search of younger, vibrant leaders, she doesn’t fit the profile. At least Warren’s handlers should now realize her presidency won’t be an easy sell. In this digital media landscape where style trumps substance, there’s only so much they can do to change their candidate’s image. A suddenly warm-andfuzzy Warren would be seen simply as a cynical political ploy. And even more galling to the Warren camp? She isn’t even the most popular Massachusetts politician. That distinction goes to a Republican no less, Gov. Charlie Baker. How would that play on the stump?