Warren turns the page, moves on
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign suffered a major setback in New Hampshire where she finished out of the top three primary slots, forcing her to aim for Super Tuesday instead.
Warren wasted little time Tuesday night acknowledging her defeat and congratulating Democratic rivals U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
“It is clear that Sen. Sanders and Mayor Buttigieg had strong nights. And I also want to congratulate my friend and colleague Amy Klobuchar for showing just how wrong the pundits can be when they count a woman out,” Warren said to hundreds of supporters at the Executive Health and Sports Complex in Manchester.
Even before the polls closed, Warren’s campaign was shifting focus to Super Tuesday on March 3 — a slate of 14 states, including
Massachusetts, which offer significantly more delegates.
“We might be headed for another one of those long primary fights that lasts for months,” Warren told the crowd.
Sanders and Buttigieg each “would be a far better president than Donald Trump,” Warren said.
But she warned against the negatively recently employed by their campaigns.
“These harsh tactics might work if you’re willing to burn down the rest of the party in order to be the last man standing,” Warren said. “But if we’re going to beat Donald Trump in November, we are going to need huge turnout within our party, and to get that turnout, we will need a nominee that the broadest coalition of our party feels they can get behind.”
Warren still believes she’s the unity candidate. She said her campaign “is built for the long haul.” She stayed for her signature “selfie line” and was all smiles delivering Dunkin’ to her volunteers at the polls earlier in the day.
But her much-lauded ground game, which fell short in Iowa, faltered again Tuesday in New Hampshire, Warren’s once-ascendant campaign suffering along with it.
There were signs of discontent Tuesday. Warren jabbed at former Vice President Joe Biden for decamping early to South Carolina, telling reporters in Nashua, “I think it says that he’s not here to fight for the votes in
New Hampshire.”
Her campaign manager, Roger Lau, released a stinging strategy memo highlighting the weaknesses of Sanders, Buttigieg, Biden and Klobuchar in order to promote Warren’s own electability.
“No amount of spin and hyperventilation can change the delegate math,” Lau wrote.
Warren’s supporters were disappointed but resilient.
“I was hoping for a better outcome,” said Jordan Thompson of Nashua, N.H.
“It was always going to be difficult in New Hampshire. There are many more races to be fought.”
Christine Pattison of Bedford,
N.H., said, “I feel really good about her. She has such a strong ground game. We’ll see what happens after that.”