Warren Will Announce Candidacy Wednesday
Consumer advocate and Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren will announce Wednesday she is running against Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., after a brief exploratory period, finally giving national Democrats their preferred candidate against a well-funded and popular incumbent.
Warren's announcement, first reported by Huffington Post and confirmed to Hotline On Call by a Warren adviser, ends a none-too-secret exploration of the race. Since leaving the White House in early August, Warren has traveled the Commonwealth meeting with prominent Democrats.
"The pressures on middle class families are worse than ever, but it is the big corporations that get their way in Washington," said Warren in a statement obtained by Hotline On Call. "I want to change that. I will work my heart out to earn the trust of the people of Massachusetts."
Progressives have openly encouraged Warren to run against Brown, the implication being that none of the current contenders in the field have a chance to beat Brown. Recent surveys have shown Brown leading Warren by wide margins, but Democrats believe that with President Obama atop the ballot, Warren will have the wind at her back.
Republicans, meanwhile, will portray Warren as an out-of-touch Cambridge elite bent on bringing her liberal viewpoint to South Boston and the more conservative western part of the state. Brown has a huge fundraising lead, too; he ended the second quarter with more than $9.6 million on the in the bank.
Warren will also face a potentially competitive primary against philanthropist Alan Khazei, Newton Mayor Setti Warren and a number of other lesser-known Democrats. Though Warren will be the frontrunner, the fact that the Democratic primary will be held on September 18, just six weeks before Election Day, won't help heal any wounds a contentious primary could cause.
Warren will spend Wednesday meeting with voters in Boston, New Bedford, Framingham, Worcester and Springfield, Huffington Post's Sam Stein reported.
Join the Discussion
The National Journal Group has the right (but not the obligation) to monitor the comments and to remove any materials it deems inappropriate.
Comments powered by Disqus