Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Joe Biden’s (D) former progressive challenger who remains in the running for vice president, has hauled in millions of dollars for her former political challenger, despite previously dismissing him as part of the status quo and warning voters that nominating him would pose a “big risk” for the Democrat Party.
Warren, who blasted Biden as someone who will “not meet this moment,” has raised the most for the former vice president of any of her counterparts, boasting $7.7 million to date and raising $6 million at a June fundraiser alone.
According to Politico, Warren has also assisted Biden by sending out emails to her small-donor list. Yet, during the presidential primary, Warren blasted high-dollar fundraisers, constantly touting the power of her small, grassroots movement and taking aim at her competitors — like former Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) — for courting big donors, as she also had done in past campaigns. In 2018, Warren held a winery fundraiser in 2018 with perks for big donors — the very type of political hobnobbing she demonized throughout her own campaign.
Despite that, she is pulling heavy weight for Biden, who has largely remained out of the public eye, residing in the confines of his basement. She and Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) are expected to hold another fundraising event for Biden on Tuesday. Tickets range from $250 to $25,000, according to Politico.
Even during her own campaign, Warren largely refused to address embracing high-dollar fundraisers in the event of sealing the Democrat nomination. Last October, a reporter asked the senator if she would urge her running mate to “also try and avoid those high-dollar fundraisers as well.”
Warren waffled, dismissing the inquiry as “a little premature” but emphasizing that she would seek someone “who’s going to get out there and fight for the same values”:
Biden is expected to announce his running mate in the coming days, and Warren’s ability to garner millions for the campaign could play into his final decision. He has committed to choosing a woman, with Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), former National Security Advisor Susan Rice, and Warren all emerging to the forefront. However, many progressive personalities believe Biden should choose a woman of color as a running mate, which would effectively take Warren out of the running, despite her falsely claiming minority status as a Native American for years.
Warren positioned herself to the left of Biden during the primary race — a status some believe could help bridge the ideological gap between ultra-progressive Democrats and moderates within the party. Nevertheless, not all progressives are on board with Warren, particularly those who fervently supported Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and his call for a political revolution.
Throughout the primary, Sanders supporters accused Warren of riding on Sanders’ coattails, offering a progressive-lite version of his proposals. She sparked further divide after refusing to drop out of the race prior to Super Tuesday, which Sanders supporters believe hurt the Vermont senator. Moreover, Warren did not back Sanders after dropping out of the race, opting to endorse Biden after Sanders dropped out.
“In this moment of crisis, it’s more important than ever that the next president restores Americans’ faith in good, effective government—and I’ve seen Joe Biden help our nation rebuild. Today, I’m proud to endorse @JoeBiden as President of the United States,” Warren said in April, just one month after bashing the former vice president:
In this moment of crisis, it’s more important than ever that the next president restores Americans’ faith in good, effective government—and I’ve seen Joe Biden help our nation rebuild. Today, I’m proud to endorse @JoeBiden as President of the United States. pic.twitter.com/VrfBtJvFee
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) April 15, 2020
Responding to the flurry of endorsements Biden landed, Warren told supporters in March, “No matter how many Washington insiders tell you to support him, nominating their fellow Washington insider will not meet this moment.”
“Nominating a man who says we do not need any fundamental change in this country will not meet this moment,” she added, describing him as someone who wants to “restore the world before Donald Trump, when the status quo has been leaving more and more people behind for decades” and calling it a “big risk for our party and our country.”
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