‘She Feels Like My Neighbor’: Elizabeth Warren Is Winning Support By Not Acting Like A Politician
Despite a reputation as a policy wonk earned over the years, presidential hopeful Senator Elizabeth Warren seems to be striking a chord with everyday voters around the country as she makes the rounds for the Democratic primary race, Business Insider reports. Those who have followed Warren throughout her political career may find themselves surprised that the Massachusetts senator seems to be excelling at the personal touch, when, to date, she has largely made a name for herself through specific and detailed policy proposals, not folksy glad handing on the campaign trail.
Nonetheless, Warren seems to be proving herself a relatable and down-to-earth campaigner, making inroads even deep in MAGA country, where Donald Trump decisively carried the day in 2016.
“She feels like she’s one of us,” said Stephanie Dicken, 50, of Denver, Iowa, after a Warren event. “She doesn’t feel like she’s a politician who has so much more information and her life is so completely different than mine. She feels like my neighbor.”
Passion alone, however, isn’t enough. And Warren, as well as her advisors, know it.
If ever they were going to forget it, polls are an ever-present reminder, with Warren reliably trailing behind Democratic frontrunners former Vice President Joe Biden and two-time presidential hopeful Senator Bernie Sanders.
No other top 2020 contender comes close to the depth or breadth of Warren’s policy portfolio. https://t.co/iNdpg2UZ4O
— Slate (@Slate) May 10, 2019
With a crowded 21-candidate primary field to contend with, strategy is everything for Warren going forward, as it is for every other Democratic contender who hopes to be the party’s choice to go up against President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.
“I expect her to be someone who, if she can calibrate her operation with the resources available to her, she’ll continue to do well,” said Matt Paul, who led Hillary Clinton’s winning 2016 primary contest in Iowa. Paul pointed out that with Biden and Sanders duking it out between the top two spots, for one of the other hopefuls, it could mean “a big opportunity for one of the other candidates to drive a truck through.”
Potentially standing in Warren’s way when it comes to taking the top spot is her bold, firmly leftist proposals which could potentially alienate more middle-of-the-road voters within the Democratic Party. But ultimately, polls continue to show that it isn’t ideology, nor personality, that will drive their decision this time around. Instead, they are looking for who they think can defeat Trump in 2020.
Whether Warren is that candidate, in the minds and hearts of Democratic voters, remains to be seen.
