Warren shows off broad setup despite drop in polls

Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou, Tribune News Service

Elizabeth Warren’s campaign sought to reassure supporters that she has the resources to sustain her candidacy after Super Tuesday despite recent drops in her polling in early-voting states.

She touted her broad organisation and vowed to use it to support down-ballot Democrats around the country whose backing could help her win the primary.

Almost two weeks ahead of the Iowa caucuses, Warren is stuck in a tight race for the top in most early state polls. In national polls she’s in third place, trailing Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. In Iowa and New Hampshire, she is essentially tied with Pete Buttiegig for third place after once being the favorite.

“For the last 13 months we have built and executed our plan to win,” campaign manager Roger Lau said. “We expect this to be a long nomination fight and have built our campaign to sustain well past Super Tuesday and stay resilient no matter what breathless media narratives come when voting begins.”

The campaign announced it had more than 1,000 staff members in 31 states and the District of Columbia, and more than 100 field offices across the country. Democrats in Iowa and New Hampshire attest to the fact that Warren has built one of the strongest ground games in the early states. And Lau vowed to have organisers in every state and US territory in time for the Democratic National Convention in July.

In the 10-page memo the campaign outlines how Warren has built a “robust organizing program.” Her aides say that if she wins the nomination, the campaign would focus its resources on helping secure the entire Democratic ticket. They want to expand the Democratic majority in the House, take control of the Senate and help win key state legislative races.

“It doesn’t matter whether your state is ‘solid’ red or blue for the presidential vote, or your Senate race or congressional district is ‘safe’ Democratic or Republican,” Lau said. “We need to have their backs.”

Warren has campaigned on a message of tackling corruption in Washington and returning power to working people. She’s released a variety of ambitious policy proposals — including a $20.5 trillion “Medicare for All” plan, a 2% wealth levy on America’s richest and abolishing the filibuster — all of which would struggle to see the light of day under a Republican-held Senate.

Throughout January, Warren stepped up efforts to assure voters that she can unite the Democratic Party, seeking to put to rest questions about her electability and her ability to build a coalition to defeat President Donald Trump. Warren touted her endorsement from former presidential candidate Julian Castro. She played upon some strong moments in the Iowa debate earlier this month — centered around her feud with Sanders about whether a woman can beat Trump.

Those efforts came after a slip in the polls at the end of last year, which also translated into a fundraising dip in the fourth quarter of 2019. Warren raised less money than her top rivals.

Warren has shunned high-dollar fundraisers, and instead relied on small, grassroots donations to fuel her candidacy. In the memo, the campaign said that it received its 3 millionth donation this week, making Warren the fastest first-time candidate to reach that milestone _ beating Sanders’ 2016 record by one week.

The campaign is also keeping an eye on the Electoral College. In 2016, Hillary Clinton lost the White House despite winning the popular vote because Trump secured the Electoral College, and Warren’s campaign wants to prevent a repeat. The campaign said it would focus its efforts to “foreclose any path” for Trump to win the electoral vote, including maintaining staff and offices in states like Iowa after the caucuses.