Many people (yours truly included) thought that Elizabeth Warren might enter the 2016 presidential race at some point. The rock star turn that Bernie Sanders did with the young Democrats made that unnecessary, as even the Democrats can only handle so many progressives from the insane left fringe in one race.
Challengers are already emerging to face Warren when she defends her Senate seat next year, but whichever one prevails is going to be facing an incumbent who has a lot to spend:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, one of the Democratic Party’s most prolific fundraisers, delivered another strong fundraising haul for the second quarter of 2017.
According to new numbers provided by her campaign to POLITICO, Warren raised $3.45 million between April and June, bringing her total cash on hand to $11.03 million. It’s the highest second-quarter fundraising haul announced so far, and follows a record-breaking first quarter which saw Warren bring in more money than any other Democratic Senate candidate.
Warren’s campaign notes a significant number of donations, 9,377 to be exact, came from Massachusetts residents — a statistic Warren touted on Twitter Tuesday afternoon, and similarly promoted after her first quarter numbers were released. The strong in-state representation could help parry Republican criticism that Warren is more interested in out-of-state activities than her constituents.
Much has been made of California’s junior senator — Kamala Harris — in recent months because she’s been doing well raising money for other candidates. Her recent success in that department has even led to some speculation about Harris as a potential 2020 candidate, although Dianne Feinstein recently sought to calm that talk down.
If Harris’s brief flash of money-hauling success is enough to fuel presidential speculation, surely Warren’s sustained ability to do so should make her a serious contender.
The question is how the Democrats would manage it if both Sanders and Warren decided to run. It’s problematic even if Bernie doesn’t decide to briefly become a Democrat if he runs again. They’re both going after precisely the same slice of the electoral pie.
Warren may not have hinted that she would be interested in a 2020 run, but she has been a national figure for the Democrats almost since she was elected. And money attracts money, especially in politics. If she can bring in this much on her own, the big-spending donors may begin to fancy her very early on in the process, making things difficult for other candidates.
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