Elizabeth Warren: The Dems' best shot to oust Scott Brown?
The Left tries to recruit a progressive hero to win back the late Ted Kennedy's old Senate seat
![Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren won't head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau she created, but she is being wooed for another political job: Senator.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/wa72uBUwDVVCtKPzMwdiPQ-415-80.jpg)
President Obama didn't pick Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren to run the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau she created for him, but national Democrats still have big hopes for her political future. The Progressive Change Campaign has launched a petition drive to draft Warren to run against Republican Sen. Scott Brown in Massachusetts. Is Warren the Democrats' best hope to win back the seat long held by the late Ted Kennedy?
Warren is the perfect Democratic candidate: There is no guarantee progressives can get Warren to run, says Chris Bowers at Daily Kos. But it's worth a try. Deep-blue "Massachusetts is one of the top two Democratic pick up opportunities in the Senate next year," and Warren, one of the nation's top advocates for America's working and middle class, would stand a better chance than the Democrats' other options. "We need Elizabeth Warren to stay in the fight, and the Senate needs a fighter like Elizabeth Warren."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But she's not a proven politician: The Democrats do need a strong candidate to beat Scott Brown, says Aaron Blake at The Washington Post, but is Warren the one? "The jury's still out." Warren, despite all her work to protect consumers, "is still a Harvard professor who hasn't done retail politics before," and has trouble relating to regular folks. Brown is the one with the "everyman image (think: the pick-up truck ads)" that voters love.
"Is Elizabeth Warren the answer for Democrats in Mass.?"
And she may have trouble winning over moderates: Now that Obama has balked at nominating Warren to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, says The Wall Street Journal in an editorial, she won't have to defend her role in the attempts to "squeeze billions" out of mortgage lenders. Running for office would give her the opportunity to "test her views against popular opinion." But a March survey found that Brown would beat her by 17 percentage points, so it's already apparent what the state's voters think of this "great liberal hero."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Magazine solutions - August 2, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - August 2, 2024
By The Week Staff Published
-
Magazine printables - August 2, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - August 2, 2024
By The Week Staff Published
-
'In a normal country, their activities wouldn't even be crimes'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rejects challenge to CFPB
Speed Read The court rejected a conservative-backed challenge to the way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published