Elizabeth Warren vows to shun big money fundraisers in general election

Elizabeth Warren.
(Image credit: Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has a clarification to make.

Warren told CBS News on Tuesday evening that she will not attend big money fundraising events or accept money from mega-donors if she wins the Democratic primary. "Look, for me this is pretty straightforward," Warren said. "Either you think democracy works and electing a president is all about going behind closed doors with bazillionaires and corporate executives and lobbyists and scooping up as much money as possible. Or you think it's about a grassroots, let's build this from the ground up."

The New York Times notes that Warren's previous pledge to eschew major donations seemingly only applied to the primary, though her campaign said in a statement that her more recent comments weren't actually a reversal, but a clarification, and that the initial promise was "a little vague." The campaign also said Warren would ensure state and national parties "have the resources they need" if she's nominated.

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Small donations have worked out for Warren so far (though she has also relied on a transfer of funds from a previous Senate campaign). The senator raised $24.6 million in the last three months from more than 940,000 donors — Only Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) reeled in more. Read more at The New York Times.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.