Why Elizabeth Warren's relative lack of endorsements might matter — and why it might not

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is now firmly considered one of the frontrunners in the Democratic presidential primary. But she hasn't picked up many endorsements for elected officials yet. Even Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Cory Booker (D-N.Y.), who have faded in the polls, are ahead of Warren, per FiveThirtyEight's endorsement metrics. But it might not matter all that much.

First of all, it may just be too early. Despite Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) picking up some key endorsements from Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), the progressive wing of the Democratic Party could just be holding out. "For the faction of elected Democrats who want the party to move to the left, the fact that both Warren and Sanders are in the race and polling in the double digits makes it tough — and somewhat politically risky — to publicly choose between them at this point in the process," said David Hopkins, a political scientist at Boston College.

Warren is also running a campaign focused on grassroots support, and FiveThirtyEight notes that the senator has won the support of activist groups like the Working Families Party. Indeed, there is an argument that she may be better off without mainstream Democratic support because of a surging anti-establishment attitude across the country.

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Yet, there is a flipside to that. Sure, Warren may never fit in completely with the establishment, but there is still a risk that party leaders could rally to "stop" her campaign if they prefer another candidate, FiveThirtyEight reports. So getting some of those endorsements may eventually prove important for whoever wins the nomination. Read more at FiveThirtyEight.