Don’t Trust Elizabeth Warren’s Big-Donor Ban
Warren was courting megadonors last year, and says she’ll do it again if she wins the primary. But working people deserve leaders willing to make enemies in high places — for life.
Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren speaks during the New Hampshire Democratic Party Convention at the SNHU Arena on September 7, 2019 in Manchester, New Hampshire. (Scott Eisen / Getty Images)
Yesterday, the New York Times reported a fact that’s been circulating in quieter corners of the internet for a while: Elizabeth Warren is partially funding her presidential campaign with money raised from wealthy megadonors throughout 2018.
When she announced her presidential campaign this year, Warren promised to eschew the traditional top-dollar donor circuit. But, as Shane Goldmacher points out, “Last winter and spring, she transferred $10.4 million in leftover funds from her 2018 Senate campaign to underwrite her 2020 run, a portion of which was raised from the same donor class she is now running against.”
Her campaign treasurer, meanwhile, is “a key benefactor and rainmaker for Democratic political committees” with a fat Rolodex of wealthy liberal super-PAC donors. Add to this the fact that Warren has stated clearly that she’ll drop her big-donor ban during the general election if she wins the primary, and a picture starts to emerge of a candidate who is not particularly committed to keeping the donor class at arm’s length.
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.