Will Warren Endorse a Candidate? She Has a Few Options

Her political future is also a subject of interest, given her passionate following of voters nationwide and the possibility that she could run for president again. Here are some of the choices that Warren could consider in the coming days.

Does she endorse Sanders?

Warren was a liberal ally of Sanders for much of the race, aligning herself with him and some of their shared priorities, like “Medicare for All.” Many progressives are eager for her help in coalescing support behind the Vermont senator, just as moderates have largely united behind Biden.

But in January, their relationship appeared to cool after she confirmed a report that Sanders had told her in private that he did not believe a woman could win the presidency in 2020. He denied that at a debate, to which she replied afterward, “I think you called me a liar on national TV.” She and her allies faced a torrent of backlash online from supporters of Sanders, and while he has condemned such vitriol, some Warren voters are wary of boosting the Vermont senator’s campaign.

While Warren, 70, is more ideologically aligned with Sanders than she is with Biden, that doesn’t apply to all of her supporters. Many are college-educated women who were drawn to Warren for her energetic, intellectual style and long list of credentials. While her supporters generally embraced her leftward message, some may be uncomfortable with Sanders’ calls for political revolution.

“I do not think it’s a foregone conclusion they all go to Bernie,” said Jess Morales Rocketto, a progressive strategist who worked on Hillary Clinton’s campaign. “Or that even if Warren endorses Bernie, that all of her voters consolidate. Some of them might go with Joe Biden. More of them than people understand are up for grabs. This is a close race. Candidates should work hard to get their vote.”

Does she endorse Biden?

Warren and Biden have had strong, long-standing disagreements over issues ranging from bankruptcy law to health care. In the fall, they traded sharp words more directly: He cast her as a “my way or the highway” elitist, and she suggested he was running in the wrong party. And they hold fundamentally different views about how to govern in Washington: She has called for “big, structural change,” and he has advocated a more incremental approach rooted in bipartisan compromise.

An endorsement of Biden would be deeply disappointing to some of her supporters who relish her persona as a “fighter.”

“Progressives are going to want her to back the progressive,” said Rebecca Kirszner Katz, a veteran Democratic strategist. “This is a movement she has always been part of. They will want her to continue to be a leader in that movement.”

Yet a central part of Biden’s pitch is that he could defeat President Donald Trump and help Democrats running in tough down-ballot races, with an eye on reclaiming the Senate. That plan faces many hurdles — but if it worked, an endorsement of Biden now could make Warren an enormously influential figure in Washington down the road, with real political capital on hand.

“Elizabeth Warren is a very logical progressive,” Katz said. “She’s always wanted to get her policies enacted. My guess is, she’s looking at all the numbers right now and seeing the best way to get her goals accomplished.”

Does she endorse no one?

If Warren sees both Biden and Sanders as deeply flawed, she could sit out the primary and promise to strongly support the eventual Democratic nominee. That decision could set Warren up to be a unifying figure later — but it could also be seen as a rebuke to Sanders. Still, neutrality is the route a number of other prominent former presidential candidates have taken so far, including Sens. Kamala Harris and Cory Booker.

“She doesn’t owe anyone anything,” Morales Rocketto said. “She should take her sweet time.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times .