To some liberal Democrats, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is the perfect messenger for 2016’s presidential election, not Hillary Clinton.
But asked on Tuesday whether Clinton is the right spokesperson for liberal issues in 2016, Warren urged people to give the former secretary of state a little time to outline her platform.
“I think we need to give her a chance, if she is going to run, and to declare,” Warren said on NBC’s “Today” on Tuesday. “And to lay out what she wants to run on. I think that is her opportunity to” champion issues the senators feels are important.
Warren continued: “I think that everyone needs to be talking about in every race in ever part of this country about how it is that we build a future. Because right now, Washington is working great for those who have money and power. … It is just not working so great for the American people, for real families and that is why we have to make a change.”
A handful of liberal groups who aren’t thrilled by the idea of a Clinton candidacy have backed a Warren run and started multiple draft campaigns to show the senator the kind of support she would enjoy. But the efforts have failed to move the needle for Warren, who said for the umpteenth time Tuesday that she was not going to run for president in 2016 and never considered a bid.
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“No. I am not running and I am not going to run,” Warren said, adding that she is focused on “working on the issues the people of Massachusetts sent me to work on.”
Liberals want Clinton to be a vocal champion for issues like Wall Street reform, the environment and leveling the playing field for lower and middle class families. The former first lady has spoken out on a number of those issues in the past, but liberals want to see action, not just words, and are concerned with Clinton’s close ties to America’s largest financial institutions.
Despite swatting away calls for her to run – and the fact that most presidential polls show her in the low double digits – Warren will still be a 2016 power broker.
Clinton – who is expected to announce her presidential bid early next month – has sought advice from the Massachusetts senator “several times” in the last year, a source with knowledge of Clinton’s plans told CNN in February, a sign of how important Warren’s wing of the Democratic party is to the foundation of a would-be presidential bid for the former secretary of state.