DERRY, New Hampshire — Elizabeth Warren expressed regret that minority women working for her 2020 Democratic presidential campaign in Nevada said they felt like tokens.
“I believe these women, completely and without reservation, and I apologize that they have had a bad experience on this campaign,” the Massachusetts senator told reporters after a rally in Derry, New Hampshire.
Warren, 70, added that she believed in building a “diverse and inclusive and open” organization that “lets everyone bring their whole self to work every day.”
“So, for me, this is about taking personal responsibility, which I do, and being determined that we will have accountability in this organization and keep doing better every day,” she said.
Six minority women have quit as members of Warren’s team since November, citing a toxic work environment cultivated among her staff of 70-odd people in Nevada, which hosts the third nominating contest on Feb. 22.
One woman, Megan Lewis, a field organizer from May to December, filed a complaint with human resources but told Politico, “The follow-up I received left me feeling as though I needed to make myself smaller or change who I was to fit into the office culture.” Lewis, however, will still caucus for Warren in two weeks.
Similar accusations rocked Pete Buttigieg’s campaign last week as the 37-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was touring Iowa ahead of the first-in-the-nation state’s botched caucuses. Buttigieg and Warren have both been scrutinized for their inability to connect with minority Democrats throughout the course of their White House bids.
Warren, who is on track to finish third in Iowa, was positive about her chances to perform well in New Hampshire on Feb. 11 despite higher expectations as a senator from a neighboring state.
