Former President Barack Obama is nudging big donors to support Elizabeth Warren if she’s the 2020 Democratic nominee.
The Massachusetts senator has railed against wealthy donors, declining large checks from Democratic bundlers, and has refused to hold high-dollar fundraisers. The criticism has made the donor class hesitant to support her.
Stopping short of an endorsement, Obama has privately told them they must back her if she’s the nominee, according to the Hill.
Those around Obama said he worries Democrats employed in the financial sector “will have an issue her,” one ally said.
“He obviously thinks she’s very smart,” a Democratic donor said. “He thinks her policy ideas matter. And I think he sees her running the campaign with the most depth.”
A source close to Obama said the former president would stand up for any of the candidates in the same way he has for Warren, 70, in recent months.
Obama also emphasized that the nudging of donors was not an endorsement. Obama has said he won’t endorse a candidate in the Democratic primary.
His former vice president, Joe Biden, 77, and former Housing and Urban Development secretary, Julian Castro, 45, are also running for the nomination. Warren helped set up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2010 under Obama.
[Read more: ‘He knows absolutely nothing’: Obama hoped he would be a presidential resource for Trump]
