Elizabeth Warren believes Bernie Sanders’s insistence that the 2020 Democratic nomination should go to the candidate with a plurality of delegates at the national convention, not a majority as required by party rules, is fueled purely by self-interest.
Warren, 70, was asked Wednesday why she and the other contenders on the Nevada debate stage other than Sanders last week asserted they would deny the “will” of Democrats by referring to the party’s convention rules. That would involve selecting someone other than the hopeful with the most delegates at the July convention in Milwaukee to become the party standard-bearer who will run against President Trump.
“That was Bernie’s position in 2016, that it should not go to the person who had a plurality,” she said late Wednesday during the CNN South Carolina town hall to push back from the questioner.
During the 2016 Democratic nomination fight, Sanders was the runner-up to Hillary Clinton. Yet his forces felt jilted by Democratic National Committee rules, which they contended were rigged in their rival’s favor. DNC rules now state that the nomination goes to the person with a majority, not a plurality of delegates. If nobody from a primary field can claim a majority, a nomination fight could in theory be thrown open to others who didn’t run that year.
The Massachusetts senator told the live studio audience her Vermont colleague, ideological ally, and increasingly her political foil “had a big hand in writing these rules.”
“So, the way I see this is you write the rules before you know where everybody stands, and then you stick with those rules,” she said.
The former Harvard Law School professor added, “Everybody got in the race thinking that was the set of rules. I don’t see how come you get to change it just because he now thinks there is an advantage to him for doing that.”
Warren was adamant she would continue her fight for the nomination even if a fellow candidate arrived at this summer’s convention with more delegates “because a lot of people made $5 contributions” to her campaign.
“And as long as they want me to stay in this race, I’m staying in this race,” she said.
But Warren, last summer’s front-runner, has a steep climb to even become competitive amid Saturday’s South Carolina primary and Super Tuesday on March 3.
Among the 14 states in which Democrats will weigh in on who they want to give their party’s nod is Massachusetts, Warren’s home state. However, with Sanders also polling well there, she twice refused to admit whether it was a must-win contest for her.
“Look, I’m here fighting for every vote,” she said.
With two days to go before South Carolina Democrats cast their ballots, the senator is lagging in fourth place with an average of 8.8% of the vote, according to RealClearPolitics data. In comparison, former Vice President Joe Biden leads the field with an average of 31.4% support.
