ROCHESTER, N.H. — Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is experiencing a poll resurgence and a renewed media spotlight. Now comes the hard part: turning her “I have a plan for that” slogan into votes in must-win New Hampshire.
The first major Democratic candidate out of the gate, Warren, 69, a second-term U.S. senator for Massachusetts, now has 22 other contenders vying for the chance to take on President Trump in November next year.
After ignoring her for a while following a series of mocking diatribes against “Pocahontas,” a reference to an ill-advised attempt to label herself Native American, Trump paid her the compliment last week of branding the former Harvard Law professor “an angry person.”
Warren has taken her “structural change” platform aimed at tackling corruption and leveling out economic inequality to 18 states, plus Puerto Rico. After a shaky start, she has solidified her position in polls behind former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
She trails the two septuagenarians by a distance and runs close to South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., but the liberal firebrand is well placed at this early stage, especially if Sanders, an ideological kindred spirit, falters.
During a two-day swing of New Hampshire last weekend, a stone’s throw from the Oklahoma native’s new home in Cambridge, Mass., voters told the Washington Examiner they believe enthusiasm was building in Warren’s favor.
At the Rockingham County Democrats’ annual clambake fundraiser in Portsmouth, N.H., state party Chairman Ray Buckley called her a voice “of hope” and thanked her for “being there” for local candidates up and down the ballot with money and manpower. In exchange, she referred to her New Hampshire supporters as “family.”
Though Sierran Lucie, 34, donning a pink Planned Parenthood T-shirt, was uncommitted to a presidential contender, the Rochester meet-and-greet was her second for Warren. The Portsmouth academic adviser said it’s the senator’s economic policies that resonate with her given the escalating cost of living.
Taylor Poro, 31, an electrical technician from Rochester who prefers Warren and Harris, said Warren’s rollout of idea after idea, leading to her “I have a plan for that” catchphrase, has distinguished her in a crowded primary field while others have been more timid in taking a stand.
Pollster John Zogby sounded a note of caution. “First of all, in New Hampshire, she should be doing better than she is. She’s from the next-door state and has automatic name recognition. In terms of nationwide, she’s been getting good publicity on the issues and no bad publicity or blowback,” Zogby told the Washington Examiner.
“She’s still in the mix, though. Expectations are higher for her since she had a moment four years ago as a possible progressive alternative to Hillary Clinton, but perhaps that moment has come and gone.”
Democratic strategist Brad Bannon said some of Biden and Sanders’ support was “soft” and neither man could take their current poll dominance for granted. “One of the other candidates will come out of dust and be a real player once their name recognition improves,” he said.
“Warren’s bold issue proposals have really helped her and got her a Time magazine cover. At least 60% of the Democratic primary voters will be women, which gives Warren and Harris a big edge. To win, though, Warren will have to beat Bernie in New Hampshire. Only one of them can survive the battle in the Granite State. I think Warren will position herself as the idea candidate and as Bernie without the baggage.”
Warren averages 8.5% of the national vote, putting her in third place, according to RealClearPolitics polling data. She slips to fourth position in New Hampshire-specific polls, with 8% support.
