Elizabeth Warren performed abysmally in the New Hampshire primary, but you can’t blame sexism. Amy Klobuchar, never a front-runner in the 2020 race, came in a tight third place, outperforming both Warren and Joe Biden by 9 p.m. Tuesday night, with 31% of precincts reporting.
While the Warren campaign has frequently relied on the feminist card, especially against Bernie Sanders, it’s clear that the reason for her eventual failure won’t be sexism. It will be her own unpopularity with voters.
At least she can admit that there’s space for another woman in the 2020 race besides her. Warren took to the stage in New Hampshire on Tuesday night to congratulate “my friend and colleague Amy Klobuchar for showing just how wrong the pundits can be when they count a woman out.”
Klobuchar’s centrist rhetoric has won her fans who might’ve found Warren too left-wing and even too beloved by the establishment.
Klobuchar, on the other hand, has relied heavily on her Midwestern background — she’s a senator from Minnesota — and campaigned off her ability to reach voters across the aisle. Defying her peers, she said this week that she does believe the Democratic Party makes room for pro-life voters, in a marked shift from the rhetoric of candidates such as Pete Buttigieg.
When it comes to the economy, Klobuchar has been one of the only candidates to admit, “I am troubled by having a socialist lead our ticket.” Klobuchar attracts voters who are intimidated by the “Medicare for all,” student loan forgiveness, and other radical, big government policies supported by Warren.
Warren announced Tuesday night, “We will need a nominee that the broadest coalition of our party feels that they can get behind.” It’s clearly not her. (Good thing the New York Times covered its bases by endorsing both Warren and Klobuchar.)
Voters are ready to elect a female president. They’re just not that into Elizabeth Warren.
