Warren poised to break out, AOC endorsement could derail Sanders

Democrat Elizabeth Warren’s once-floundering 2020 presidential campaign has been declared back by the media, and her bid to win the endorsement of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appears on track and threatening the No. 2 position of Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Several media outlets have reported that the Massachusetts senator is breaking away from the middle and bottom of the 2020 pack and she is winning more support from liberals and progressives than Sanders.

In the past month she has won several unofficial endorsements from Ocasio-Cortez, and the two even cut a “Game of Thrones” video posted on Twitter. The media-savvy New York lawmaker has also defended Warren over high legal fees she charged and backed a tech company breakup plan pushed by Warren.

One longtime Warren watcher said that it appears the senator’s campaign to win the official endorsement from the darling of progressives is on track.

“The AOC endorsement could be the coup d’état for the heart and soul of the restless left wing base Warren is courting,” said the Warren watcher.

It would likely undermine the campaign of Sanders, who has long considered himself the leader of progressives and liberals, said another analyst.

[Also read: 'I don't do polls': Elizabeth Warren says her policy proposals come from the heart]

The recent rise of Warren, detailed in new media reports, is coming at the expense of Sanders, who is No. 2 behind former Vice President Joe Biden.

The New York Times today noted her rise and cited a Quinnipiac University survey in which she was the top candidate among “very liberal” voters by 8 points over Sanders.

And The Hill declared her the No. 3 Democrat in the primary race, and rising. The paper said that she has momentum. “Warren is snapping at Sanders’s heels. If she were to supplant him as the leading progressive candidate, the landscape of the race would shift,” said The Hill.