Bernie Sanders Supporters Blame Elizabeth Warren Endorsement Controversy For Super Tuesday Defeat

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ supports have blamed Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s support, or lack thereof, for his defeat Super Tuesday. Following the Tuesday election contests, a wave of social media posts said Warren’s refusal to endorse a Democratic candidate is responsible for Sanders’ narrow loss in the Massachusetts primary race.

Sanders grabbed 48.7 percent of the vote, while former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received 50.1 percent support in the state Tuesday evening. Experts said that Warren, a popular progressive politician, could have swayed votes, but she declined to throw her weight behind a candidate before the primary.

“There are a lot of people who will be listening very carefully to how she feels about the race,” Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii told the Associated Press.

Supporters took to social media to put the Massachusetts senator on blast. “When it really counted, Elizabeth Warren did not have the courage to publicly endorse Bernie Sanders. We’ll remember that,” wrote one Twitter user.

Sources told Politico that the Massachusetts senator is waiting for the point in the campaign when her endorsement would carry the most weight. In the meantime, the Clinton team has aggressively vied for her support, staying in contact with her office.

“The longer she holds out, the more it will push all the candidates, especially those who might not be as good on her issues, to be as strong as possible on them,” Neil Sroka, a spokesman for the progressive group Democracy for America, told the Washington Post. “She holds on to that power as long as the candidates continue to vie for her endorsement. In turn, that makes the candidates better for progressives. Everything about Warren suggests that this is her ultimate concern: How do we get our Democratic nominee to be as strong as possible in the fight against income inequality and for Wall Street accountability?”

While Warren has yet to make any official endorsement, a fake New York Times article circulated the Internet Monday with the headline “Warren Endorses Sanders, Breaking with Colleagues.”

“An article circulating on social media tonight that is made to resemble a New York Times story and says Elizabeth Warren endorsed Bernie Sanders is a fake and has no connection to the Times,” said Matthew Purdy, a deputy executive editor of the New York Times. “The article posted on a website unaffiliated with the New York Times has since been taken down.”

Warren's name was floated as a potential presidential candidate throughout the election season. “I’m not running, and I’m not going to run,” Warren said in March 2015. “I’m in Washington. I’ve got this really great job and a chance to make a difference on things that really matter.”