Elizabeth Warren Endorses A Slew of Women In 2020 Races, But Not The Squad

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., endorsed 20 down-ballot women Democratic candidates Wednesday (April 22), but who she did not endorse stands out as much as who she did.

While Warren backed candidates more palatable to Democratic leadership like Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., Candace Valenzuela, D-Texas, and Katie Porter, D-Calif., she left out many candidates on the progressive left, including all four members of 'The Squad.' Interestingly, revealing a split among the Progressives, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., sent out a fundraising e-mail this week asking his email subscribers to donate to The Squad.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., one of the members of The Squad, had endorsed Warren during the Democratic primary, and the lack of return endorsement for her can be explained by the fact that Rep. Pressley faces no opponent in either this year’s Democratic primary or general election.

However, that is not the case for the other three members of The Squad. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is facing a Wall Street-backed challenger in the Democratic primary, and while her deep blue district makes her a heavy favorite against any Republican in November, she is still facing a very motivated opposition in the fall.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., was also not endorsed by Warren, and she is running against a powerful local Democrat, City Council member Brenda Jones. Like Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Tlaib represents a deep blue district she is likely to win should she emerge victorious from the Democratic primary.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., did not make Warren’s endorsement list either, and she also faces motivated opposition from the Democratic mainstream in her Democratic primary. Like all other members of The Squad, she has a very easy path to reelection in the general election given how far her district leans left.

While there is no official explanation for why Warren left out members of The Squad and other major figures in the Congressional Progressive Caucus, like Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., there is plenty of speculation as to why, especially on the progressive left.

The fact that all these women represent safe Democratic districts makes a Warren endorsement far less impactful, but the fact that all but Rep. Pressley face motivated opposition from inside the Democratic Party cannot be divorced from this non-move. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee unveiled a loyalty pledge last year that includes a “provision that made clear it will neither contract with nor recommend to House candidates any political vendors that work to oust sitting members of Congress.”

Ocasio-Cortez and Pressley ousted sitting Democratic members of Congress in 2018, and their election along with those of Omar and Tlaib brought the progressive insurrection to the doorstep of Democratic leadership, particularly Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s victory over former Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., who was widely presumed to be the successor to Democratic Speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

It’s quite possible that Warren is avoiding conflict with those powerful forces in the party behind the loyalty pledge. And instead of openly supporting the progressive left, she could be opting to take a politically expedient path that is far more deferential to the Democratic status quo than The Squad’s brand of politics.