Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) officially announced on February 9 that she is running for the Democratic nomination for US president in 2020, putting months of speculation to rest. As someone known for being a more progressive policy wonk, she needs to attract voters while being in between popular progressive firebrands like Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and relative moderates like Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Warren's plan of releasing a new policy proposal nearly every week has succeeded in dominating the news cycle and supporting her poll numbers.

Warren was born in 1949 to a middle class family in Oklahoma City. She met her husband Jim Warren in high school. She attended the University of Houston and studied speech pathology and audiology. Then she attended Rutgers Law School and became a lawyer for a while. In 1978, she began her academic career as a lecturer at Rutgers. Then she taught law at the University of Texas and the University of Pennsylvania. In 1995, she transitioned to Harvard Law School with an expertise in bankruptcy and commercial law. She taught at Harvard until her run for US Senate in 2012, and she easily won reelection in 2018. As Senator, Warren serves on the Armed Services, Banking, and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committees.

Warren's platform has five main pillars: End corruption, rebuild the middle class, strengthen democracy, equal justice under law, and smart foreign policy. Her anti-corruption proposal includes closing lobbying loopholes and the revolving door between the public and private sectors, banning former Congresspeople from becoming lobbyists, and requiring federal candidates to release tax returns. Her middle class platform includes antitrust enforcement against big corporations, an ultra-millionaires wealth tax, a housing plan, universal childcare and Medicare for all, a Green New Deal, and student loan debt relief. Her democracy plank includes prohibiting gerrymandering, overturning Citizens United, automatic voter registration, and protecting elections from foreign interference. She supports criminal justice reform, marijuana decriminalization, and police demilitarization. Her foreign policy calls for bringing the troops home, cutting defense contractor expenses, and strengthening ties with allies.

One of the Democratic Party's most prolific policy wonks, Warren continues to release many proposals during her presidential campaign, keeping the political media focused on her. But she also has many challenges as an older candidate in a crowd of younger faces. President Donald Trump likes to attack her. Progressive voters are inclined to choose Bernie, moderate voters have many options, and identity voters prefer Buttigieg or Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA). Still, Warren polls third in many polls, and many voters remain undecided. If Warren can successfully promote her policies on the debate stage, then millions more Americans could cast their vote for her.

© Chuck Kennedy for Warren 2020