Bernie Sanders says Elizabeth Warren could have helped him win the 2020 primary but 'chose not to' by withholding her endorsement
Win McNamee/Getty Images; Hollis Johnson/Insider
- Sen. Bernie Sanders says Sen. Elizabeth Warren's nod could have helped him win in 2020.
- Her endorsement ahead of Super Tuesday "could have been significant," he wrote in his new book.
- Those contests in March 2020 followed a major feud that erupted months earlier between Sanders and Warren.
Sen. Bernie Sanders says fellow progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren could have helped him win the 2020 Democratic presidential primary but "chose not to."
In his new book, Sanders revisits his former rival's decision to remain in the race for the nomination ahead of Super Tuesday — thus, dividing the progressive vote — rather than dropping out and endorsing him.
"Despite poor showings in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, Warren chose to stay in the race," Sanders wrote in "It's OK To Be Angry About Capitalism," to be released on February 21. "I was closer to her on the issues than any other candidate. But, at a point where her endorsement could have been significant in a number of Super Tuesday states, she chose not to give it."
Those contests in March 2020 followed a major feud that erupted months earlier between Sanders and Warren over whether he told her during a private meeting in 2018 that he thought a woman couldn't win in 2020. Sanders denied the allegation, calling it "incomprehensible" during a debate. Warren said she "disagreed," at the time, with his assessment.
Sanders' book doesn't address that background but notes that progressive voters continued to be divided between him and Warren before Super Tuesday and that she dropped out of the race shortly after those contests.
Meanwhile, he wrote that "the establishment struck" ahead of Super Tuesday, with moderates Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar dropping out and endorsing Biden.
"The establishment had succeeded in uniting, in support of Biden, the candidates who had been dividing up the moderate vote," he wrote. Biden's victories that day in Texas, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Minnesota gave him a "huge boost."
"Our campaign, which days earlier had been expected to win the most delegates on Super Tuesday, was suddenly trailing," he wrote. "Biden had the lead, and the momentum."