Elizabeth Warren In Danger Of Losing Home State Of Massachusetts To Bernie Sanders, Says Poll

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was considered one of the Democratic frontrunners for months, but that changed in late 2019, with candidates such as former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont surging past her in the polls. Disappointing finishes in Iowa, where she came in third, and New Hampshire, where she came in fourth, seemingly cast even more doubt on her candidacy.

Warren has not indicated that she wants to drop out of the race, and her strong performance at Wednesday night’s Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas appears to have reinvigorated her campaign. What would have the opposite effect, however, is losing in her home state of Massachusetts. A new poll indicates that is a distinct possibility, according to The Hill.

In Massachusetts, which is one of the 14 states that will hold its primary on Super Tuesday, Sanders is polling at 21 percent. Warren is behind him at 20 percent, according to a poll conducted by University of Massachusetts Lowell. Buttigieg is in third place, polling at 15 percent, and former Vice President Joe Biden is in fourth at 14 percent.

Former mayor of New York City, billionaire Michael Bloomberg, is polling at 12 percent in Massachusetts. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota is in sixth place with 9 percent support. Notably, according to the poll, there still appears to be fluidity in the race, with 39 percent of respondents saying they could still change their mind.

As USA Today reports, Warren’s campaign appears to have taken note of the senator’s difficulties in her home state, deploying three members of Congress from Massachusetts — Reps. Lori Trahan, Jim McGovern and Ayanna Pressley — to canvas in the state together with state Attorney General Maura Healey.

According to Joshua Dyck, director of the UMASS Lowell Center for Public Opinion, Sanders’ support is growing across the country because he is now the national frontrunner.

“What we’re seeing when we look at Massachusetts and other Super Tuesday states is that Sanders is in that range of 21% to about 25% in all of these states. So, Sanders is showing the strength of a national frontrunner who isn’t pulling away but is basically polling well everywhere.”

Furthermore, according to Dyck, Warren is “contending with the fact that liberal voters, progressive voters, and young voters who are drawn to her campaign are also drawn to Sen. Sanders’ campaign.”

It remains to be seen whether Warren’s strong performance at the debate earlier this week will have an impact on her standing in Nevada, which votes Saturday. According to a post-debate survey from Morning Consult, since Wednesday, Warren’s support has increased two percentage points nationally.