On March 4th, 2020, as a staunch supporter of Elizabeth Warren who had convinced my family and friends that a woman – this woman – was electable, and after many of them came aboard, I felt obligated to reach out and ask them if they were alright; in all honesty, this was as much for me as it was for them. I said I felt at peace for Warren and for the progressive agenda and what we had accomplished together. I went on to the say the following:
“I once read you know a relationship (even one between a presidential candidate and a constituent) is coming to an end when you go back to the beginning, and this morning I had been reflecting a lot on Warren’s initial campaign announcement. I feared after a bruising 2016 that women, people of color, and LGBTQ candidates wouldn’t put themselves out there and run for president, so I was especially excited that on December 31st, 2018, Warren was the first to throw her hat into the ring. Over the next year and some change, it also gave me so much hope to have a policy-driven conversation and a chance at an American meritocracy.”
‘We did this!’ Warren remarked when she won her 2012 senate bid. And we did it again and have so much to be proud of: Warren was polling first in November ’19, raised nearly 30 million in February ’20, tag-teamed with Bernie Sanders in stellar debate performances that railed against corrupt practices in America, built a coalition with three campaign advisors, all of whom are amazing in their own right, framed her candidacy on 81 plans and counting that weaved together justice for racial, gender, and environmental injustices into every utterance, and pushed Biden leftward to advocate on behalf of increasing social security payments and student loan forgiveness.
As I mentioned, I told my family and friends I felt at peace. This isn’t true. Warren is still hard at work, and I hope each of us continues fighting righteous fights. I will always remember when Warren responded to a constituent who was worried about electability: “Put your worry to work; get up off your butt and volunteer!” One way I see us putting our worry or disappointment to work is by mobilizing around drafting Warren for veep.