Who is Elizabeth Warren?
Current job: US Senator from Massachusetts. Running for president of the United States as a Democratic candidate.
Age: 69
Family: Warren is married to law professor Bruce Mann, with whom she has two children, Amelia Warren Tyagi and Alexander Warren.
Hometown: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Political party: Democratic
Previous jobs: Advisor to President Barack Obama on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from 2010 to 2011. Chair of the congressional oversight panel of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) from 2008-2010. Tenured law professor at Harvard Law School from 1993 to 2013.
Who is Warren's direct competition for the nomination?
Based on a recurring series of national surveys we conduct, we can figure out who the other candidates competing in Elizabeth Warren's lane are, and who the broader opponents are within the party.
- Among Democratic primary voters, those who'd be satisfied with Warren as nominee were also satisfied with Joe Biden as nominee in 71% of cases. That's 5 percentage points higher than the general set of Democratic primary voters, indicating that a Biden candidacy that pans out could pose a significant threat to Warren's ability to consolidate a constituency.
- Those satisfied with Warren also would be satisfied with fellow New England liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders. Of those satisfied with Warren as nominee, 63% also would be satisfied with Sanders. That's 9 percentage points higher than Sander's performance among general Democrats, who'd be satisfied with him 54% of the time.
- Those satisfied with Warren also saw the appeal in Kamala Harris, but at a lower rate than among the total set of Democrats.
INSIDER has been conducting a recurring poll through SurveyMonkey Audience on a national sample to find out how different candidate's constituencies overlap. We ask people whether they are familiar with a candidate, whether they would be satisfied or unsatisfied with that candidate as nominee, and sometimes we also ask whether they think that person would win or lose in a general election against President Donald Trump.
Read more about how we're polling this here.
What are Elizabeth Warren's policy positions?
- On healthcare:
- Warren supports Sen. Bernie Sanders' Medicare for All bill, which would provide every American with health insurance through Medicare while eliminating private insurers and virtually eliminating co-pays and deductibles.
- Warren introduced legislation in 2018 that would limit profits for insurance companies and offer more financial assistance to those buying insurance on the Obamacare marketplace. She introduced another bill that would establish a government-run pharmaceutical manufacturer to bring down drug prices.
- On immigration:
- Warren wants to replace the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) with "something that reflects our morality and that works."
- Warren supports the Obama administration's "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" (DACA) program, which protects young people who come to the US illegally as children.
- Warren co-sponsored the 2018 HELP Separated Children Act aimed at protecting immigrant children from enforcement actions.
- On climate change:
- In February 2019, Warren signed on to the Green New Deal resolution, which aims to transition the US to 100% clean and renewable energy in 10 years, and stimulate the economy with millions of new jobs and an expanded social safety net.
- Warren introduced a bill last year that would require public companies to disclose information about how climate change might impact their business. She has a 99% lifetime score, based on her voting record, from the League of Conservation Voters.
- On campaign finance:
- Warren no longer takes donations from political action committees of any kind.
- Setting her apart from the 2020 field, Warren announced in February 2019 that she won't hold fundraisers, calls, or special events with big donors during the course of her primary campaign.
- On abortion:
- Warren supports the right to an abortion and voted against a bill in the Senate that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
- On LGBTQ rights:
- Warren called on President Barack Obama to support same-sex marriage when she first ran for the Senate in 2011.
- She supports transgender individuals' rights, including the right for prisoners to receive gender reassignment surgery.
- On education:
- Warren signed on to Sen. Bernie Sanders' College For All Act, which would waive tuition for all students attending public colleges and universities whose families make $125,000 a year or less.
- She supported Sen. Brian Schatz's proposal to make room and board and other expenses loan-free for students attending public colleges.
- Warren has introduced several bills over the years to aid student loan borrowers.
- On guns:
- Warren co-sponsored a ban on assault weapons and on the sale of high-capacity magazines. She's called for gun manufacturers to do more to reduce gun violence, and pushed for the National Institutes of Health to do more research on gun violence.
- On criminal justice reform:
- Warren introduced a 2018 marijuana reform bill which would exempt states that have legalized marijuana from the federal prohibition on the drug. And she co-sponsored the 2018 Marijuana Justice Act, which would end the federal prohibition on marijuana.
- Warren is opposed to the death penalty, and says the criminal justice system is "racist ... front to back," and supported the Senate's bipartisan criminal justice reform bill passed in December 2018.
- On trade:
- Warren wants to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), but is critical of Trump's 2018 deal with Mexico and Canada.
- She also opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which Trump withdrew the US from in 201, arguing that it would "undermine US sovereignty" and disproportionately benefit multinational corporations.
- Warren wants the US to "rethink all of our trade policies" and says tariffs should be part of that.
- On foreign policy:
- She called for the immediate withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in November 2018. She's also called for the removal of US troops from Syria and Iraq. She voted against a Senate resolution condemning Trump's withdrawal of US troops from Syria.
- She opposed Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and she is opposed to US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.
- Warren has been critical of the Israeli government is recent years, particularly with regard to its treatment of Palestinians. She is a critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
- On taxes:
- Warren has proposed implementing a wealth tax on the 75,000 richest American families - or a 2% tax on assets above $50 million. She wants to roll back the GOP's 2017 tax cuts.
- On corruption and democracy:
- Warren introduced the 2018 Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act, a broad set of reforms to restrict the influence of money and lobbying in
politics . - Warren also introduced the 2018 Accountable Capitalism Act, which would make corporations more accountable to their workers. She's also in favor of eliminating the electoral college.
- Warren introduced the 2018 Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act, a broad set of reforms to restrict the influence of money and lobbying in
- On the social safety net:
- Warren introduced the 2018 American Housing and Economic Mobility Act, which would invest hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade in new housing, in helping families with mortgage payments, and in addressing racial disparities in housing.
- Warren has also proposed establishing government-funded early childhood care centers across the country through her 2018 Universal Childcare and Early Learning Act. This would allow working-class families to access free care, while families with higher incomes would pay at most 7% of their income.
What are Elizabeth Warren's political successes?
- Warren designed and helped establish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) following the 2008 financial crisis.
- She's authored several bipartisan bills that have been passed into law, including:
- The Smart Savings Act, which increased the return on investment for federal workers' retirement accounts.
- A law to reduce the amount of unused prescription drugs, including opioids.
- Legislation to make hearing aids easier to buy, including over the counter.
- The Jobs for Our Heroes Act, which makes it easier for veterans to get commercial driver's licenses.
- She pressured the Obama administration to cancel $30 million in student debt held by thousands of Massachusetts residents who attended a fraudulent career college.
How much money has Elizabeth Warren raised?
Warren raised about $300,000 from 9,000 donors on the day she announced her presidential exploratory committee on December 31, 2018.
Could Elizabeth Warren beat President Trump?
Referring back to INSIDER's recurring poll, Warren overall is believed to be an ordinary, if slightly weaker candidate in a general election against Donald Trump compared to the whole field. It's far too early to read too into it, but based on responses from Democratic primary voters, for a typical candidate surveyed 36% of respondents think they'd win, 9% think they'd lose, and 55% are unsure. It's still quite early, but Warren is coming in a bit worse for wear: 34% think she'd win, 13% thinking she'd lose, and 54% unsure.
Read more of our best stories on Elizabeth Warren:
- Elizabeth Warren has officially announced that she's running for president, urged supporters to join 'the fight of our lives'
- Elizabeth Warren wants to eliminate the Electoral College and let the popular vote decide presidential elections
- Elizabeth Warren's DNA test sparks a heated debate on the left
- What women eyeing a run for the White House can expect from voters and the media in 2020