The Democratic Party unification continues: Sen. Elizabeth Warren will reportedly endorse Hillary Clinton on Thursday night.
The announcement will cap off quite the day for Clinton, who became her party’s presumptive nominee earlier this week. After meeting with President Obama at the White House on Thursday, Bernie Sanders signaled that, while he’s not dropping out of the race just yet, he’s prepared to lend a helping hand to Clinton in the general election. Shortly after that, Obama formally endorsed her. “Look, I know how hard this job can be. That’s why I know Hillary will be so good at it,” the president said in a video touting his decision. “In fact, I don’t think there’s ever been someone so qualified to hold this office.” Warren will complete the trifecta. (Joe Biden, you’re up.)
Clinton and her allies still have work to do to win over Sanders supporters, many of whom feel like their man was wronged by the party establishment during what was a more competitive—and contentious—nominating contest than most expected. But with popular figures like Obama and Warren now officially on board, and Sanders suggesting he soon will be too, Clinton’s task gets significantly easier. Her cascade of good news is all the more remarkable given it was only a day ago that nervous Democrats were openly fretting about whether Bernie’s continued presence in the race would fracture the party beyond repair.
Warren’s endorsement is sure to reheat speculation that she is on Clinton’s vice presidential shortlist. Earlier Thursday, Reuters, citing anonymous sources, reported that Warren “has considered the idea” of joining the ticket, but still has some concerns that she’d be less effective at achieving her policy goals as vice president than in the Senate.
Those concerns aside, a number of high-profile Democrats sound intrigued by a Clinton-Warren ticket’s ability to excite Sanders-loving progressives. “She’d be a great vice president and would be terrific in terms of having a spokesperson for the very powerful ideas that have mobilized the grassroots,” Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, the only senator to endorse Sanders, told Politico on Thursday. Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has reportedly been investigating ways to prevent Massachusetts’ Republican governor, Charlie Baker, from naming Warren’s Senate replacement if she were to be elected vice president this fall.
An all-female ticket, sadly, would come with its own political risks, but it would also offer significant rewards. Regardless of whether Warren joins the ticket, though, she’ll be a powerful surrogate for Clinton on the campaign trail. She is a beloved figure on the left and will lend Hillary an immediate degree of credibility in the eyes of many progressives who are still skeptical of Clinton’s more centrist ways. As an added bonus, Warren’s also proved particularly effective when it comes to attacking Donald Trump. Team Hillary has to be psyched to have her on board.
