Dear MoveOn member,
On Wednesday night, more than 100 Iowans gathered in a Des Moines coffeehouse to jump-start the Run Warren Run campaign.
They came to show that Iowa—home of the nation's first presidential caucus—is calling for a contested Democratic presidential primary, and for a champion of working- and middle-class families—Elizabeth Warren—to enter the race. The energy was electric all night in a standing-room-only crowd of supporters sporting "Run Warren Run" shirts.
Washington Post analyst Chris Cillizza recently noted, "It's uniquely possible that the populist/'draft Warren' movement ... forces the senator to reconsider her past denials of interest in the race. And if Warren runs, it's a totally different race."1
Cillizza's right. There's a real path for our campaign to be successful—and on Wednesday night in Iowa, we saw proof that this can work. Take a quick look at how it all came together—and get a feel for the memorable kickoff Iowans hosted:
Iowa State college student Meredith Cook spoke of working two jobs and 45 hours a week to pay for school, while carrying a 12% interest rate on her student loan—and how Elizabeth Warren fights for her. A young entrepreneur from Iowa City reminded us that Elizabeth Warren stands up for small business owners like her by fighting against special tax breaks and loopholes for the biggest corporations. And Iowa's State Senate President Pam Jochum called Senator Warren "brilliant" and "courageous" while encouraging her to enter the race.
Then, after a series of rousing speeches, attendees broke into working groups to start strategizing—for many of them, less than an hour after first meeting each other. In Iowa and New Hampshire, we're getting ready to hire staff and open offices to support the volunteers who are ready for action.
None of it went unnoticed. Reporters from The Des Moines Register, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, the Associated Press, The New York Times, local TV, MSNBC, and more covered the kickoff—some live-tweeting throughout the night.2
Our friends at Ready for Warren had a noticeable presence, and before it was all said and done, our allies at Democracy for America had announced an overwhelming vote by their members to join the Run Warren Run movement, and pledged $250,000 to the effort.
Wednesday night provided just the sort of energizing launch that a winning campaign needs. Click here to take a look back at the kickoff—and then let's get ready for kickoffs in other early primary states and beyond.
Thanks for all you do.
–Mark, Alejandro, Kristin, Ilya, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Amid Warren buzz, Clinton might do well not to wait too long to announce 2016 bid," The Washington Post, December 14, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=302054&id=106106-10220574-0AaZaPx&t=1
2. "This is Elizabeth Warren's time, activists tell Iowans," The Des Moines Register, December 17, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=302056&id=106106-10220574-0AaZaPx&t=2
"Iowa Liberals Try to Will Elizabeth Warren Into 2016," The Wall Street Journal, December 18, 2014
http://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-WB-51632
"Effort to draft Warren into '16 race lands in Iowa," The Associated Press, December 17, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=302057&id=106106-10220574-0AaZaPx&t=3
"Warren Can Win," The New York Times, December 15, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=302038&id=106106-10220574-0AaZaPx&t=4
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PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. This email was sent to eddie alfaro on December 19, 2014. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.
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