Elizabeth Warren Drops Out, Won’t Endorse Anyone Yet

Following news yesterday that she was taking a day to “reassess” her campaign after a rough Super Tuesday that saw her fail to win or place second in her home state, Elizabeth Warren has followed through with the two expected moves: She’s dropping out, and she’s not endorsing. Yet. From the Times:

Though her vision excited progressives, it did not generate enough excitement among the party’s working-class and diverse base, and her support had eroded by Super Tuesday. In her final weeks as a candidate she effectively drove former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York, a centrist billionaire, out of the race with debate performances that flashed her evident skills and political potential.

It’s a decent scalp, for sure, although there will be many Bernie Sanders supporters today who wish she had gone the extra mile by dropping out before Super Tuesday, when she likely cost Sanders many delegates and up to four statewide wins. Both remaining candidates have already begun jockeying for her endorsement:

Her potential endorsement is highly sought after in the race and both Mr. Sanders and former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. have spoken with Ms. Warren since Super Tuesday, when the end of her campaign appeared imminent.

“I need some space around this,” she said, regarding the possibility.

Right up to the end, Warren was taking a subtle shot at her opponents, a tactic that became her calling card near the end of her campaign:

Addressing supporters and the press in front of her house in Cambridge, Ms. Warren said that, from the start, she had been told there were only two true lanes in the 2020 contest: a liberal one dominated by Mr. Sanders, 78, and a moderate one led by Mr. Biden, 77.

“I thought that wasn’t right,” Ms. Warren said, “But evidently I was wrong.”

Evidently so.