Elizabeth Warren’s Campaign Is Picking up Steam, New Polls Show

Straightforward cause and effect is hard to come by in our current, nightmarishly illogical political moment, but it turns out that Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) no-nonsense focus on concrete policy proposals is beginning to boost her 2020 presidential prospects, as The Hill points out.

Three new national polls released this week show the tide is turning in Warren’s favor, with the Massachusetts senator moving to the front of an all-too-crowded field of Democratic primary contenders. Former Vice President Joe Biden, who officially entered the race last week, is still the frontrunner, but Warren is gaining ground on him.

In a Quinnipiac University poll of Democrats and Democratic leaners, 12% of respondents said Warren was their top choice (up from just 4% in Quinnipiac’s late-March poll), second only to Biden’s 38%. Tailing Warren in that poll were Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) at 11%, Mayor Pete Buttigieg with 10% and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) at 8%. Meanwhile, a CNN poll put Warren at 8% (doubling her result from the previous month’s poll), trailing Biden (39%) and Sanders (15%). And a Morning Consult poll broke down near-identically, with Biden leading with 36%, and Sanders and Warren trailing with 22% and 9%, respectively—a poll in which Warren had previously lagged behind Buttigieg, Harris and Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas).

“[Warren] definitely, I think, stumbled a little out of the gate. But the last week to 10 days have obviously been her best,” veteran Democratic campaign adviser Joe Trippi told The Hill. “She’s obviously done very well.”

Warren swung and missed big with her DNA test stunt last fall and has struggled with fundraising since, but if she can continue surging ahead on the strength of her policy platform and organizing efforts, she might have a shot yet.