Sen. Elizabeth Warren Has an Achilles’ Heel: She’s Too Left-Wing

The Massachusetts senator is surging ahead in the polls. However, her position on the left could cause her problems if she’s chosen to run against Donald Trump in 2020.

More and more, the American presidential campaign resembles an ocean beset by violent currents. A president under threat of impeachment and Joe Biden — until recently the favorite Democratic candidate — tarnished by the “Ukrainian affair,” not to mention Sen. Bernie Sanders recovering from a heart attack and, in all, 12 Democratic candidates still able to ruffle feathers in the televised debate. In this electric atmosphere, one person is edging ahead: the senator from Massachusetts and legal advocate for the middle class, Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

She’s now second in the polls. At times she’s even ahead of Biden, and she has a number of advantages over Barack Obama’s former vice president. Warren is younger — 70 to his 76 — and more precise. She has not been accused of being inappropriate with women, nor does she have a son causing a nuisance for working for a Ukrainian energy company. She also knows how to cope with Trump’s aggressive attacks. While Biden stumbles a bit, Warren is on a roll.

She seems to be one of the major favorites to win the Democratic nomination. Will we finally see a woman in the White House? It will be a difficult choice for the Democrats, because rather than picking the best candidate, more than anything it’s a question of choosing tactically and voting in favor of the one most likely to beat Trump. Do they need someone solidly on the left to represent the polar opposite of the president? Or instead a more centrist candidate, who is capable of compromise and attracting the Republicans disappointed by Trump? Warren’s main fault may well be that she is too left-wing.

She represents the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, the branch that gives House Speaker Nancy Pelosi something to work with. Rooted more firmly on the left, the “socialist” Sanders is still trying to overtake Warren. He can count on the support of three young female senators, all very well known and spirited. And, even if there is little chance of it succeeding due to the Republican majority in the Senate, they have been calling for Trump’s impeachment for a long time. But if Sanders has to abandon the race, the votes would entirely switch to Warren.

She has a “plan,” and she, of course, embodies a sort of comeback compared to Biden. But although the primaries may favor the left-wing candidates, during the presidential election, voters tend to play the ball in center field. Biden’s centrism, with its populist streak and focus on the needs of African American voters, could, in the end, turn out to be more “reassuring” for a divided America that wants to tend to its wounds.