The Boston Globe used former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick's Thursday announcement that he would not make a run for president as an opportunity to advise Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) to make the same decision.
"Running for president is hard," wrote the paper's editorial board. "Deciding not to run? That can be even harder."
The Globe's board, which in 2015 argued that "Democrats need Elizabeth Warren’s voice in 2016 presidential race," does not explicitly say Warren shouldn't run, but it does lay out the case for why it would be an ill-advised decision.
"Warren missed her moment in 2016, and there’s reason to be skeptical of her prospective candidacy in 2020," it wrote. "While Warren won reelection, her margin of victory in November suggests there’s a ceiling on her popularity; Republican governor Charlie Baker garnered more votes than her in a state that is supposed to be a Democratic haven. Meanwhile, a September poll indicated that Massachusetts voters were more enthusiastic about Patrick making a White House bid than Warren."
The paper called the Massachusetts poll results "warning signs from the voters who know her best." It also argued that Warren is the wrong type of candidate to take on Republican President Donald Trump in 2020.
"While Warren is an effective and impactful senator with an important voice nationally, she has become a divisive figure," it argued. "A unifying voice is what the country needs now after the polarizing politics of Donald Trump."
The editorial comes as the New York Times reports that Warren herself is assessing the self-inflicted political damage she caused by releasing a DNA test to prove her Native American ancestry. Her advisers are reportedly telling her she needs to make a plan to repair her relations with Native tribes and racial minorities and that the plan may have to include a "strong statement of apology."
"The advisers say Ms. Warren will have to confront the issue again if she announces a presidential campaign, which is expected in the coming weeks, and several would like her to act soon," the Times reports.