ADVERTISEMENT

CNN Analyst on Warren: It's a 'Warning Sign' if Mass. Voters Don't Even Like Her

January 2, 2019

Harry Enten, a senior political writer for CNN, on Wednesday said Massachusetts voters who know Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) best "don't like her."

Enten appeared on a CNN segment about Warren and her electability in a crowded 2020 Democratic primary, where he talked about her poor performance in recent polls. The segment on Warren follows her recent announcement to form a 2020 exploratory committee for president.

Pamela Brown, who was filling in for CNN host Brooke Baldwin, asked Enten why he believed Warren was doing so poorly in the national polls, including her own state.

"I think it's a great question. It's potentially because she's very progressive, maybe a little too progressive even for Massachusetts, but it should be said that [Ohio Senator] Sherrod Brown in Ohio has a long progressive record and he actually outperformed how House Democrats did," Enten said. "It could also be the case that maybe there's just something about her personally that voters don't like."

He went on to say that if you look at how Massachusetts voters view Warren—whether in early primary polls or the reelection margin—and see that they are supporting other Democratic candidates over her, it's a "warning sign."

While Warren easily won reelection back in November by over 20 points, her approval ratings have been slipping over the last year. Along with her announcement on Monday to form 2020 exploratory committee for president, she released a four-minute video that focused on taking on Wall Street and corruption in Washington.

"I’ve spent my career getting to the bottom of why America’s promise works for some families, but others, who work just as hard, slip through the cracks into disaster," Warren said in the video. "And what I’ve found is terrifying: these aren’t cracks families are falling into, they’re traps. America’s middle class is under attack."

Another factor looming over Warren's 2020 hopes is her claim to Native American heritage. Many on the right mocked the results of her DNA test showing she's between 1/64th and 1/1,024th Native American, while many progressives and Native American groups found the test itself problematic.