Beto O'Rourke's announcement Thursday he's running for president prompted a fundraising email from... Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.).
O'Rourke, the former Texas congressman who excited progressives with his close Senate loss to Republican Ted Cruz last year, became the latest entrant in the expanding 2020 group of Democratic primary candidates. The campaign for Warren welcomed O'Rourke to the race but told supporters they needed to get on-board with her officially, with the field so large.
"As we're sure you've seen, we have another Democrat in the race today. (Welcome, Beto!) More candidates means more people are going to take their time deciding who will get their full support," the email said.
"If you're with Elizabeth — the woman with the bold, fearless plans to tackle the root causes of the problems we're facing in America — today is the day you need to make your first donation. So if you want Elizabeth to build a campaign to compete in this race, you’ve got to be in this race with her."
Warren fundraising off Beto-mania pic.twitter.com/rBHszu1BOt
— Lisa Lerer (@llerer) March 14, 2019
Warren has sworn off big-money fundraisers and promised equal access to her campaign to donors no matter how small or large amount they give. However, she's been tight-lipped about her fundraising numbers in the early months of her candidacy.
She will travel to New Hampshire on Friday, and next week she will make a southern campaign swing through Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.
Warren wasn't the only 2020 contender to fundraise off O'Rourke's announcement. Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) emailed supporters that she looked forward to debating O'Rourke, while also requesting donations.
O'Rourke proved a prolific fundraiser during his Senate run against Cruz and is already being heralded as a top-tier candidate. Former Vice President Joe Biden, who has not announced a bid, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) continue to lead early polls of Democratic primary voters, but the Iowa caucuses are still more than 10 months away.