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Some Elizabeth Warren backers urge the ‘plans’ candidate to get more personal - The Boston Globe

posted onDecember 4, 2019
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Article snippet: MARION, Iowa — All the plans in the world may not be enough to win the Democratic nomination. That’s what some of Elizabeth Warren’s ardent fans are warning less than two months before the first votes are cast, as the Massachusetts senator has lost her edge in Iowa and New Hampshire in recent polls. They said she should tweak her strategy, fearing that too much nitty-gritty policy in the home stretch of the race — and the controversy around her Medicare for All plan — will eclipse her oft-told personal story and block out humanizing moments that can draw new supporters into the fold. “She could quit talking about plans and talk more about who she is and her values and what drives her,” said Iowa state Senator Joe Bolkcom, who endorsed Warren in September and introduced her at a town hall event on Monday. “I think that would be refreshing to people.” As her standing in the polls slipped, Warren took the unusual step of shaking things up this week. At two campaign events in Iowa, she chopped her policy-dense stump speech by more than half and answered four times as many questions from voters than usual, allowing for more unplanned moments of levity and emotion — including an exchange in which she spoke powerfully about her divorce. “I feel like we all know what her plans are and quite frankly voters are not interested in plans. They are more interested in headlines and viral moments,” said Ariel Glasman, a 30-year-old teacher who saw Warren, her preferred candida... Link to the full article to read more

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