November 6, 2019

Ayanna Pressley Breaks With the “Squad” to Endorse Warren for President

“We find ourselves in a fight for the soul of our nation, and I know Elizabeth can win it.”

Elizabeth Warren attends a rally for Ayanna Pressley's congressional campaign in September 2018.Scott Eisen/Getty

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In a break from the rest of the progressive freshmen congresswomen known as “the Squad,” Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) has endorsed Sen. Elizabeth Warren for president.

Calling the election “a fight for the very soul of our nation,” Pressley announced her support for the Massachusetts senator in a video Wednesday.

Speculation that Pressley would endorse Warren has been looming since she conspicuously failed to join Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.)—her closest political allies in the House—in endorsing Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Pressley, the first black woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts, could help Warren in the Democratic primary amid increasing attacks from her rivals, notably Vice President Joe Biden and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Biden blogged on Medium that Warren was elitist and took a swipe at her for once being a registered Republican. Buttigieg has made headlines for attacking the senator’s Medicare for All plan.

Support from Pressley, whose 2018 grassroots campaign upended a Democratic incumbent, could also ease concerns that Warren isn’t engaging black voters.

“Elizabeth listens to the voices of community; in church basements and in packed gymnasiums, she has heard the stories of families who are struggling, and she has responded with activism, visionary policies, and community-led plans,” said Pressley in her announcement. “I’m proud to call her my senator. I can’t wait to call her our president.”

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