Applauding Senator's Commitment to Putting 'Power in the Hands of the People,' Rep. Pressley Endorses Warren

Applauding Sen. Elizabeth Warren's campaign mission to bring "big, structural change" to Washington and communities across the country, Rep. Ayanna Pressley on Wednesday announced she is endorsing her fellow Massachusetts lawmaker in the 2020 Democratic primary.

Pressley released a video on social media announcing her support for what she called a campaign in which Warren has focused on returning power "to those who've been left behind."

"You've all heard about the senator's plans, but here's the thing," Pressley said. "The plans are about power: who has it, who refuses to let it go, and who deserves more of it."

Warren endorsed Pressley in Pressley's 2018 run for Massachusetts's 7th congressional district. Both lawmakers are progressives who have pushed for legislation to support working families and to prevent abuses by powerful corporations.

Pressley expressed confidence in Warren's commitment to listening to and working for middle- and lower-income families to achieve bold reforms to the U.S. economic system and the nation's capitol.

"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," Pressley said. "From fighting to erase income inequality and close the racial wealth gap, to taking on the epidemic of gun violence and working to dismantle structural racism, Elizabeth has made it her life's work to pursue justice for working families and put economic and political power in the hands of people."

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

A number of political observers acknowledged Pressley's endorsement as a significant vote of confidence for the Warren campaign from a progressive lawmaker. Although the endorsement from a congresswoman in her home state was unsurprising to many, the New York Timescalled Pressley's announcement Warren's "most high-profile congressional endorsement to this point."

Some pointed out that Pressley's Warren endorsement drew attention to a potential divide between the congresswoman and the three other progressive women of color who make up "The Squad" in Congress: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.). All three recently endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the Democratic primary.

But Sludge journalist Alex Kotch tweeted that should Sanders or Warren win the nomination, "the Squad will end up uniting on the race anyway."

Ocasio-Cortez and Omar suggested on Twitter that the group is already united despite their differences of opinion about the race: