BOSTON — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren plans to get behind a presidential candidate and in an interview televised on Sunday she did not rule out joining a ticket this year.
“Way, way, way premature to talk about that,” the Cambridge Democrat told New England Cable News reporter Alison King on Sunday when asked if she might consider running for vice president.
Warren, who is up for reelection in 2018, has faced some criticism over her refusal to back a candidate in the Democratic primary race between former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of neighboring Vermont.
Progressives who have cheered Warren’s public policy positions have largely aligned behind Sanders, who trails Clinton but has attracted a devoted following.
Without specifying a timeframe, Warren said she would put her support behind a candidate.
While the Republican primary contest has proven divisive with several prominent conservatives announcing they would not support frontrunner Donald Trump, the Democrats appear likely to rally behind their nominee.
And though he supports Sanders, state Sen. Dan Wolf said in February he will support Clinton if she becomes the Democratic nominee and would “do anything to stop the Trump juggernaut.”
Asked about the fracas at a recent Trump rally in Chicago, Warren said the controversial Republican frontrunner deserves blame for crowds’ behavior at his events.
“This is on Trump. This is what Trump has been fostering and fomenting for months now and it finally reached the next level,” Warren said.
Many elected officeholders here, including Sen. U.S. Edward Markey, have lined up behind Clinton, with fewer supporting Sanders. Treasurer Deb Goldberg is backing Clinton and said at the rally that Warren’s reluctance to choose a candidate was her prerogative.
“I am sure that the senator has her reasons. I think that it’s very hard when you find an affinity with both candidates and they’re running against each other and so I respect Sen. Warren’s decision. Would I have loved to seen her endorse Hillary Clinton, absolutely, but for whatever reason she has I have to respect those,” Goldberg said.