Warren takes aim at Biden, says 'Washington insider will not meet this moment'

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Warren says campaign is built for long haul after SC primary loss

Sen. Elizabeth Warren addresses supporters after the South Carolina Democrat primary.

Fighting for survival amid a shrinking Democratic presidential field as voting got underway in the 14 Super Tuesday states, Sen. Elizabeth Warren took direct aim at rival Joe Biden and pitched herself as the compromise candidate between what she characterized as the “insider” former vice president and the “outsider” – populist independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Speaking at a Super Tuesday eve event in Monterey Park, Calif., Warren characterized Biden -- not Sanders -- as a risk to the Democratic Party and the country.

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"I respect his years of service. But no matter how many Washington insiders tell you to support him, nominating their fellow Washington insider will not meet this moment. Nominating a man who says we do not need any fundamental change in this country will not meet this moment,” Warren emphasized.

And the progressive senator from Massachusetts -- who’s seen her fortunes for winning the nomination wane after poor finishes the past three weeks in the New Hampshire primary, the Nevada caucuses, and Saturday’s primary in South Carolina --  stressed that “nominating someone who wants to restore the world before Donald Trump, when the status quo has been leaving more and more people behind for decades, is a big risk for our party and our country."

Biden has soared since crushing Sanders – the self-described democratic socialist and front-runner in the race – and the rest of the field in South Carolina.

Warren has faced repeated questions since her distant fourth-place finish in neighboring New Hampshire about the future of her White House bid. And she faces the possibility of losing her home state of Massachusetts – which votes on Tuesday – to Sanders, though speculation is widespread that she could be positioning herself as a potential running mate.

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After voting Tuesday morning in Cambridge, Mass., Warren was asked by reporters if it was "do or die" for her on Super Tuesday.

“I am not worried. I am happy to be part of this democratic process," she said. "Ten years ago I was a teacher. I was not part of this process other than as a voter. I spent my whole life studying working families, why working poor were being crushed."

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., emerges from the booth with her ballot as she votes on Tuesday, March 3, 2020, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Biden  – who nearly pulled even with Sanders in the delegate hunt thanks to a larger than expected victory in South Carolina – is aiming to prevent Sanders from capturing a large lead in the crucial battle for convention delegates. Biden’s goal is to firmly cement his status as the moderate alternative to Sanders.

He got a big boost on Sunday and Monday when two fellow centrist candidates – former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota – suspended their own White House bids. They joined the former vice president in Dallas on Monday to formally back his presidential campaign.

Warren, speaking in California Monday night around the same time as Biden was in Texas, said, “I want to thank Senator Klobuchar and Mayor Buttigieg for running spirited races. And I look forward to their continued service to our party and our country.”

Biden was also joined in Dallas by another former 2020 contender, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas, who formally backed the former vice president.

Former New  York City mayor and multi-billionaire business and media mogul Mike Bloomberg is also on the ballot in the Super Tuesday states. However, unless Bloomberg scores a major delegate haul on Tuesday night, the Democratic contest will likely move increasingly toward shaping up as a two-candidate battle between Sanders and Biden.

Still, Warren argued Monday night in California that "we find ourselves barreling toward another primary along the same lanes as 2016: one for an insider, one for an outsider. ... Democratic voters should have more choice than that."

Warren soared last summer into early fall, joining Biden as a co-front-runner in the Democratic nomination race. But after facing increased attacks from her rivals and increased scrutiny over how she’d pay for and implement a government-run single-payer Medicare-for-all health care system, her poll numbers and fundraising figures started to slide.