"Run Warren Run" Gaining Steam and High-Profile Support

By Scott Galindez, Reader Supported News

04 February 15

hen my plane landed in Des Moines on Saturday, some of my new neighbors were meeting at a Run Warren Run house party. On Saturday and Sunday – in more than 200 homes around the country – Run Warren Run supporters met to focus on building connections among neighbors who want to see Senator Elizabeth Warren run for president in 2016, sharing stories about getting involved in this campaign, and developing ideas for local actions supporters can take to show Senator Warren she has the support needed to enter the race.

Supporters met in all 10 early primary states – including at nearly a dozen house parties in Iowa, where Run Warren Run recently hired staff and is opening field offices.

Thursday night, the Run Warren Run campaign opened a campaign office in Des Moines.

Two weeks ago, over 100 people gathered in Manchester, New Hampshire, to launch the Run Warren Run effort there. Field staff is on the ground, with a director to be hired soon and an office to be opened as well.

In a post on MoveOn’s website, Brian Stewart announced:

In an expansion of the Run Warren Run effort in Iowa, MoveOn.org Political Action hired Blair Lawton as the campaign’s Iowa field director and also four other field organizers.”

The announcement comes less than one month after more than 100 Iowans met in Des Moines to kick off the Run Warren Run effort in the state. Nationwide, more than 240,000 Americans have signed on to support the growing campaign, which is being run by MoveOn and Democracy for America.

Blair Lawton, who will lead Run Warren Run on-the-ground organizing efforts in Iowa, is a native of Western Iowa and a graduate of Morningside College in Sioux City. Lawton served as 2014 get-out-the-vote director for the Alaska Democratic Coordinated Campaign and as a regional field director for President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign in Iowa.

MoveOn has also hired four Iowa-based regional field directors to support the Run Warren Run effort:

• Adam Beaves, a native of Ankeny, Iowa, who recently worked on the Pat Murphy for Congress campaign and has worked in the Iowa House of Representatives and for the campaign of Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe and President Obama’s re-election campaign


• Susana Cervantes, who has worked for the White House, Organizing for America, the United Farm Workers, and the Nevada Coordinated Campaign


• Beth Farvour, who recently organized with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and the Mary Burke for Governor campaign


• Margaret Jarosz, a Milwaukee native who worked on the Wendy Davis for Governor campaign and as a campaign manager for a Wisconsin State Assembly candidate, and who volunteered with the campaign to recall Wisconsin governor Scott Walker and with President Obama’s re-election campaign

At the national level, MoveOn has also brought on experienced progressive campaign professionals Tom Swan and Adam Ruben to serve as senior advisors to the campaign. Swan managed Ned Lamont’s successful campaign to beat Senator Joe Lieberman in the 2006 Democratic Senate primary in Connecticut; he is currently the executive director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group. Ruben, a consultant to progressive organizations, is the former Political and Field Director for MoveOn and ran MoveOn’s massive field campaigns to elect Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. He was previously national field director for U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

Additionally, MoveOn has retained the services of Revolution Messaging, FitzGibbon Media Inc., and Art Not War to assist in the Run Warren Run effort.

Scott Goodstein, who was External Online Director for President Obama’s 2008 campaign, founded Revolution Messaging in 2009. Revolution Messaging is providing digital strategy, video, and design support for Run Warren Run. Their team includes Arun Chaudhary, who served as the first White House Videographer and as the New Media Road Director on President Obama’s 2008 campaign, and Tim Tagaris, who served as Digital Director on Senator Chris Dodd’s presidential campaign in 2007 and created the Service Employees International Union’s new media department. Revolution Messaging’s Shauna Daly, who served as deputy research director for President Obama’s 2008 campaign, and Walker Hamilton, site architect for Obama for America in 2008, are also advising on strategy for Run Warren Run.

FitzGibbon Media, whose founder and president Trevor FitzGibbon served as Communications Director for President Obama’s 2008 campaign in New Hampshire and whose managing director Doug Gordon has worked on presidential, House, and Senate campaigns, will be serving as the lead communications firm for the Run Warren Run campaign.

Art Not War, led by former MoveOn National Creative Director Laura Dawn and co-founders Daron Murphy and David Ambrose, will organize artists, produce cultural events, and create video content for Run Warren Run.

Poll Numbers

Organizational gains are not the only good news for Warren supporters. The Des Moines Register released a poll showing a six-point gain for Warren despite her continued denials that she is running. She still has a long way to go, and the increase was only from 10 to 16 percent, but to be the second choice without saying you are running is a good sign for Warren.

There was also a poll commissioned by Warren supporters that showed that manner looking for an alternative to Hillary Clinton. This poll was clearly a push poll, but PPP director Tom Jensen defended it as an earnest effort to assess Clinton’s weaknesses, asserting she likely “will be testing a lot of this stuff in her own polling.”

The results show she “has some vulnerability – and Warren a lot of appeal – when it comes to their records on the financial crisis and related economic issues,” Jensen said. “If Clinton does end up running, she will need to take a tougher approach toward the financial industry or risk having the issue give her a lot of trouble with voters across the party spectrum,” he said.

A few key results of the poll:

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Hillary Clinton?

Favorable 43%
Unfavorable 48%
Not sure 10%

If the candidates for president next year were Republican Scott Walker and Democrat Hillary Clinton, who would you vote for?

Scott Walker 42%
Hillary Clinton 45%
Not sure 14%

There were also questions that showed that voters would be receptive to to a Warren candidacy.

The 900 registered voters were from both parties. Clinton does have greater popularity among Democrats. But the results show that Clinton’s name recognition does not give her an advantage in the general election, and that her popular support does not go beyond the Democratic Party.

Artists for Warren

A new organization has been formed, Artists for Warren, comprised of many popular musicians, actors, actresses and other high profile individuals. More than 90 artists have joined the Artists for Warren movement, releasing an open letter to the Massachusetts senator asking her to run. Supporters include Matt Bomer, Kim Gordon, Kathleen Hanna, Adam Horovitz, Natasha Lyonne, Ed Norton, Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon, Chloë Sevigny, Julia Stiles, Olivia Wilde, and Joss Whedon.

In a letter, they write:

We, the undersigned artists, are joining hundreds of thousands of Americans who want to passionately urge you to run for President.... We need someone who stands up for the people – America’s students, mothers, retirees, teachers, minimum-wage workers – instead of for the big banks and corporations.... Senator Warren, we’re ready to show you that you have the support needed to enter this presidential race. We’re ready to fight with you, Senator Warren. Please, run for President.

In a video released to Vanity Fair, Marc Ruffalo said: “If she primaries and doesn’t win the primary, she will at least push the conversation more toward the progressive values that we all share. As my brother and sister artists, I’m asking that you join me in getting on board with asking Elizabeth Warren to run.”

Why won’t I take no for an answer?

When asked by Forbes Magazine if she will run for president, Elizabeth Warren said “No.” That should put this all to rest, right? Well I’m not convinced. If I remember correctly, Warren was a reluctant candidate for Senate. I believe reluctant candidates are the best. It wouldn’t be about her ego and ambitions. It would be about her answering the call to service.

Some have asked why so many are putting an effort into a Warren campaign when she has not said she is running. They wonder why the energy is not being put into Bernie Sanders, who has expressed an interest in running and has several events planned in Iowa in February.

For me, it is clear that Elizabeth Warren is a once in a lifetime candidate. A Warren candidacy would not be about influencing the debate. I believe Elizabeth Warren is the Democrats’ best candidate for president. Of course, if Warren doesn’t run, progressives should get behind Bernie Sanders. Being a socialist is a big hurdle for Sanders to overcome. Most Americans don’t understand what it really means to be a socialist. To them, “socialist” is evil and un-American. I love Bernie Sanders and believe he will have a great impact on the 2016 race. I am not a believer that he can win. I do believe Elizabeth Warren can win and would have the coattails for the Democrats to recapture the Senate.

Hillary Clinton is the past, and no other Democrat has Warren’s star power in the Democratic Party. As I have said before, the polls are meaningless – Hillary is the only candidate people know is running, so of course she is going to poll well. I am convinced that if Warren announced her candidacy tomorrow, her poll numbers would rise quickly. That’s why I’m not giving up on the possibility of a Warren run for president.

Scott Galindez co-founded Truthout and will be reporting on the presidential election from Iowa throughout 2015.

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