Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the darling of the American left, has endorsed California Attorney General Kamala Harris, who announced her bid for retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer’s seat earlier this week. Warren is the left’s new rising star, pitching old-style liberalism to a base eager to transcend the frustrations of the Obama presidency.
Sounding the populist themes that have endeared her to the left-wing fringe, Warren wrote on her campaign blog:
California Attorney General Kamala Harris is a smart, tough, and experienced prosecutor who has consistently stood up to Wall Street. Yesterday, she announced her candidacy for the United States Senate, and I’m happy to support her campaign.
Warren also tweeted her support for Harris, citing the latter’s advocacy on behalf of homeowners against bank foreclosures.
Both Warren and Harris are of “Indian” descent, after a manner of speaking. Warren claims Native American ancestry (though holds no formal tribal membership and appears to have fabricated the claim), while Harris’s mother emigrated to the United States from India.
Warren’s endorsement is the first major coup of the Harris campaign, though it also signals that she will run to the left, very much in the Boxer mould. That leaves room for opponents in the center, who may be able to make use of the “jungle” primary to pull in votes from both parties.