Elizabeth Warren defeats Geoff Diehl in the US Senate



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Senator Elizabeth Warren defeated her GOP opponent Geoff Diehl on Tuesday night, paving the way for her to start seeking a presidential candidacy, as she had said after the election.

The Associated Press called the race in Warren shortly after polls closed at 8 pm, promptinga catchy New Orleans style brass band for 20 people to embark on"When the saints come in" and "This little light of mine" in the Ballroom of the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel, where the Democrats gathered to wait for the results.

A few minutes after 8 pm, Warren tweeted to thank his supporters: "Six years ago, I promised to go to Washington to fight for you every day. Tonight, send a message to the powerful interests: we are just starting. "

Diehl called Warren to congratulate her later in the evening. "Unfortunately, we missed our final goal. But I am proud of the honest and principled campaign we have conducted, "Diehl told his supporters.

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The Senate contest was between Warren and Diehl, a representative of Whitman, and provided him with a sort of dress rehearsal for the 2020 presidential race. Diehl, former co-chair of President Trump's campaign in Massachusetts, presented his unconditional support to the president
in a state where polls show that the commander-in-chief is deeply unpopular.

But Diehl's adherence to Trump's positions also allowed Warren to test the campaign messages and practice using them in three televised debates. Her struggle to gain ground allowed her to focus on creating and strengthening the foundation of a presidential race if she chose to be part of the Democratic primary.

Warren raised an impressive amount – nearly $ 31 million during the race,
according to his campaign. Much of the money came from small donors. But she has never done any publicity on television in Massachusetts.

Throughout the year, she went to electoral battlefields such as
Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan and Ohio and wooed key voters such as African-American voters. Behind the scenes, Warren set up his own mid-term operation focused on races held at the national and federal levels, which could be a powerful network of supporters if she ran for president.primary campaign.

Warren has raised or donated more than $ 8 million to other candidates and committees during the 2018 cycle, according to his campaign. In recent weeks alone, it has been entrusted to states of Georgia, South Carolina, Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Missouri, Florida and Nevada, among others, in addition to the Democratic Party of Massachusetts.

The defeat of Diehl should certainly revive the debate within the Republican Party of Massachusetts on the question of whether a more moderate candidate could have better deal with Warren. The conservative base of the state party energetically embraced Diehl, but Tuesday's results strongly suggest that the rest of the electorate was deterred by its association with the controversial president.

Polls conducted in the weeks leading up to polling day show that the vast majority of Massachusetts voters hate Trump. Diehl disagreed with the way the president behaved sometimes, but he subscribed to all of Trump's political positions and even defended some of his most controversial statements.

Beth Lindstrom, a longtime Republican party insider who lost the primary in September, reportedly outperformed Diehl in the legislative elections, attracting moderate Republicans and independent centrists than Diehl was not, said Todd Domke, a long-time Republican analyst who unsubscribed the GOP the day after Trump's election.

But the end result would have been the same, he said. "It's a democratic year and an anti-Trump electorate here, so I think it would have always been beaten easily."

About 150 people were gathered at the Whitman VFW post to support Diehl during the vote count.

Asked if a less aligned Republican with Trump could have drawn more from the vote, several of those at the meeting
say no. Instead, they said it was Warren's disproportionate national support that stimulated him.

"If Diehl had the support of several national Republicans, it could have made a difference," said Randolph's 54-year-old Joe Shields.

Trump seems to have Warren's presidential ambitions in the lead, taking the time to participate in some of his election rallies in the days leading up to the elections against the Cambridge Liberal.

"Donald Trump is going to do what Donald Trump is going to do," said Warren at an election launch night on Monday night at Lowell. "I know what this election is about in 2018. This is the fundamental question: Who is the government working for? Donald Trump and Republican leaders believe that this should work for the rich and the powerful. To achieve this, try to turn people against each other and to stir up fear and hate as much as possible. Not me. I am here with the Democrats who believe that the government should work for everyone. "

In addition to his fundraising and travel schedule, there are other signs that announce presidential planning for Warren.

The most important efforts, perhaps, were her efforts to finally raise questions about her Amerindian heritage and whether she profited professionally by posing as a minority. An in-depth investigation by Globe revealed clear evidence, in documents and interviews, that its claim of Native American ancestry had not helped it to climb the ladder of legal education.

Warren then released the results of a DNA test that revealed "strong evidence" of an American Indian ancestor aged six to ten generations, which sparked criticism from Republicans and many Native Americans who were offended by the use of a DNA test. to try to claim connection to a tribe.

Victoria McGrane can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @vgmac.

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