csmonitor--2020-03-05--Once a front-runner, why Elizabeth Warren's 2020 bid is over

Elizabeth Warren , who electrified progressives with her `` plan for everything '' and strong message of economic populism , dropped out of the Democratic presidential race on Thursday , according to a person familiar with her plans .
The exit came days after the onetime front-runner could n't win a single Super Tuesday state , not even her own .
The Massachusetts senator has n't endorsed Bernie Sanders or Joe Biden , the leading candidates in the race .
But she has talked to both campaigns in recent days and is assessing who would best uphold her agenda , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to discuss private conversations .
The people were n't authorized to speak about Ms. Warren 's intentions publicly and talked to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity .
Ms. Warren 's exit extinguished hopes that Democrats would get another try at putting a woman up against President Donald Trump .
For much of the past year , her campaign had all the markers of success , robust poll numbers , impressive fundraising , and a sprawling political infrastructure that featured staffers on the ground across the country .
She was squeezed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bernie Sanders , who had an immovable base of voters she needed to advance .
Ms. Warren never finished higher than third in the first four states and was routed on Super Tuesday , failing to win any of the 14 states voting and placing an embarrassing third in Massachusetts , behind former Vice President Joe Biden and Sanders .
Her exit from the race following Sen. Amy Klobuchar 's departure leaves the Democratic field with just one female candidate : Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard , who has collected only one delegate toward @ @ @ @ @ @ @ twist for a party that had used the votes and energy of women to retake control of the House , primarily with female candidates , just two years ago .
Ms. Warren 's campaign began with enormous promise that she could carry that momentum into the presidential race .
Last summer , she drew tens of thousands of supporters to Manhattan 's Washington Square Park , a scene that was repeated in places like Washington state and Minnesota .
She had a compelling message , calling for `` structural change '' to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's economy in the name of fairness .
She had a signature populist proposal for a 2 % wealth tax she wanted to impose on households worth more than $ 50 million that prompted chants of `` Two cents !
Two cents ! ''
at rallies across the country .
Ms. Warren began her White House bid polling near the back of an impossibly crowded field , used wonky policy prowess to rocket to front-runner status by the fall , then saw her support evaporate almost as quickly .
Her candidacy appeared seriously @ @ @ @ @ @ @ released a DNA test in response to goading by Mr. Trump to prove she had Native American ancestry .
Instead of quieting critics who had questioned her claims , however , the test offended many tribal leaders who rejected undergoing the genetic test as culturally insensitive , and it didn ’ t stop Mr. Trump and other Republicans from gleefully deriding her as `` Pocahontas . ''
Ms. Warren also lost her finance director over her refusal to attend large fundraisers , long considered the financial life blood of national campaigns .
Still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of detailed proposals on all sorts of policies from cancelling college debt to protecting oceans to containing the coronavirus .
Ms. Warren also was able to build an impressive campaign war chest relying on mostly small donations that poured in from across the country – erasing the deficit created by refusing to court big , traditional donors .
As her polling began improving through the summer , Ms. Warren appeared to further hit her stride as she hammered the idea that more moderate Democratic candidates , including Mr. Biden , weren ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's policies and were too reliant on political consultants and fickle polling .
And she drew strength in the # MeToo era , especially after a wave of female candidates helped Democrats take control of the U.S. House in 2018 .
But Ms. Warren could n't consolidate the support of the Democratic Party ’ s most liberal wing against the race ’ s other top progressive , Mr. Sanders .
Both supported universal , government-sponsored health care under a `` Medicare for All '' program , tuition-free public college , and aggressive climate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` Green New Deal '' while forgoing big fundraisers in favor of small donations fueled by the internet .
Ms. Warren 's poll numbers began to slip after a series of debates when she repeatedly refused to answer direct questions about if she 'd have to raise taxes on the middle class to pay for Medicare for All .
Her top advisers were slow to catch on that not providing more details looked to voters like a major oversight for a candidate who proudly had so many other policy plans .
When Ms. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , her support eroded further .
She moved away from a full endorsement of Medicare for All , announcing that she 'd work with Congress to transition the country to the program over three years .
In the meantime , she said , many Americans could `` choose '' to remain with their current , private health insurance plans , which most people have through their employers .
Mr. Biden and other rivals pounced , calling Ms. Warren a flip-flopper , and her standing with progressives sagged .
Mr. Sanders , meanwhile , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by boasting that he would ship a full Medicare for All program for congressional approval during his first week in the White House .
After long avoiding direct conflict , Ms. Warren and Mr. Sanders clashed in January after she said Mr. Sanders had suggested during a private meeting in 2018 that a woman couldn ’ t win the White House .
Mr. Sanders denied that , and Ms. Warren refused to shake his outstretched hand after a debate in Iowa .
Leaning hard into the gender issue only saw Ms. Warren 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leadoff caucus , however .
But even as her momentum was slipping away , Ms. Warren still boasted impressive campaign infrastructure in that state and well beyond .
Her army of volunteers and staffers looked so formidable that even other presidential candidates were envious .
Just before Iowa , her campaign released a memo detailing its 1,000-plus staffers nationwide and pledging a long-haul strategy that would lead to victories in the primary and the general election .
Bracing for a poor finish in New Hampshire , her campaign issued another memo again urging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ game – but also expressly spelling out the weaknesses of Mr. Sanders , Mr. Biden , and Pete Buttigieg , the former mayor of South Bend , Indiana , in ways the senator herself rarely did .
Ms. Warren got a foil for all of her opposition to powerful billionaires when former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg entered the race .
During a debate in Las Vegas just before Nevada 's caucus , Ms. Warren hammered Mr. Bloomberg and the mayor 's lackluster response touched off events that ended with him leaving the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , that led to a sharp rise in fundraising , but did n't translate to electoral success .
She tried to stress her ability to unite the fractured Democratic party , but that message fell flat .
By South Carolina , an outside political group began pouring more than $ 11 million into TV advertising on Ms. Warren 's behalf , forcing her to say that , although she rejected super PACs , she 'd accept their help as long as other candidates did .
Her campaign shifted strategy again , saying it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Still the longer Ms. Warren stayed in the race , the more questions she faced about why she was doing so with little hope of winning – and she started to sound like a candidate who was slowly coming to terms with that .
`` I ’ m not somebody who has been looking at myself in the mirror since I was 12 years old saying , ‘ You should run for president , ’ '' Ms. Warren said aboard her campaign bus on the eve of the New Hampshire primary , previewing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet official .
`` I started running for office later than anyone who is in this , so it was never about the office – it was about what we could do to repair our economy , what we could do to mend a democracy that 's being pulled apart .
That ’ s what I want to see happen , and I just want to see it happen . ''
She vowed to fight on saying , `` I can not say , for all those little girls , this got hard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to persist.
” But even that seemed impossible after a Super Tuesday drubbing that included her home state .
This story was reported by The Associated Press .

Elizabeth Warren, who electrified progressives with her "plan for everything" and strong message of economic populism, dropped out of the Democratic presidential race on Thursday, according to a person familiar with her plans. The exit came days after the onetime front-runner couldn't win a single Super Tuesday state, not even her own.
The Massachusetts senator hasn't endorsed Bernie Sanders or Joe Biden, the leading candidates in the race. But she has talked to both campaigns in recent days and is assessing who would best uphold her agenda, according to another person who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.
The people weren't authorized to speak about Ms. Warren's intentions publicly and talked to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
Ms. Warren's exit extinguished hopes that Democrats would get another try at putting a woman up against President Donald Trump.
For much of the past year, her campaign had all the markers of success, robust poll numbers, impressive fundraising, and a sprawling political infrastructure that featured staffers on the ground across the country. She was squeezed out, though, by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who had an immovable base of voters she needed to advance.
Ms. Warren never finished higher than third in the first four states and was routed on Super Tuesday, failing to win any of the 14 states voting and placing an embarrassing third in Massachusetts, behind former Vice President Joe Biden and Sanders.
Her exit from the race following Sen. Amy Klobuchar's departure leaves the Democratic field with just one female candidate: Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who has collected only one delegate toward the nomination. It was an unexpected twist for a party that had used the votes and energy of women to retake control of the House, primarily with female candidates, just two years ago.
Ms. Warren's campaign began with enormous promise that she could carry that momentum into the presidential race. Last summer, she drew tens of thousands of supporters to Manhattan's Washington Square Park, a scene that was repeated in places like Washington state and Minnesota.
She had a compelling message, calling for "structural change" to the American political system to reorder the nation's economy in the name of fairness. She had a signature populist proposal for a 2% wealth tax she wanted to impose on households worth more than $50 million that prompted chants of "Two cents! Two cents!" at rallies across the country.
Ms. Warren began her White House bid polling near the back of an impossibly crowded field, used wonky policy prowess to rocket to front-runner status by the fall, then saw her support evaporate almost as quickly.
Her candidacy appeared seriously damaged almost before it started after she released a DNA test in response to goading by Mr. Trump to prove she had Native American ancestry. Instead of quieting critics who had questioned her claims, however, the test offended many tribal leaders who rejected undergoing the genetic test as culturally insensitive, and it didn’t stop Mr. Trump and other Republicans from gleefully deriding her as "Pocahontas."
Ms. Warren also lost her finance director over her refusal to attend large fundraisers, long considered the financial life blood of national campaigns. Still, she distinguished herself by releasing dozens of detailed proposals on all sorts of policies from cancelling college debt to protecting oceans to containing the coronavirus. Ms. Warren also was able to build an impressive campaign war chest relying on mostly small donations that poured in from across the country – erasing the deficit created by refusing to court big, traditional donors.
As her polling began improving through the summer, Ms. Warren appeared to further hit her stride as she hammered the idea that more moderate Democratic candidates, including Mr. Biden, weren’t ambitious enough to roll back Mr. Trump's policies and were too reliant on political consultants and fickle polling. And she drew strength in the #MeToo era, especially after a wave of female candidates helped Democrats take control of the U.S. House in 2018.
But Ms. Warren couldn't consolidate the support of the Democratic Party’s most liberal wing against the race’s other top progressive, Mr. Sanders. Both supported universal, government-sponsored health care under a "Medicare for All" program, tuition-free public college, and aggressive climate change fighting measures as part of the "Green New Deal" while forgoing big fundraisers in favor of small donations fueled by the internet.
Ms. Warren's poll numbers began to slip after a series of debates when she repeatedly refused to answer direct questions about if she'd have to raise taxes on the middle class to pay for Medicare for All. Her top advisers were slow to catch on that not providing more details looked to voters like a major oversight for a candidate who proudly had so many other policy plans.
When Ms. Warren finally moved to correct the problem, her support eroded further. She moved away from a full endorsement of Medicare for All, announcing that she'd work with Congress to transition the country to the program over three years. In the meantime, she said, many Americans could "choose" to remain with their current, private health insurance plans, which most people have through their employers. Mr. Biden and other rivals pounced, calling Ms. Warren a flip-flopper, and her standing with progressives sagged.
Mr. Sanders, meanwhile, wasted little time capitalizing on the contrast by boasting that he would ship a full Medicare for All program for congressional approval during his first week in the White House. After long avoiding direct conflict, Ms. Warren and Mr. Sanders clashed in January after she said Mr. Sanders had suggested during a private meeting in 2018 that a woman couldn’t win the White House. Mr. Sanders denied that, and Ms. Warren refused to shake his outstretched hand after a debate in Iowa.
Leaning hard into the gender issue only saw Ms. Warren's support sink further heading into Iowa's leadoff caucus, however. But even as her momentum was slipping away, Ms. Warren still boasted impressive campaign infrastructure in that state and well beyond. Her army of volunteers and staffers looked so formidable that even other presidential candidates were envious.
Just before Iowa, her campaign released a memo detailing its 1,000-plus staffers nationwide and pledging a long-haul strategy that would lead to victories in the primary and the general election. Bracing for a poor finish in New Hampshire, her campaign issued another memo again urging supporters to stay focus on the long game – but also expressly spelling out the weaknesses of Mr. Sanders, Mr. Biden, and Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, in ways the senator herself rarely did.
Ms. Warren got a foil for all of her opposition to powerful billionaires when former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg entered the race. During a debate in Las Vegas just before Nevada's caucus, Ms. Warren hammered Mr. Bloomberg and the mayor's lackluster response touched off events that ended with him leaving the race on Wednesday.
For Ms. Warren, that led to a sharp rise in fundraising, but didn't translate to electoral success. She tried to stress her ability to unite the fractured Democratic party, but that message fell flat.
By South Carolina, an outside political group began pouring more than $11 million into TV advertising on Ms. Warren's behalf, forcing her to say that, although she rejected super PACs, she'd accept their help as long as other candidates did. Her campaign shifted strategy again, saying it was betting on a contested convention.
Still the longer Ms. Warren stayed in the race, the more questions she faced about why she was doing so with little hope of winning – and she started to sound like a candidate who was slowly coming to terms with that.
"I’m not somebody who has been looking at myself in the mirror since I was 12 years old saying, ‘You should run for president,’" Ms. Warren said aboard her campaign bus on the eve of the New Hampshire primary, previewing a ceasing of campaigning that wasn't yet official. "I started running for office later than anyone who is in this, so it was never about the office – it was about what we could do to repair our economy, what we could do to mend a democracy that's being pulled apart. That’s what I want to see happen, and I just want to see it happen."
She vowed to fight on saying, "I cannot say, for all those little girls, this got hard and I quit. My job is to persist.”
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But even that seemed impossible after a Super Tuesday drubbing that included her home state.
This story was reported by The Associated Press.


csmonitor--2020-03-05--Biden’s big turnaround upends campaign narrative

It ’ s hard to believe that just five days ago , political reporters were writing stories about Joe Biden ’ s “ last stand.
” While many believed the former vice president was likely to win South Carolina , no one predicted the kind of comeback his victory on Saturday would launch .
Last night , Mr. Biden absolutely smashed expectations , turning the entire campaign narrative on its head .
Heading into Super Tuesday , pundits were estimating the best-case scenario for him would be to trail Sen. Bernie Sanders by some 60 delegates .
Instead , Mr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ projected delegate count .
“ This is his nomination to lose , ” declared former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe this morning on MSNBC .
It wasn ’ t just the size but the speed of Mr. Biden ’ s turnaround that was so stunning .
“ I ’ ve never seen a race move 15 points basically overnight , ” tweeted Addisu Demissie , the former campaign manager for Sen. Cory Booker ’ s presidential bid .
“ Let alone 15 separate races doing it in concert , from coast to coast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sudden , dramatic swing was in part spurred by a Democratic electorate that had been paralyzed with indecision for much of the campaign .
At the last minute , Mr. Biden ’ s South Carolina win – followed by Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar dropping out and endorsing him – helped clarify things .
In today ’ s online-all-the-time , interconnected world , timing is everything .
The rosy news cycles Mr. Biden got out of South Carolina were worth more than Senator Sanders ’ s grassroots organizing or Michael Bloomberg ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contain warnings for Mr. Biden .
Many voters had been undecided because the former vice president – the frontrunner for much of the campaign – has performed so unevenly on the trail .
And if a strong news cycle can lead to positive electoral outcomes , a few bad ones could do serious damage .
But on the single biggest day of the primary campaign , Mr. Biden met the moment .
“ We were told , ‘ Well , when you got to Super Tuesday , it would be over , ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last night .
“ Well , it may be over for the other guy.
” Let us know what you ’ re thinking at csmpolitics @ csmonitor.com .

Dear reader:
It’s hard to believe that just five days ago, political reporters were writing stories about Joe Biden’s “last stand.” While many believed the former vice president was likely to win South Carolina, no one predicted the kind of comeback his victory on Saturday would launch.
Last night, Mr. Biden absolutely smashed expectations, turning the entire campaign narrative on its head. Heading into Super Tuesday, pundits were estimating the best-case scenario for him would be to trail Sen. Bernie Sanders by some 60 delegates. Instead, Mr. Biden is now well ahead in the projected delegate count.
Why We Wrote This The former vice president’s Super Tuesday victories have given him a lead in the delegate count and make him the frontrunner once again.
“This is his nomination to lose,” declared former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe this morning on MSNBC.
It wasn’t just the size but the speed of Mr. Biden’s turnaround that was so stunning. “I’ve never seen a race move 15 points basically overnight,” tweeted Addisu Demissie, the former campaign manager for Sen. Cory Booker’s presidential bid. “Let alone 15 separate races doing it in concert, from coast to coast, almost regardless of demographics.”
That sudden, dramatic swing was in part spurred by a Democratic electorate that had been paralyzed with indecision for much of the campaign. At the last minute, Mr. Biden’s South Carolina win – followed by Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar dropping out and endorsing him – helped clarify things.
In today’s online-all-the-time, interconnected world, timing is everything. The rosy news cycles Mr. Biden got out of South Carolina were worth more than Senator Sanders’s grassroots organizing or Michael Bloomberg’s wall-to-wall advertising.
Those same factors still contain warnings for Mr. Biden. Many voters had been undecided because the former vice president – the frontrunner for much of the campaign – has performed so unevenly on the trail. And if a strong news cycle can lead to positive electoral outcomes, a few bad ones could do serious damage.
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But on the single biggest day of the primary campaign, Mr. Biden met the moment. “We were told, ‘Well, when you got to Super Tuesday, it would be over,’” an almost giddy Mr. Biden declared last night. “Well, it may be over for the other guy.”
Let us know what you’re thinking at csmpolitics@csmonitor.com.


csmonitor--2020-03-06--With Elizabeth Warren out, women voters ask: ‘What now?’

“ We need to translate that anger and disappointment into resolve to step up , ” says Ms. Wu .
“ It ’ s not just one seat every four years ...
The more women are serving on city councils and as governors , the more that also changes who we think could be president.
” Michelle Wu , a Warren Senate-campaign staffer who in 2013 was elected to Boston ’ s 13-member city council , says that ’ s all the more reason why passionate , visionary women should run .
With Hillary Clinton , it was understandable , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Donald Trump was a wild card .
But could it be pure coincidence this time around that voters didn ’ t go for any of these women , including the former California attorney general whose questioning of Brett Kavanaugh garnered her a national spotlight ; the most effective Democratic senator in Congress , who won 42 Trump counties in her state ; or the Harvard Law professor who predicted the financial crisis of 2008 and then spearheaded the effort to protect consumers ?
Is America still not ready for a female president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to suspend her candidacy left only one of the record six women who entered the Democratic race still standing – a very distant Tulsi Gabbard .
And for many girls , that is devastating .
Not just for the ones in pigtails who met Senator Warren in selfie lines , wrapped their little finger around hers , and vowed to believe that a woman could be president .
But also for the big girls in business suits – the CEOs and the mothers who told their daughters “ dream big ” as they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ finally , here was a candidate so smart , so passionate , so competent that at last , they would see this dream come true .
And then they didn ’ t .
Instead , they saw a janitor ’ s daughter turned Harvard law professor emerge from her home in Cambridge , Massachusetts , into the almost-spring sunshine and drop out of the 2020 race before the buds had a chance to blossom .
She leaves two septuagenarian white male frontrunners and a very , very distant Tulsi Gabbard in a field @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history with six women candidates .
With Hillary Clinton , it was understandable , Warren supporters say : She had baggage .
Donald Trump was a wild card .
But could it be pure coincidence this time that voters didn ’ t go for any of these six women , including the California attorney general whose questioning of Brett Kavanaugh garnered her a national spotlight ; the most effective Democratic senator in Congress , who won 42 Trump counties in her state ; and the Harvard Law professor who predicted the financial crisis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to protect consumers ?
Then a woman asked the question on so many people ’ s mind : What role do you think gender played in this race ?
“ If you say , ‘ Yeah , there was sexism in this race , ’ everyone says , ‘ Whiner !
’ ” Senator Warren said .
“ And if you say , ‘ No , there was no sexism , ’ about a bazillion women think , ‘ What planet do you live on ?
’ ” Some 29 countries currently have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ women have led 75 countries .
Just not the United States .
“ The real concern is that people will say , why bother ?
If we don ’ t bother , and if women don ’ t run , they can ’ t get elected .
So it ’ s never going to change if they give up , ” says Kathleen Dolan , a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin , Milwaukee .
“ Maybe feel badly for a few weeks and then maybe people who advocate for women @ @ @ @ @ @ @ again.
” Boston city councilor Michelle Wu , a former student of and campaign staffer for Senator Warren , is one of those advocates – arguing that her mentor ’ s defeat should not deter but rather motivate passionate , visionary women to run .
“ I know that it is infuriating and incredibly discouraging , but we need to translate that anger and disappointment into resolve to step up , ” says Ms. Wu , who was one of only two women on Boston ’ s 13-member council when she was elected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ half a dozen women councilors .
“ It ’ s not just one seat every four years .
… The more women are serving on city councils and as governors , the more that also changes about who we think could be president.
” Someone to ‘ lead us out of the abyss ’ But there ’ s a more difficult question , one which a woman who just poured her heart into a year-long campaign doesn ’ t answer before going back into the sanctuary of her home , which is : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for women to clear en route to the White House , is that the main reason why Senator Warren ’ s campaign came to a creaking halt ?
“ There are reasons that candidates lose and men lose all the time , ” says Professor Dolan .
“ Nobody looks at Cory Booker and says , ‘ Why does that man fail ?
’ ” But Warren supporters aren ’ t thinking about Cory Booker right now , or political science research .
They are too sad .
They need a moment .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ designed the perfect liberal female candidate , it would have been Elizabeth Warren .
After Secretary Clinton ’ s loss in 2016 , Senator Warren got them back on their feet , convinced them it could be different this time .
She was the happy warrior , the best candidate they ’ d ever seen .
If any woman could shatter that last glass ceiling in American politics , she could .
Now they ’ re left feeling that nothing will ever be good enough , no woman will ever get to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re still around to see it , at least .
“ It makes me so very sad , ” says Mabe Wassell , an Illinois voter who had come to see the senator in a fluorescent-lit gym in Davenport , Iowa , across the Mississippi River not two months ago .
“ By the time I get to vote [ on March 17 ] , I get to vote for the lowest common denominator … two old men.
” “ I feel the pain she might feel ... the feeling of being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been an amazing , amazing leader , ” says Caroline Yang , a Korean-American in Lexington , Massachusetts .
She says she can relate to being discriminated against , having been passed over for the presidency of a local nonprofit in favor of a white person .
“ There is a certain bias against her that I think is unfair.
” It ’ s not just about advancing women , though .
It ’ s about this extraordinary time in American politics .
“ A lot of us , including myself , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sadness about the outcome of this primary , ” says Debra Feldstein , who started a Women for Warren Facebook group dubbed the PerSisters .
“ Elizabeth Warren was probably one of the most qualified candidates we ’ ve had in recent history to lead us out of the abyss we ’ ve been led into by Donald Trump.
” ‘ Electability ’ and the last glass ceiling Ms. Feldstein lives in Santa Cruz , California , a coastal city of surfers and college kids that she calls “ Bernie country.
” His @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so that she thought she was alone in her choice of Ms. Warren .
Then , one by one , her friends whispered that they , too , actually preferred the Massachusetts senator , but they planned to vote for their second choice because they considered her unelectable .
After more than a dozen of these conversations , Ms. Feldstein started the PerSisters Facebook group to give fellow Warren supporters a sense of community .
In just two weeks , it grew to 856 women around the country .
But ultimately , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ won fewer than 10 % of the delegates that Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden each collected on Super Tuesday , coming in third in her home state of Massachusetts .
“ I think a lot of people didn ’ t vote their conscience because of fear , ” says Ms. Feldstein , a consultant for women-led organizations who says there ’ s no question in her mind that a man with Senator Warren ’ s qualifications would have become the nominee .
“ There ’ s a view that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ women , of what looks and sounds like a president.
” Professor Dolan , author of the 2014 book , “ When Does Gender Matter ?
, ” says if you ask people why they don ’ t like the senator , they ’ ll say she ’ s hectoring or bossy .
“ These are the same people who are like , ‘ Oh Bernie , he ’ s so passionate , ’ ” she says .
But she also points out that Hillary Clinton , “ who arguably had the most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for president , ” still got 3 million more votes than President Trump and did as well among Democrats as he did among Republicans .
There are many factors in elections .
Gender is just one of them , she says , citing research that shows that women win as often as men when they run , and that the gender of candidates plays a minimal role in determining voters ’ choices .
But there ’ s also a wild card factor in this race .
“ Donald Trump has broken everything about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he has broken presidential elections … to the point that all Democrats care about is beating him , ” says Professor Dolan .
“ Democrats are paralyzed with fear and they simply want to know who ’ s going to beat Trump .
But the problem is , nobody knows who ’ s going to beat Trump.
” Surely Senator Warren could , the way she pilloried Michael Bloomberg on national TV and demanded that he unmuzzle the women who had lodged sexual harassment and discrimination complaints against him , her supporters say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her , though there are quantitative challenges to that argument .
They blame men – why can ’ t they be as enlightened as in Scandinavia ?
They blame other women , who they say were intimidated by someone as strong as Senator Warren .
They blame political calculation over voting one ’ s conscience .
“ People kept saying , ‘ I can ’ t just follow my heart , I have to do the right thing , ’ ” says Camille Brown , a New Hampshire voter .
“ And the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they wanted the sure bet .
It ’ s too bad that people can ’ t just vote for the person who is the best candidate.
” But they have no regrets about their choice .
And neither does she .
And maybe , they will find solace in signs of progress : in six women running for president this year , and what looks likely to be a record number running for the U.S. House and Senate , building on 2018 ’ s record number elected .
“ Even though she is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s done is really life-changing for me , especially because I ’ ve never been involved – but also people around me , ” says Bridget Saffold , an African American woman who hosted the first-ever house party for a presidential candidate in her black community of Waterloo , Iowa , drawing 300 people to hear Senator Warren .
Many of those people had never been engaged before , including her best friend .
Ms. Saffold has watched her go from the sidelines to the front lines , caucusing for the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ getting increasingly involved in city politics .
And then there ’ s all those younger girls the senator has inspired , like Karina Beltran , a high school junior in Los Angeles who got the news in the middle of sociology class .
“ As soon as class ended , I got on Twitter and my eyes got watery , and my friends were like , ‘ Are you going to cry ?
’ And I was like , ‘ No , I ’ m not !
’ ” she says .
She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had a lot invested in this race – and not just the dog-walking money she donated to the campaign .
“ I really hope I ’ ll be alive for the first woman president , ” she says .
“ One of the hardest parts of this is all those pinky promises and all those little girls who are going to have to wait four more years , ” Senator Warren said Thursday , looking up in such a way that her friends might have asked her , are you going to cry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The fight is still on .

“We need to translate that anger and disappointment into resolve to step up,” says Ms. Wu. “It’s not just one seat every four years ... The more women are serving on city councils and as governors, the more that also changes who we think could be president.”
Michelle Wu, a Warren Senate-campaign staffer who in 2013 was elected to Boston’s 13-member city council, says that’s all the more reason why passionate, visionary women should run.
What will it take to crack the final glass ceiling in U.S. politics? That’s the question women voters are asking after a record six women ran for president and fell short of the nomination.
With Hillary Clinton, it was understandable, Warren supporters say: She had baggage. Donald Trump was a wild card. But could it be pure coincidence this time around that voters didn’t go for any of these women, including the former California attorney general whose questioning of Brett Kavanaugh garnered her a national spotlight; the most effective Democratic senator in Congress, who won 42 Trump counties in her state; or the Harvard Law professor who predicted the financial crisis of 2008 and then spearheaded the effort to protect consumers?
Is America still not ready for a female president? Elizabeth Warren’s decision Thursday to suspend her candidacy left only one of the record six women who entered the Democratic race still standing – a very distant Tulsi Gabbard.
Elizabeth Warren made a pinky promise that America couldn’t keep.
And for many girls, that is devastating. Not just for the ones in pigtails who met Senator Warren in selfie lines, wrapped their little finger around hers, and vowed to believe that a woman could be president. But also for the big girls in business suits – the CEOs and the mothers who told their daughters “dream big” as they tucked them into bed. They thought finally, here was a candidate so smart, so passionate, so competent that at last, they would see this dream come true.
And then they didn’t.
Why We Wrote This What will it take to crack the final glass ceiling in U.S. politics? That’s the question women voters are asking after a record six women ran for president and fell short of the nomination.
Instead, they saw a janitor’s daughter turned Harvard law professor emerge from her home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, into the almost-spring sunshine and drop out of the 2020 race before the buds had a chance to blossom. She leaves two septuagenarian white male frontrunners and a very, very distant Tulsi Gabbard in a field that began as the most diverse in history with six women candidates.
With Hillary Clinton, it was understandable, Warren supporters say: She had baggage. Donald Trump was a wild card. But could it be pure coincidence this time that voters didn’t go for any of these six women, including the California attorney general whose questioning of Brett Kavanaugh garnered her a national spotlight; the most effective Democratic senator in Congress, who won 42 Trump counties in her state; and the Harvard Law professor who predicted the financial crisis of 2008 and then spearheaded the effort to protect consumers?
Then a woman asked the question on so many people’s mind: What role do you think gender played in this race?
“If you say, ‘Yeah, there was sexism in this race,’ everyone says, ‘Whiner!’ ” Senator Warren said. “And if you say, ‘No, there was no sexism,’ about a bazillion women think, ‘What planet do you live on?’ ”
Some 29 countries currently have a woman leader. Since 1950, women have led 75 countries. Just not the United States.
“The real concern is that people will say, why bother? If we don’t bother, and if women don’t run, they can’t get elected. So it’s never going to change if they give up,” says Kathleen Dolan, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. “Maybe feel badly for a few weeks and then maybe people who advocate for women candidates will get up and start working again.”
Boston city councilor Michelle Wu, a former student of and campaign staffer for Senator Warren, is one of those advocates – arguing that her mentor’s defeat should not deter but rather motivate passionate, visionary women to run.
“I know that it is infuriating and incredibly discouraging, but we need to translate that anger and disappointment into resolve to step up,” says Ms. Wu, who was one of only two women on Boston’s 13-member council when she was elected in 2013 and is now joined by half a dozen women councilors. “It’s not just one seat every four years. … The more women are serving on city councils and as governors, the more that also changes who we think could be president.”
Someone to ‘lead us out of the abyss’
But there’s a more difficult question, one which a woman who just poured her heart into a year-long campaign doesn’t answer before going back into the sanctuary of her home, which is: Even if there is a higher hurdle for women to clear en route to the White House, is that the main reason why Senator Warren’s campaign came to a creaking halt?
“There are reasons that candidates lose and men lose all the time,” says Professor Dolan. “Nobody looks at Cory Booker and says, ‘Why does that man fail?’ ”
But Warren supporters aren’t thinking about Cory Booker right now, or political science research. They are too sad. They need a moment.
In their minds, if someone had designed the perfect liberal female candidate, it would have been Elizabeth Warren. After Secretary Clinton’s loss in 2016, Senator Warren got them back on their feet, convinced them it could be different this time. She was the happy warrior, the best candidate they’d ever seen. If any woman could shatter that last glass ceiling in American politics, she could.
Now they’re left feeling that nothing will ever be good enough, no woman will ever get to the White House. Or not while they’re still around to see it, at least.
“It makes me so very sad,” says Mabe Wassell, an Illinois voter who had come to see the senator in a fluorescent-lit gym in Davenport, Iowa, across the Mississippi River not two months ago. “By the time I get to vote [on March 17], I get to vote for the lowest common denominator … two old men.”
“I feel the pain she might feel ... the feeling of being rejected, when I know she would have been an amazing, amazing leader,” says Caroline Yang, a Korean-American in Lexington, Massachusetts. She says she can relate to being discriminated against, having been passed over for the presidency of a local nonprofit in favor of a white person. “There is a certain bias against her that I think is unfair.”
Story Hinckley/The Christian Science Monitor View caption Hide caption Mabe Wassell (l.) and her niece Jen Pfaff drove across the river from Illinois to see Sen. Elizabeth Warren speak in Davenport, Iowa. "I want to see a woman president in my lifetime," says Ms. Wassell.
It’s not just about advancing women, though. It’s about this extraordinary time in American politics.
“A lot of us, including myself, are feeling incredible anger and disappointment and sadness about the outcome of this primary,” says Debra Feldstein, who started a Women for Warren Facebook group dubbed the PerSisters. “Elizabeth Warren was probably one of the most qualified candidates we’ve had in recent history to lead us out of the abyss we’ve been led into by Donald Trump.”
‘Electability’ and the last glass ceiling
Ms. Feldstein lives in Santa Cruz, California, a coastal city of surfers and college kids that she calls “Bernie country.” His supporters are very outspoken, so much so that she thought she was alone in her choice of Ms. Warren. Then, one by one, her friends whispered that they, too, actually preferred the Massachusetts senator, but they planned to vote for their second choice because they considered her unelectable.
After more than a dozen of these conversations, Ms. Feldstein started the PerSisters Facebook group to give fellow Warren supporters a sense of community. In just two weeks, it grew to 856 women around the country.
But ultimately, it wasn’t enough. Senator Warren won fewer than 10% of the delegates that Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden each collected on Super Tuesday, coming in third in her home state of Massachusetts.
“I think a lot of people didn’t vote their conscience because of fear,” says Ms. Feldstein, a consultant for women-led organizations who says there’s no question in her mind that a man with Senator Warren’s qualifications would have become the nominee. “There’s a view that people in our country hold, even women, of what looks and sounds like a president.”
Professor Dolan, author of the 2014 book, “When Does Gender Matter?,” says if you ask people why they don’t like the senator, they’ll say she’s hectoring or bossy. “These are the same people who are like, ‘Oh Bernie, he’s so passionate,’” she says.
But she also points out that Hillary Clinton, “who arguably had the most baggage of any woman who has run for president,” still got 3 million more votes than President Trump and did as well among Democrats as he did among Republicans.
There are many factors in elections. Gender is just one of them, she says, citing research that shows that women win as often as men when they run, and that the gender of candidates plays a minimal role in determining voters’ choices. But there’s also a wild card factor in this race.
“Donald Trump has broken everything about American government and American politics. And he has broken presidential elections … to the point that all Democrats care about is beating him,” says Professor Dolan. “Democrats are paralyzed with fear and they simply want to know who’s going to beat Trump. But the problem is, nobody knows who’s going to beat Trump.”
“They wanted the sure bet”
Surely Senator Warren could, the way she pilloried Michael Bloomberg on national TV and demanded that he unmuzzle the women who had lodged sexual harassment and discrimination complaints against him, her supporters say.
They blame the media for ignoring her, though there are quantitative challenges to that argument. They blame men – why can’t they be as enlightened as in Scandinavia? They blame other women, who they say were intimidated by someone as strong as Senator Warren. They blame political calculation over voting one’s conscience.
“People kept saying, ‘I can’t just follow my heart, I have to do the right thing,’” says Camille Brown, a New Hampshire voter. “And the right thing involved somebody else – because they wanted the sure bet. It’s too bad that people can’t just vote for the person who is the best candidate.”
But they have no regrets about their choice. And neither does she.
Christa Case Bryant/The Christian Science Monitor View caption Hide caption Bridget Saffold (r.) and Terrance Hollingsworth (l.) hosted a house party in their backyard for Elizabeth Warren that drew 300 people in Waterloo, Iowa, in the summer of 2019. Here they enjoy an evening at a favorite local restaurant on Jan. 28, 2020.
And maybe, they will find solace in signs of progress: in six women running for president this year, and what looks likely to be a record number running for the U.S. House and Senate, building on 2018’s record number elected.
“Even though she is out of the race, what she’s done is really life-changing for me, especially because I’ve never been involved – but also people around me,” says Bridget Saffold, an African American woman who hosted the first-ever house party for a presidential candidate in her black community of Waterloo, Iowa, drawing 300 people to hear Senator Warren.
Many of those people had never been engaged before, including her best friend. Ms. Saffold has watched her go from the sidelines to the front lines, caucusing for the first time, finding her voice, and getting increasingly involved in city politics.
And then there’s all those younger girls the senator has inspired, like Karina Beltran, a high school junior in Los Angeles who got the news in the middle of sociology class.
“As soon as class ended, I got on Twitter and my eyes got watery, and my friends were like, ‘Are you going to cry?’ And I was like, ‘No, I’m not!’” she says. She did tear up later though. She had a lot invested in this race – and not just the dog-walking money she donated to the campaign. “I really hope I’ll be alive for the first woman president,” she says.
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“One of the hardest parts of this is all those pinky promises and all those little girls who are going to have to wait four more years,” Senator Warren said Thursday, looking up in such a way that her friends might have asked her, are you going to cry? No, she didn’t.
The fight is still on.


csmonitor--2020-03-06--Trump gets heat from supporters on virus in Fox News town hall

President Donald Trump defended the administration 's response to the coronavirus and his confrontational style of name-calling political opponents as he fielded questions Thursday from select members of the public in his first TV town hall of the 2020 election cycle .
Mr. Trump , who regularly calls his top Democratic presidential opponents `` Sleepy Joe '' and `` Crazy Bernie , '' was asked whether he could deliver his message without the controversial rhetoric .
`` When they hit us , we have to hit back .
I really feel that , '' Mr. Trump said in response to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` You ca n't turn your cheek . ''
Fox News , the president 's favorite network , hosted the live event in Scranton , Pennsylvania , a rare instance where the president answered questions from the public .
The first question , from an undecided voter , was about the administration 's response to the COVID-19 virus .
The number of the cases in the U.S. stood at about 200 on Thursday , including 12 deaths – 11 in Washington state and one in California .
`` Everybody has to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work out , '' Mr. Trump said , sounding defensive at times as a pair of Fox News journalists pressed him on the issue .
`` We hope it does n't last too long . ''
It was Mr. Trump 's first 2020 visit to Pennsylvania , a battleground state he won by about 44,000 votes in 2016 .
He did particularly well in northeastern Pennsylvania , where Scranton and Wilkes-Barre have long anchored a strong Democratic presence .
The state is home turf to former Vice President Joe Biden , who spent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his family moved to Wilmington , Delaware .
An electric billboard proclaimed `` Scranton is Joe Biden country . ''
Mr. Biden 's prospects of winning the Democratic presidential nomination surged in the past week after he won South Carolina and then 10 of 14 states on Super Tuesday .
Asked about the Democratic race , the Republican Trump said several times that he was `` mentally '' prepared to take on Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders .
`` I was ready ... and now I have a whole different deal , '' Mr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was scheduled before Mr. Biden 's resurgence .
Mr. Trump chose Scranton as the setting .
He blamed Elizabeth Warren , who dropped out of the Democratic race Thursday , for hurting Mr. Sanders ' chances by not folding her campaign sooner .
Tickets to the town hall were distributed through the Eventbrite website and Fox confirmed questions were selected from people who submitted them via the website .
The audience seemed overwhelmingly supportive of Mr. Trump , greeting the president with thunderous applause and `` USA , USA '' chants .
One @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` truly an honor '' to have him in Scranton .
`` Just do n't tell my husband , '' she said .
Another woman said she 's been on the `` Trump train '' since he announced his candidacy in June 2015 .
A male Democrat who crossed over to vote for Mr. Trump in 2016 shook his head `` no '' when one of the moderators asked whether Democrats could win back his vote .
Democrats were n't content to cede the stage .
A political action committee supporting Democratic candidates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fox News just before and after the town hall in targeted Pennsylvania markets and in Washington featuring a Pennsylvania veteran who voted for Mr. Trump in 2016 but no longer supports him .
It 's part of American Bridge PAC 's latest $ 10 million wave of ads in key swing states aimed at cutting into Mr. Trump 's margins with white , working-class voters .
During the town hall , Mr. Trump fielded other questions about immigration , health care , federal regulations , and more .
Asked if he cared about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under his tenure despite a chugging economy , Mr. Trump said he would focus on the issue in a second term and would like to refinance the debt .
He shifted blame to Democratic President Barack Obama .
Mr. Trump said he last spoke with his predecessor at the Washington funeral of former President George H.W .
Bush .
`` I sat next to him and I said 'Hello , ' and then I said 'Goodbye , ' '' Mr. Trump said , as the audience laughed at his tone .
`` I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
Told that he ca n't reduce the debt without cutting entitlement programs , like Social Security , Mr. Trump said , `` We will be cutting . ''
It was not immediately clear whether he was referring to the mandatory spending programs , discretionary federal spending , or both .
But White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham sought to clarify when one report said he was seeking to cut entitlements .
`` Fake news – POTUS was taking about cutting deficits , NOT entitlements , '' Ms. Grisham tweeted .
During @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a self-proclaimed germaphobe , said he 's gotten over his aversion to hand-shaking , even during the age of the coronavirus .
`` You ca n't be a politician and not shake hands , '' the president said .
`` The bottom line is I shake anybody 's hand now .
I 'm proud of it . ''
He also said he misses being able to walk down the street .
Mr. Trump regularly watches Fox News but has been critical of its polling from late February that showed him losing to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` Worst Polls , just like in 2016 when they were so far off the mark , are the @ FoxNews Polls , '' Mr. Trump tweeted .
This story was reported by The Associated Press .
AP writer Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report .

President Donald Trump defended the administration's response to the coronavirus and his confrontational style of name-calling political opponents as he fielded questions Thursday from select members of the public in his first TV town hall of the 2020 election cycle.
Mr. Trump, who regularly calls his top Democratic presidential opponents "Sleepy Joe" and "Crazy Bernie," was asked whether he could deliver his message without the controversial rhetoric. "When they hit us, we have to hit back. I really feel that," Mr. Trump said in response to the first of two questions about civility. "You can't turn your cheek."
Fox News, the president's favorite network, hosted the live event in Scranton, Pennsylvania, a rare instance where the president answered questions from the public.
The first question, from an undecided voter, was about the administration's response to the COVID-19 virus. The number of the cases in the U.S. stood at about 200 on Thursday, including 12 deaths – 11 in Washington state and one in California.
"Everybody has to be calm. It's all going to work out," Mr. Trump said, sounding defensive at times as a pair of Fox News journalists pressed him on the issue. "We hope it doesn't last too long."
It was Mr. Trump's first 2020 visit to Pennsylvania, a battleground state he won by about 44,000 votes in 2016. He did particularly well in northeastern Pennsylvania, where Scranton and Wilkes-Barre have long anchored a strong Democratic presence.
The state is home turf to former Vice President Joe Biden, who spent his first 10 years in Scranton before his family moved to Wilmington, Delaware. An electric billboard proclaimed "Scranton is Joe Biden country."
Mr. Biden's prospects of winning the Democratic presidential nomination surged in the past week after he won South Carolina and then 10 of 14 states on Super Tuesday. Asked about the Democratic race, the Republican Trump said several times that he was "mentally" prepared to take on Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
"I was ready ... and now I have a whole different deal," Mr. Trump said at the event, which was scheduled before Mr. Biden's resurgence. Mr. Trump chose Scranton as the setting.
He blamed Elizabeth Warren, who dropped out of the Democratic race Thursday, for hurting Mr. Sanders' chances by not folding her campaign sooner.
Tickets to the town hall were distributed through the Eventbrite website and Fox confirmed questions were selected from people who submitted them via the website. The audience seemed overwhelmingly supportive of Mr. Trump, greeting the president with thunderous applause and "USA, USA" chants.
One female questioner told Mr. Trump it was "truly an honor" to have him in Scranton. "Just don't tell my husband," she said.
Another woman said she's been on the "Trump train" since he announced his candidacy in June 2015. A male Democrat who crossed over to vote for Mr. Trump in 2016 shook his head "no" when one of the moderators asked whether Democrats could win back his vote.
Democrats weren't content to cede the stage. A political action committee supporting Democratic candidates planned to run a new ad on Fox News just before and after the town hall in targeted Pennsylvania markets and in Washington featuring a Pennsylvania veteran who voted for Mr. Trump in 2016 but no longer supports him. It's part of American Bridge PAC's latest $10 million wave of ads in key swing states aimed at cutting into Mr. Trump's margins with white, working-class voters.
During the town hall, Mr. Trump fielded other questions about immigration, health care, federal regulations, and more. Asked if he cared about the national debt, which has grown under his tenure despite a chugging economy, Mr. Trump said he would focus on the issue in a second term and would like to refinance the debt. He shifted blame to Democratic President Barack Obama.
Mr. Trump said he last spoke with his predecessor at the Washington funeral of former President George H.W. Bush. "I sat next to him and I said 'Hello,' and then I said 'Goodbye,'" Mr. Trump said, as the audience laughed at his tone. "I didn't like the job he did."
Told that he can't reduce the debt without cutting entitlement programs, like Social Security, Mr. Trump said, "We will be cutting." It was not immediately clear whether he was referring to the mandatory spending programs, discretionary federal spending, or both.
But White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham sought to clarify when one report said he was seeking to cut entitlements.
"Fake news – POTUS was taking about cutting deficits, NOT entitlements," Ms. Grisham tweeted.
During a lightning round, Mr. Trump, a self-proclaimed germaphobe, said he's gotten over his aversion to hand-shaking, even during the age of the coronavirus.
"You can't be a politician and not shake hands," the president said. "The bottom line is I shake anybody's hand now. I'm proud of it." He also said he misses being able to walk down the street.
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Mr. Trump regularly watches Fox News but has been critical of its polling from late February that showed him losing to the five leading Democratic candidates at that point. "Worst Polls, just like in 2016 when they were so far off the mark, are the @FoxNews Polls," Mr. Trump tweeted.
This story was reported by The Associated Press. AP writer Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.


csmonitor--2020-03-06--Federal judge rebukes William Barr for 'misleading the public'

A federal judge on Thursday sharply rebuked Attorney General William Barr 's handling of the special counsel 's Russia report , saying Mr. Barr had made `` misleading public statements '' to spin the investigation 's findings in favor of President Donald Trump and had shown a `` lack of candor . ''
U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton , an appointee of President George W. Bush , delivered the criticism in a 23-page order in which he directed the Justice Department to provide him with an unredacted version of the report so that he could decide if any additional information @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The scolding was unusually blunt , with Mr. Walton saying Mr. Barr had appeared to make a `` calculated attempt '' to influence public opinion about the report in ways favorable to Mr. Trump .
The rebuke tapped into lingering criticism of Mr. Barr , from Democrats in Congress and special counsel Robert Mueller himself , that he had misrepresented some of the investigation 's most damaging findings .
The Justice Department released a 448-page redacted version of Mr. Mueller 's report in April , which examined ties between Russia and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ justice by the president .
BuzzFeed News and the Electronic Privacy Information Center later sued under the Freedom of Information Act for access to the entire document .
In his ruling , Mr. Walton said he needed to review the entire document itself because he could not trust that the Justice Department 's redactions of the report were made properly and in good faith .
The judge said it would be `` disingenuous '' to presume the redactions were `` not tainted by Attorney General Barr 's actions and representations '' throughout the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Attorney General Barr released to the public the summary of Special Counsel Mueller ’ s principal conclusions , coupled with the fact that Attorney General Barr failed to provide a thorough representation of the findings set forth in the Mueller report , causes the court to question whether Attorney General Barr ’ s intent was to create a one-sided narrative about the Mueller report — a narrative that is clearly in some respects substantively at odds with the redacted version of the Mueller report , ” Judge Walton wrote .
The actions cited @ @ @ @ @ @ @ release last March of a four-page summary of Mr. Mueller 's findings .
The letter said that Mr. Mueller had found insufficient evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia to tip the 2016 election , and that Mr. Mueller had not reached a determination on the question of whether the president had obstructed justice .
Mr. Mueller complained to Mr. Barr in a private letter and phone call that he had not adequately captured the seriousness of his report 's conclusions .
Mr. Mueller stressed in his report @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that he did not exonerate the president and that it was not an option to charge Mr. Trump because of longstanding Justice Department policy that sitting presidents can not be indicted .
Mr. Barr has defended his handling of the report , calling Mr. Mueller 's letter to him `` a bit snitty . ''
He said it was his prerogative as attorney general to produce a quick summary of the report , which he referred to as `` my baby , '' while his staff spent weeks on redactions .
In his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he struggled to reconcile Mr. Barr 's public characterizations of the report – which included his statement that Mr. Mueller found `` no collusion '' between the Trump campaign and Russia – with what the document actually said .
Those inconsistencies , Mr. Walton wrote , `` cause the Court to seriously question whether Attorney General Barr made a calculated attempt to influence public discourse about the Mueller Report in favor of President Trump despite certain findings in the redacted version of the Mueller Report to the contrary . ''
This story was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ information provided by The New York Times .

A federal judge on Thursday sharply rebuked Attorney General William Barr's handling of the special counsel's Russia report, saying Mr. Barr had made "misleading public statements" to spin the investigation's findings in favor of President Donald Trump and had shown a "lack of candor."
U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, an appointee of President George W. Bush, delivered the criticism in a 23-page order in which he directed the Justice Department to provide him with an unredacted version of the report so that he could decide if any additional information from the document could be publicly disclosed.
The scolding was unusually blunt, with Mr. Walton saying Mr. Barr had appeared to make a "calculated attempt" to influence public opinion about the report in ways favorable to Mr. Trump. The rebuke tapped into lingering criticism of Mr. Barr, from Democrats in Congress and special counsel Robert Mueller himself, that he had misrepresented some of the investigation's most damaging findings.
The Justice Department released a 448-page redacted version of Mr. Mueller's report in April, which examined ties between Russia and the 2016 presidential campaign and potential obstruction of justice by the president. BuzzFeed News and the Electronic Privacy Information Center later sued under the Freedom of Information Act for access to the entire document.
In his ruling, Mr. Walton said he needed to review the entire document itself because he could not trust that the Justice Department's redactions of the report were made properly and in good faith. The judge said it would be "disingenuous" to presume the redactions were "not tainted by Attorney General Barr's actions and representations" throughout the process.
The New York Times reported:
“The speed by which Attorney General Barr released to the public the summary of Special Counsel Mueller’s principal conclusions, coupled with the fact that Attorney General Barr failed to provide a thorough representation of the findings set forth in the Mueller report, causes the court to question whether Attorney General Barr’s intent was to create a one-sided narrative about the Mueller report — a narrative that is clearly in some respects substantively at odds with the redacted version of the Mueller report,” Judge Walton wrote.
The actions cited by the judge include Mr. Barr's release last March of a four-page summary of Mr. Mueller's findings. The letter said that Mr. Mueller had found insufficient evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia to tip the 2016 election, and that Mr. Mueller had not reached a determination on the question of whether the president had obstructed justice.
Mr. Mueller complained to Mr. Barr in a private letter and phone call that he had not adequately captured the seriousness of his report's conclusions. Mr. Mueller stressed in his report, and in later public statements, that he did not exonerate the president and that it was not an option to charge Mr. Trump because of longstanding Justice Department policy that sitting presidents cannot be indicted.
Mr. Barr has defended his handling of the report, calling Mr. Mueller's letter to him "a bit snitty." He said it was his prerogative as attorney general to produce a quick summary of the report, which he referred to as "my baby," while his staff spent weeks on redactions.
In his opinion on Thursday, the judge said he struggled to reconcile Mr. Barr's public characterizations of the report – which included his statement that Mr. Mueller found "no collusion" between the Trump campaign and Russia – with what the document actually said.
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Those inconsistencies, Mr. Walton wrote, "cause the Court to seriously question whether Attorney General Barr made a calculated attempt to influence public discourse about the Mueller Report in favor of President Trump despite certain findings in the redacted version of the Mueller Report to the contrary."
This story was reported by The Associated Press with additional information provided by The New York Times.


csmonitor--2020-03-07--Surprise reshuffle: Trump names new chief of staff

In the midst of one of the most daunting crises of his administration , President Donald Trump announced he had made a major staff overhaul , replacing his Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney with Republican Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina .
While much of the country was focused on the spreading coronavirus , President Trump announced the surprise reshuffle by Friday night tweet , saying Mr. Mulvaney would become the U.S. special envoy for Northern Ireland .
“ I have long known and worked with Mark , and the relationship is a very good one , ” he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ never shook his “ acting ” title – “ for having served the Administration so well.
” The long-rumored move comes as Mr. Trump has been pulling together a team of loyalists and allies ahead of what is expected to be a bitter reelection fight .
But the timing – as his administration was already facing criticism over its handling of the outbreak – threatened to exacerbate concerns about the government ’ s ability to protect the nation from a virus that has now infected more than 100,000 people worldwide .
Mr. Meadows @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of staff in as many years .
Mr. Mulvaney had been leading the administration ’ s interagency response to the virus until Mr. Trump designated Vice President Mike Pence to lead the whole-of-government effort more than a week ago .
It was just one of a long series of downgrades for Mr. Mulvaney , whose relationship with Mr. Trump began to sour not long after he was named to the position in December 2018 .
Indeed , Mr. Trump had been eyeing the change for many months , according to people familiar with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ until after the impeachment saga was over to make his move .
Mr. Meadows , the onetime leader of the House Freedom Caucus , is a longtime Trump confidant and sounding board , whose political instincts the president respects .
He announced last year that he would not be seeking reelection for his North Carolina House seat , and said he expected to join Mr. Trump ’ s team in some capacity , though it was not clear in what role .
He was officially offered the job Thursday , according to one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who , like others , spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the changes publicly .
Mr. Mulvaney was informed Friday .
Some outside advisers had cautioned the president that making such a high-profile switch during the coronavirus crisis would rattle markets craving stability , and his decision to make the announcement after Wall Street had closed Friday was partly informed by those concerns , the people said .
First elected in the post-Tea Party wave of 2012 , Mr. Meadows quickly established himself as a leader @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Capitol Hill .
He served as chairman of the unyielding Freedom Caucus , and his antics in the House helped spur Speaker John Boehner ’ s sudden retirement .
As Mr. Trump ascended in 2016 , Mr. Meadows switched from his earlier backing of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and – urged on by his wife – joined the Trump train .
Since then he has proven himself an unwavering Trump ally .
A skilled negotiator , Mr. Meadows is seen as both a leader and an outlier among Republicans on Capitol Hill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the failed effort to repeal Obamacare and pass the GOP tax cuts .
But in many ways , he remains his own counsel , with a skill set and status that may serve him well in Mr. Trump ’ s White House .
He has also made clear to the White House and those close to the president that he has no plans to try to rein in Mr. Trump , as others – like Mr. Mulvaney ’ s predecessor , retired four-star Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly – have tried and failed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kelly ’ s efforts to impose military order had grated on Mr. Trump and antagonized outside allies , Mr. Mulvaney , a former congressman from South Carolina , took a laissez-faire approach , making clear he believed his job was to manage the staff and not the president .
He adopted the “ Let Trump be Trump ” mantra that had served others in Mr. Trump ’ s orbit well and focused instead on trying to boost staff morale and wooing lawmakers at the Camp David presidential retreat .
But while he never @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mr. Mulvaney had been relegated to the sidelines even before a disastrous mid-October press conference in which he insisted quid pro quo was normal when it came to foreign policy , undercutting the president ’ s position that there was no such thing in his dealings with Ukraine .
Still , his allies had repeatedly brushed off rumblings of his imminent departure and had said as recently as last month that he planned to stay at least through the election in November .
Mr. Trump had other plans .
Ever since he was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charges , he has been on a tear to rid his administration of those he deems insufficiently loyal .
And he has been assembling a team of trusted confidants as he prepares for a tough reelection fight .
Still , one person close to Mr. Mulvaney insisted he was pleased with the decision to bring in Mr.Meadows , noting the two were friends and had served together on the Freedom Caucus .
Indeed , they said Mr. Mulvaney had raised the idea of Mr. Meadows as chief of staff before Trump had tapped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said he discussed the plan with the president following his trip to India last week .
This story was reported by the Associated Press .
Jonathan Lemire reported from New York .
Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report .

In the midst of one of the most daunting crises of his administration, President Donald Trump announced he had made a major staff overhaul, replacing his Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney with Republican Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina.
While much of the country was focused on the spreading coronavirus, President Trump announced the surprise reshuffle by Friday night tweet, saying Mr. Mulvaney would become the U.S. special envoy for Northern Ireland.
“I have long known and worked with Mark, and the relationship is a very good one,” he wrote, thanking Mr. Mulvaney – who never shook his “acting” title – “for having served the Administration so well.”
The long-rumored move comes as Mr. Trump has been pulling together a team of loyalists and allies ahead of what is expected to be a bitter reelection fight. But the timing – as his administration was already facing criticism over its handling of the outbreak – threatened to exacerbate concerns about the government’s ability to protect the nation from a virus that has now infected more than 100,000 people worldwide. Mr. Meadows will be Trump’s fourth chief of staff in as many years.
Mr. Mulvaney had been leading the administration’s interagency response to the virus until Mr. Trump designated Vice President Mike Pence to lead the whole-of-government effort more than a week ago.
It was just one of a long series of downgrades for Mr. Mulvaney, whose relationship with Mr. Trump began to sour not long after he was named to the position in December 2018. Indeed, Mr. Trump had been eyeing the change for many months, according to people familiar with his thinking, but wanted to wait until after the impeachment saga was over to make his move.
Mr. Meadows, the onetime leader of the House Freedom Caucus, is a longtime Trump confidant and sounding board, whose political instincts the president respects. He announced last year that he would not be seeking reelection for his North Carolina House seat, and said he expected to join Mr. Trump’s team in some capacity, though it was not clear in what role.
He was officially offered the job Thursday, according to one of the people familiar with the matter, who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the changes publicly. Mr. Mulvaney was informed Friday.
Some outside advisers had cautioned the president that making such a high-profile switch during the coronavirus crisis would rattle markets craving stability, and his decision to make the announcement after Wall Street had closed Friday was partly informed by those concerns, the people said.
First elected in the post-Tea Party wave of 2012, Mr. Meadows quickly established himself as a leader of a new generation of conservative Republicans on Capitol Hill. He served as chairman of the unyielding Freedom Caucus, and his antics in the House helped spur Speaker John Boehner’s sudden retirement.
As Mr. Trump ascended in 2016, Mr. Meadows switched from his earlier backing of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and – urged on by his wife – joined the Trump train. Since then he has proven himself an unwavering Trump ally.
A skilled negotiator, Mr. Meadows is seen as both a leader and an outlier among Republicans on Capitol Hill. He was central to talks on the failed effort to repeal Obamacare and pass the GOP tax cuts. But in many ways, he remains his own counsel, with a skill set and status that may serve him well in Mr. Trump’s White House.
He has also made clear to the White House and those close to the president that he has no plans to try to rein in Mr. Trump, as others – like Mr. Mulvaney’s predecessor, retired four-star Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly – have tried and failed to do.
Having seen how General Kelly’s efforts to impose military order had grated on Mr. Trump and antagonized outside allies, Mr. Mulvaney, a former congressman from South Carolina, took a laissez-faire approach, making clear he believed his job was to manage the staff and not the president.
He adopted the “Let Trump be Trump” mantra that had served others in Mr. Trump’s orbit well and focused instead on trying to boost staff morale and wooing lawmakers at the Camp David presidential retreat. But while he never irritated Mr. Trump and outside allies, Mr. Mulvaney had been relegated to the sidelines even before a disastrous mid-October press conference in which he insisted quid pro quo was normal when it came to foreign policy, undercutting the president’s position that there was no such thing in his dealings with Ukraine.
Still, his allies had repeatedly brushed off rumblings of his imminent departure and had said as recently as last month that he planned to stay at least through the election in November.
Mr. Trump had other plans. Ever since he was acquitted by the Senate on the impeachment charges, he has been on a tear to rid his administration of those he deems insufficiently loyal. And he has been assembling a team of trusted confidants as he prepares for a tough reelection fight.
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Still, one person close to Mr. Mulvaney insisted he was pleased with the decision to bring in Mr.Meadows, noting the two were friends and had served together on the Freedom Caucus. Indeed, they said Mr. Mulvaney had raised the idea of Mr. Meadows as chief of staff before Trump had tapped Mr. Mulaney for the job, and said he discussed the plan with the president following his trip to India last week.
This story was reported by the Associated Press. Jonathan Lemire reported from New York. Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.


csmonitor--2020-03-09--As path to nomination narrows, Sanders hopes for Michigan surprise

“ This is an election cycle to be pragmatic for us Democrats , ” says Deborah Laraway , at her Pizza Plus Restaurant in the western Michigan village of Pullman .
“ I ’ ve said all along that when the primary came , I ’ d vote for the front-runner.
” And the Vermont senator is finding himself on the wrong side of a tectonic shift in the Democratic race , as the party ’ s voters appear to be coalescing around what they see as Job 1 : beating President Donald Trump .
In 2016 , Senator Sanders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stunning upset .
Then , it was noncollege-educated white voters in the central and northern parts of the state who helped put him over the top .
But Super Tuesday revealed surprising Biden strength in this demographic , with Mr. Biden carrying noncollege whites in Minnesota over Senator Sanders , 44 % to 32 % .
After underperforming on Super Tuesday , Senator Sanders badly needs a win here – the state with the biggest cache of delegates on March 10 – or he may wind up too far behind the former vice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ catching up .
If South Carolina once looked like Joe Biden ’ s last stand , Michigan is now looking like Bernie Sanders ’ .
Sen. Bernie Sanders needs to win Michigan ’ s Democratic primary , badly .
The self-proclaimed political revolutionary underperformed on Super Tuesday , and a defeat in Michigan – the first Rust Belt state to cast nomination ballots , and the state with the biggest delegate haul among those voting March 10 – could put him too far behind former Vice President Joe Biden to have a realistic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ edged Hillary Clinton here in a stunning upset in 2016 .
Recently , he ’ s scrapped rallies in Missouri and Mississippi to focus on Michigan , where he ’ s denounced Mr. Biden ’ s past support for “ disastrous ” trade pacts , and charged that a Super PAC associated with the former vice president is raking in money “ from every special interest out there.
” But the Vermont senator is finding himself on the wrong side of a tectonic shift in the Democratic race .
The party ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be coalescing around what they see as Job 1 : building a coalition to defeat President Donald Trump in November .
“ This is an election cycle to be pragmatic for us Democrats , ” says Deborah Laraway , who has been cooking and serving meals at her Pizza Plus restaurant in the western Michigan village of Pullman for 35 years .
Michigan is a decent microcosm of the national electorate .
In that sense it will be a test of national political trends , and perhaps will clarify what is now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ does have more African American voters than the national norm , at around 25 % , according to FiveThirtyEight figures based on the 2016 electorate .
It also has fewer Latino voters , at around 3 % .
These deviations could weigh against Mr. Sanders , as African American voters generally have been a strong constituency for Mr. Biden , while Latinos have leaned pro-Bernie .
Noncollege-educated whites make up about 42 % of the Michigan electorate – a slightly higher rate than that of other big northern states such as Ohio and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the central and northern parts of the state who helped Mr. Sanders surprise Mrs. Clinton four years ago .
But Super Tuesday revealed surprising Biden strength in this demographic .
In Minnesota , Mr. Biden carried noncollege whites over Mr. Sanders , 44 % to 32 % , even though the former vice president didn ’ t campaign in the state .
A recent Detroit News/WDIV poll found Mr. Biden leading Mr. Sanders in Michigan , 29 % to 22.5 % .
In general , the state has followed the contours of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weak early favorite who declined following early defeats in Iowa and New Hampshire , then came back strong after a big win in South Carolina , says Matt Grossmann , a political scientist at Michigan State University and author of “ Red State Blues : How the Conservative Revolution Stalled in the States.
” Michigan Democrats have a particular reason to rally around the current front-runner , says Dr. Grossmann – President Trump ’ s whisper-close victory there in 2016 was key to his election .
Take Karen Block .
She lives in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
She works at a laboratory testing facility and her husband is a deputy at Kalamazoo County jail .
She has two college-age children burdened with student loans who support Mr. Sanders .
Ms. Block likes some of Mr. Sanders ’ proposals , including raising the tax rates for the top 10 % to 20 % of Americans and strengthening environmental regulations .
“ But I still think Biden ’ s going to be the one , ” she says .
“ He ’ s going to appeal more to the moderates and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to vote for Trump or who do not want to.
” For Rick Seams , who lives near the southwest Michigan village of Bloomingdale , the primary serves as an opportunity to strike the first blow against President Trump and the conservative movement .
Mr. Seams worked in the paper industry for 28 years in union shops before taking his current job at a nonunion pharmaceutical manufacturing facility .
He has been a consistent Democratic voter , he says .
He remembers thinking in 2016 that Mr. Sanders was “ a little too @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were to gain the 2020 nomination , Mr. Seams would support him against President Trump .
But that same doubt he had about Mr. Sanders in 2016 persists four years later .
“ If it comes down to Bernie or Biden , I would have to lean toward Biden , ” he says .
African American voters were essential in rescuing Mr. Biden ’ s campaign in South Carolina and are expected to be a strong source of support in Michigan .
In February , before Mr. Biden ’ s resurgence began , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Other African American party leaders are offering similar support , including Joel Rutherford , chairman of the Macomb County Black Democratic Caucus .
Mr. Rutherford is a retiree from the U.S. Air Force and the Department of Defense .
The performance of the economy under President Trump is a central issue to him .
“ There ’ s this myth that low unemployment or a high stock market means everything is great economically .
That ’ s just not the case for many people and especially for people of color , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and worried about the harsh political climate of recent years , Mr. Rutherford says he plans to vote for Mr. Biden on Tuesday .
“ There ’ s a big push now for people to get some sort of normalcy in politics .
Joe Biden has a very good chance to do that , ” says Mr. Rutherford .
Marshall Kilgore expresses similar feelings .
An African American student at Western Michigan University and a native of Comstock Park , a suburb of Grand Rapids , Mr. Kilgore was an organizer for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ young to vote .
He plans to cast his primary ballot for Mr. Biden .
“ When you say words like ‘ revolution ’ [ as Mr. Sanders often does ] , you scare people .
You can ’ t use the tactics that were used in the 1960s in 2020 , ” Mr. Kilgore says .
Back at Pizza Plus , Deborah Laraway says she hasn ’ t actually decided who she ’ s going to vote for .
But she ’ s clear on one thing : She won ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ I ’ ve said all along that when the primary came , I ’ d vote for the front-runner and then vote for whoever got the nod in November , even if it were Genghis Khan , ” Ms. Laraway says .

“This is an election cycle to be pragmatic for us Democrats,” says Deborah Laraway, at her Pizza Plus Restaurant in the western Michigan village of Pullman. “I’ve said all along that when the primary came, I’d vote for the front-runner.”
And the Vermont senator is finding himself on the wrong side of a tectonic shift in the Democratic race, as the party’s voters appear to be coalescing around what they see as Job 1: beating President Donald Trump.
In 2016, Senator Sanders edged Hillary Clinton in Michigan in a stunning upset. Then, it was noncollege-educated white voters in the central and northern parts of the state who helped put him over the top. But Super Tuesday revealed surprising Biden strength in this demographic, with Mr. Biden carrying noncollege whites in Minnesota over Senator Sanders, 44% to 32%.
Tuesday’s Michigan primary – the first in a big industrial northern state – will test Bernie Sanders’ support among white working-class voters, and the extent to which Democrats as a whole are consolidating behind Joe Biden.
After underperforming on Super Tuesday, Senator Sanders badly needs a win here – the state with the biggest cache of delegates on March 10 – or he may wind up too far behind the former vice president to have a realistic hope of catching up.
If South Carolina once looked like Joe Biden’s last stand, Michigan is now looking like Bernie Sanders’.
Sen. Bernie Sanders needs to win Michigan’s Democratic primary, badly. The self-proclaimed political revolutionary underperformed on Super Tuesday, and a defeat in Michigan – the first Rust Belt state to cast nomination ballots, and the state with the biggest delegate haul among those voting March 10 – could put him too far behind former Vice President Joe Biden to have a realistic hope of catching up.
Senator Sanders edged Hillary Clinton here in a stunning upset in 2016. Recently, he’s scrapped rallies in Missouri and Mississippi to focus on Michigan, where he’s denounced Mr. Biden’s past support for “disastrous” trade pacts, and charged that a Super PAC associated with the former vice president is raking in money “from every special interest out there.”
But the Vermont senator is finding himself on the wrong side of a tectonic shift in the Democratic race. The party’s voters, across demographic groups, appear to be coalescing around what they see as Job 1: building a coalition to defeat President Donald Trump in November.
Why We Wrote This Tuesday’s Michigan primary – the first in a big industrial northern state – will test Bernie Sanders’ support among white working-class voters, and the extent to which Democrats as a whole are consolidating behind Joe Biden.
“This is an election cycle to be pragmatic for us Democrats,” says Deborah Laraway, who has been cooking and serving meals at her Pizza Plus restaurant in the western Michigan village of Pullman for 35 years.
Lee A. Dean View caption Hide caption Deborah Laraway stands in the restaurant she has owned and operated for 35 years in Pullman, Michigan. She favors pragmatism over ideology in the 2020 election to find the candidate with the best chance to oust President Donald Trump.
Michigan is a decent microcosm of the national electorate. In that sense it will be a test of national political trends, and perhaps will clarify what is now essentially a two-man Democratic race.
It does have more African American voters than the national norm, at around 25%, according to FiveThirtyEight figures based on the 2016 electorate. It also has fewer Latino voters, at around 3%. These deviations could weigh against Mr. Sanders, as African American voters generally have been a strong constituency for Mr. Biden, while Latinos have leaned pro-Bernie.
Noncollege-educated whites make up about 42% of the Michigan electorate – a slightly higher rate than that of other big northern states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania. And it was noncollege whites in the central and northern parts of the state who helped Mr. Sanders surprise Mrs. Clinton four years ago.
But Super Tuesday revealed surprising Biden strength in this demographic. In Minnesota, Mr. Biden carried noncollege whites over Mr. Sanders, 44% to 32%, even though the former vice president didn’t campaign in the state.
A recent Detroit News/WDIV poll found Mr. Biden leading Mr. Sanders in Michigan, 29% to 22.5%. In general, the state has followed the contours of national polling, with Mr. Biden a weak early favorite who declined following early defeats in Iowa and New Hampshire, then came back strong after a big win in South Carolina, says Matt Grossmann, a political scientist at Michigan State University and author of “Red State Blues: How the Conservative Revolution Stalled in the States.”
Michigan Democrats have a particular reason to rally around the current front-runner, says Dr. Grossmann – President Trump’s whisper-close victory there in 2016 was key to his election.
Take Karen Block. She lives in Cooper Township, just north of Kalamazoo. She works at a laboratory testing facility and her husband is a deputy at Kalamazoo County jail. She has two college-age children burdened with student loans who support Mr. Sanders.
Ms. Block likes some of Mr. Sanders’ proposals, including raising the tax rates for the top 10% to 20% of Americans and strengthening environmental regulations.
“But I still think Biden’s going to be the one,” she says. “He’s going to appeal more to the moderates and to the people who are not going to vote for Trump or who do not want to.”
For Rick Seams, who lives near the southwest Michigan village of Bloomingdale, the primary serves as an opportunity to strike the first blow against President Trump and the conservative movement.
Mr. Seams worked in the paper industry for 28 years in union shops before taking his current job at a nonunion pharmaceutical manufacturing facility. He has been a consistent Democratic voter, he says.
He remembers thinking in 2016 that Mr. Sanders was “a little too far left.” If the Vermont lawmaker were to gain the 2020 nomination, Mr. Seams would support him against President Trump. But that same doubt he had about Mr. Sanders in 2016 persists four years later.
“If it comes down to Bernie or Biden, I would have to lean toward Biden,” he says.
African American voters were essential in rescuing Mr. Biden’s campaign in South Carolina and are expected to be a strong source of support in Michigan. In February, before Mr. Biden’s resurgence began, the Michigan Black Democratic Caucus endorsed him. Other African American party leaders are offering similar support, including Joel Rutherford, chairman of the Macomb County Black Democratic Caucus.
Mr. Rutherford is a retiree from the U.S. Air Force and the Department of Defense. The performance of the economy under President Trump is a central issue to him.
“There’s this myth that low unemployment or a high stock market means everything is great economically. That’s just not the case for many people and especially for people of color,” he says.
Wary of radical change and worried about the harsh political climate of recent years, Mr. Rutherford says he plans to vote for Mr. Biden on Tuesday.
“There’s a big push now for people to get some sort of normalcy in politics. Joe Biden has a very good chance to do that,” says Mr. Rutherford.
Marshall Kilgore expresses similar feelings. An African American student at Western Michigan University and a native of Comstock Park, a suburb of Grand Rapids, Mr. Kilgore was an organizer for the Clinton campaign in 2016 despite being too young to vote. He plans to cast his primary ballot for Mr. Biden.
“When you say words like ‘revolution’ [as Mr. Sanders often does], you scare people. You can’t use the tactics that were used in the 1960s in 2020,” Mr. Kilgore says.
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Back at Pizza Plus, Deborah Laraway says she hasn’t actually decided who she’s going to vote for. But she’s clear on one thing: She won’t be voting for President Trump in November.
“I’ve said all along that when the primary came, I’d vote for the front-runner and then vote for whoever got the nod in November, even if it were Genghis Khan,” Ms. Laraway says.