Elizabeth Warren’s ‘big money’ rejection doesn’t apply to general: ‘We’ve got to be willing to win’

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren explained that while she is rejecting so-called “big money” fundraisers during her primary campaign, she does not believe in “unilateral disarmament” when it comes to winning the general election against President Trump.

“Republicans come to the table armed to the teeth,” Mrs. Warren said on MSNBC Monday night. “They’ve got their wealthy, wealthy donors, they’ve got their super PACs, they’ve got their dark money, they’ve got everything going for them.

“And I’m just going to be blunt: I do not believe in unilateral disarmament. We’ve got to go into these fights and we’ve got to be willing to win these fights,” she said.

MSNBC’s “All In” host Chris Hayes asked the Massachusetts Democrat whether that means she would be willing to “raise all the money you can however you can” once she wins her party’s nomination.

“Yes, but here’s what I want you to see that’s different about it, Chris,” Mrs. Warren answered. “Think about the difference, once we’re down to the two candidates, if the Democrats have spent the next year in a primary building this thing face to face, person to person, neighbor to neighbor across the country — think of the kind of foundation that we have laid down, so that when we’re really up against it in the general election, it’s not just money to fund television ads, it’s all the folks who will do the door knocking, it’s all the folks who will make the phone calls, it’s all the folks who will reach out to their network.

“Because we are going to win in 2020. It’s going to big,” she said.

Mrs. Warren was the first 2020 candidate to announce she would refuse contributions from lobbyists and corporate political action committees during her primary campaign. She went a step further Monday, announcing in a Medium post that she would also reject private events with wealthy donors in order to guarantee equal access to every supporter.

“We’re going to take the time presidential candidates typically reserve for courting wealthy donors and instead, use it to build organizing event after organizing event in the early primary states and across the country,” the senator wrote. “Organizers and volunteers are the core of building this campaign and expanding our reach, and I’m going to spend my time supporting them.

“If we do this in the primary, we will build the kind of grassroots organization we need to win the general election,” she continued. “By then we’ll be up against a Republican machine that will be hell-bent on keeping the White House. They will have PACs and Super PACs and too many special interest groups to count, and we will do what is necessary to match them financially. That means investing — starting now — in each and every one of our state parties, and in our national party too.”