By Molly English, CNN
Washington (CNN) – Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren urged her party on Monday to “read the room” and start reaching out to a broader segment of the working-class community by concentrating heavily on economic matters.
“Americans are stretched to the breaking point financially, and they will vote for candidates who name what is wrong and who credibly demonstrate that they will take on a rigged system in order to fix it,” Warren said in a speech outlining her vision of Democrats’ electoral future at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.
She added that a party that “worries more about offending big donors than delivering for working people is a party that is doomed to fail – in 2026, 2028, and beyond.”
The Massachusetts senator and 2020 presidential candidate has long supported populist policies and stricter regulations on big businesses before affordability became a popular topic. As we approach an important midterm year, Warren is advocating for an “aggressive economic vision” to be at the heart of the Democratic Party’s strategy.
This call comes amid a broader push by Democrats nationwide to highlight economic issues following successful off-year elections in New Jersey, Virginia, and New York City in 2025, where candidates focused heavily on affordability.
“To win, every Democrat should be proposing concrete plans for lowering costs,” Warren said.
This remains a significant concern across the country. A December CNN poll showed that if Americans could tell leaders of the Democratic party one thing that would improve life in America, 22% mentioned improving the cost of living or economic conditions.
Warren stressed that the first step for the party is rebuilding “long-term, durable trust” to create a “big tent” of voters so they understand Democrats “actually understand what’s broken, and trust that we have the courage to fix it – even when that means taking on the wealthy and well-connected.”
Top Senate Democrats are already preparing for affordability to take center stage this campaign season. Last week, Warren teamed up with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to launch an election-year initiative focused specifically on housing.
Warren has consistently brought attention to affordability issues. She proposed creating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau while she was a law professor back in 2007. The agency was established in 2011 but has faced criticism from conservatives; President Donald Trump has aimed at dismantling it since taking office last year despite facing significant challenges doing so.
In a question-and-answer session after her speech, Warren sidestepped directly stating whether Democrats should compromise campaigning on social topics like abortion rights or immigration for economic issues but emphasized it’s essential that “the economic message has to be the tip of the spear for Democrats.”
“It is the thing that American people are telling us they want us to talk about,” Warren said. “I’m trying to lay the foundation for how Democrats run in 2026, and I think we do that on a solid foundation that is based on our economics.”
The-CNN-Wire
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