Harvard Law professor and consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren officially announced her campaign for the U.S. Senate Wednesday, confirming speculation that she would seek to challenge Massachusetts U.S. Senator Scott Brown, a Republican.
Ms. Warren, who pushed heavily for the formation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during her time with the Obama administration, announced her candidacy in a video posted on her campaign website
“I grew up on the ragged edge of the middle class, and I know it’s hard out there,” Ms. Warren said in the video. “Middle-class families have been chipped at, hacked at, squeezed and hammered for a generation now, and I don’t think Washington gets it.
“Washington is rigged for big corporations that hire armies of lobbyists. A big company like GE pays nothing in taxes, and we’re asking college students to take on even more debt to get a education. We’re telling seniors they may have to learn to live on less,” Ms. Warren noted. “It isn’t right, and it’s the reason I’m running for the United States Senate.”
“There’s been a lot of very powerful interests who have tried to shut me down, squeeze me, push me sideways and so far it just hasn’t worked,” Ms. Warren said. “I’m willing to throw my body in front of a bus to try to stop bad ideas that are going to be harmful to the middle class.”
Ms. Warren’s announcement is likely to attraction national attention to the U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts. Mr. Brown, who has spent the past several months raising millions of dollars in campaign contributions in an effort to build support, continues to poll well, according to recent surveys.
Speaking Wednesday, Mr. Bown’s campaign said Ms. Warren entry into the race was simply party politics.
“In the meantime, people are hurting and they are looking for work. Scott Brown is going to keep his focus on creating jobs, keeping taxes low, and getting spending and debt under control,” Mr. Brown’s campaign adviser said.
