WASHINGTON (AP) – Elizabeth Warren said Monday that fellow Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders told her he didn’t think a woman could win the White House when they met privately in 2018.
Sanders has denied telling Warren that a woman couldn’t win. But the Massachusetts senator said in a statement that during their two-hour meeting to discuss the 2020 election, “among the topics that came up was what would happen if Democrats nominated a female candidate. I thought a woman could win; he disagreed.”
The dispute marked an extraordinary turning point in a Democratic primary that, with few exceptions, has been characterized by genial differences over domestic issues such as health care. The feud brewing between Warren and Sanders will likely change the tone of the campaign going into Tuesday’s debate and comes less than three weeks before the Iowa caucuses launch the Democratic contest. It also marks a jarring split between the two longtime progressive allies, potentially giving an opening for a more moderate rivals such as former Vice President Joe Biden to attempt unifying the party.
In her statement, Warren said she and Sanders “have far more in common than our differences on punditry.”
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks at a climate rally with the Sunrise Movement at The Graduate Hotel, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)“I’m in this race to talk about what’s broken in this country and how to fix it — and that’s what I’m going to continue to do,” she said. “I know Bernie is in the race for the same reason. We have been friends and allies in this fight for a long time, and I have no doubt we will continue to work together to defeat Donald Trump and put our government on the side of the people.”