Politics

Petition launches to ‘draft Elizabeth Warren for Senate’

Amanda Carey Contributor
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On Monday the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) launched a petition to draft Elizabeth Warren to run for Senate from Massachusetts in 2012. The campaign comes after President Obama announced his intention to nominate former Ohio Attorney General Rich Cordray, one of Warren’s deputies, to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) — a move the PCCC called “very disappointing.”

“Elizabeth Warren is a bold progressive icon,” read a PCCC email to its members. “And it’s fitting that she’d be the one to win back Ted Kennedy’s seat from Republican Scott Brown in 2012.”

“Let’s tell her that if she runs and keeps fighting for us against powerful interests, a grassroots army will be there to support her candidacy,” the email continues.

In an interview with MSNBC Monday, Warren hinted that she is at least contemplating challenging Republican Sen. Scott Brown in 2012.

“Massachusetts does beckon, in that it’s my home,” said Warren. “I need to do that thinking from home … not Washington.”

Warren, who is well-liked in Democrat circles, is renowned for taking on big banks. She was the chief architect of the CFPB, but would have faced a tough nomination process from Republicans if Obama had appointed her instead of Cordray.

President Obama announced Cordray’s nomination during a Rose Garden ceremony this afternoon. Obama also praised Warren in his remarks, calling her “perhaps the leading voice in our country on behalf of consumers.”