The anti-Hillary Clinton movement within the Democratic Party is finally getting some early primary-state credentials.
43 Democratic leaders in Iowa and New Hampshire signed letters Wednesday morning urging Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren to run for president, which would give the Democratic primary a progressive alternative to Hillary Clinton.
The letters were put together by the “Run Warren Run” campaign, which is a joint project of the progressive activist groups MoveOn.org and Democracy for America.
The New Hampshire letter was signed by 27 current or former members of the state House of Representatives and state Senate.
“The Granite State’s grassroots activists, the same friends and neighbors who knocked on doors and made phone calls to send us to Concord, want hear from Senator Warren in 2016, so we’re standing up to make sure their voices are heard,” said state Rep. Renny Cushing.
The 16 signers of the Iowa letter include the Democratic Party chairs or co-chairs of eight different counties as well as the neighborhood of East Des Moines.
The letter was also signed by a supervisor and party central committee members in Johnson County, where college-town Iowa City and the University of Iowa are located. Iowa City provided a major boost to Barack Obama in his caucus victory over Clinton in 2008.