Who Will Liberal Voters Support, Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders?

Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are both attracting large crowds as they try to build a movement to transform the U.S. -- but they’re standing in each other’s way.

Underneath the niceties -- the two mostly agree on the issues and refuse to attack each other -- are growing tensions among their allies and supporters as each makes a case to carry the progressive mantle. If no clear choice emerges, it could split the liberal wing and end up helping moderate Joe Biden, who is leading in most polls as they’re locked in a tight battle for second.

And both camps have plenty of stubborn supporters who distrust the other candidate.

The two New England senators -- Sanders represents Vermont and Warren Massachusetts -- poll well with those who identify as liberal. Warren does better with older voters and loyal Democrats, while Sanders is stronger with younger people and disaffected voters who say they feel ignored by both parties.

Conversations at recent Sanders and Warren campaign events in San Francisco and Seattle revealed significant differences in their supporters’ priorities -- and how they view each other.

Read More: Elizabeth Warren Draws Record Crowd of 15,000 in Seattle

Sanders backers are quick to emphasize that he’s been calling for government-run health care and free college longer than anyone else in the race, and they trust him over Warren to deliver. Many say they like Warren, although some worry she’d compromise with what they see as the “establishment” if elected.

“I respect her but I’m not sure she’s for real,” said Terry O’Brien, a teacher in Berkeley, California, who voted for Green Party candidate Jill Stein in 2016 and consumer advocate Ralph Nader in 2000. “I plan on voting for Bernie Sanders.”

O’Brien’s top issue is cutting the defense budget and ending wars, and he said Sanders has been the most vocal and consistent for slashing the military. “I can’t be sure that she’s going to bomb people less,” he said.

Paul Douglas, who manages a Berkeley coffee shop, praised Warren as a “pit bull” when it comes to confronting Wall Street. But he said he was “pretty solid behind Bernie” because “he’s been espousing a lot of these policies for a long time.”

Second Choice

Among Sanders supporters, Warren is the clear second choice in a recent Pew Research Center survey of 2020 primary voters — with 29% naming her, while 14% said Biden was their No. 2 preference. Yet the feeling isn’t mutual. Among Warren fans, 39% named Kamala Harris as a backup option, while 23% picked Sanders and 13% chose Biden.

“I’m with Warren. She thinks through policy. She has a vision,” said Kelly Kajumulo, 52, who attended a Warren rally on Sunday in Seattle. “She’s on top of how to work within the situation that we have, the capitalist system that we have, to provide basic human rights and necessities.”

Democratic Presidential Candidates Speak At DNC Summer Meeting

Elizabeth Warren in San Francisco, California on Friday, Aug. 23.Photographer: Michael Short/Bloomberg

“I like a lot of Bernie Sanders’ policies, but I think he has worked within a bubble for a long time and he hasn’t done what he needs to do to reach outside of that,” she said, suggesting that he pays less attention to combating racism and sexism.