Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren heads to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., for a key Wednesday night speech five points behind her competitor incumbent Sen. Scott Brown, a new PPP poll shows. Warren and Brown were tied at 46 percent in the same poll in June.
Politico's David Catanese writes that a few factors could be keeping Warren at a loss:
The sharp-tongued consumer advocate and Harvard Law professor is struggling to connect with working-class swing voters, many of whom seem more comfortable with Brown and his middle-of-the-road, regular-guy persona. Her fierce criticism of Wall Street has sent some Democratic Bay State financial types scurrying into Brown’s camp, too.
The Morning Joe panel discussed the Senate race and Warren — who has appeared on the msnbc show several times.
"[Warren] hasn’t figured out how to speak to [middle-class voters] yet," NBC News' Chuck Todd stated.
The fact that Warren is struggling with the middle class is interesting given her platforms are largely aimed at helping the middle class.
"We believe that everyone should pay a fair share, including the richest and wealthiest," Warren told the Massachusetts delegation today in Charlotte. "We believe that the middle class should not be hammered harder with more tax increases to pay for more cuts for the wealthy. And we believe in investing in our future: in education, in roads and bridges, in building something for ourselves, for our children, and for our grandchildren."
New York Magazine's John Heilemann questioned if some of her problems stem from her portrayal of Brown.
"She’s made…or did make…a strategic mistake in trying to paint Scott Brown as a right-wing extremist…it just doesn’t work," he said. "I think she’s recognized that now as a mistake, and she’s trying to veer towards a different strategy…He doesn’t fit that mold very well.
Joe Scarborough predicted Warren would deliver a triumphant speech on Wednesday night.
"I think she’s going to blow the roof off the place, because unlike a lot of Democrats that preach the populist game and preach the 1 percent while they’re taking tons of cash from Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America," he said. "She’s walked the walk and she’s talked the talk. She believes it."