Bernie won’t settle for a teepee.
Via Politico:
Bernie Sanders says he speaks with Elizabeth Warren nearly every day — just not about 2020.
But with the two progressive behemoths on a collision course in the presidential primary — and with some progressive activists alarmed that they might split the vote, allowing a more moderate Democrat to win the nomination — Sanders suggested Friday that a pre-2020 discussion among like-minded potential candidates could be forthcoming.
Asked whether he and other progressive contenders should hold talks in an effort to ensure one of them prevails, Sanders told POLITICO, “I suspect that in the coming weeks and months, there will be discussions.”
Asked whether he has spoken already with Warren or Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) about the 2020 campaign, Sanders said, “No, not really.”
An aide to Warren did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sanders’ remarks come as progressive Democrats begin to grapple with the burgeoning field of prospective 2020 candidates. At least three senators — Sanders (I-Vt.), Warren (D-Mass.) and Merkley — are likely to compete for many of the same hard-left supporters Sanders drew in 2016.
Sanders touched off a nine-state midterm election tour on Friday, while Warren has been aggressively preparing for a 2020 launch. Other Democrats, including Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), have taken steps to advance tax and other policy proposals appealing to progressive Democrats.
The jockeying among progressive candidates has sparked worry among some hard-left activists, who fear they could split the vote in the 2020 primary, ceding ground to a more moderate Democrat.