Elizabeth Warren dives into NC with endorsements, offices — and a Silent Sam tweet
Elizabeth Warren’s campaign is opening offices in North Carolina and announcing endorsements here ahead of the next Democratic presidential candidate debate on Thursday.
Warren also waded into the North Carolina controversy over the UNC system’s $2.5 million payment for the preservation and display of the Silent Sam statue as it gave the monument to a Confederate group.
The Massachusetts senator drew thousands to her first North Carolina campaign rally held in November at Broughton High School in Raleigh. She also held events with a Latino group in Raleigh and at N.C. A&T State University in Greensboro.
The Warren campaign opened its state headquarters in downtown Raleigh earlier this month.
This week her campaign is opening field offices in Durham, Charlotte and Asheville.
Warren in NC
North Carolina’s primaries for president and other offices are March 3.
One of the elected officials on stage at Warren’s Raleigh rally was state Rep. Deb Butler, the Wilmington Democrat who gained national attention by shouting “I will not yield” to House Speaker Tim Moore when Democrats were caught off guard by a surprise vote to override the state budget, which was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and the subject of a months-long standoff.
Following Butler’s viral video moment, Warren tweeted a video of support to the North Carolina legislator. At Warren’s rally Butler led the crowd in shouting “We will not yield” and “We will persist.” The second was a reference to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell silencing Warren during the confirmation hearings of Jeff Sessions to attorney general, an incident that led to McConnell saying, “Nevertheless, she persisted.”
Butler said at the rally that moment led to Warren being a “role model for every woman, every little girl and every middle-aged legislator in this country.”
On Wednesday, Warren again commented on North Carolina politics in a tweet, sharing a News & Observer story about the UNC Board of Governors payouts to a trust for the North Carolina Sons of Confederate Veterans, saying “Shame on the UNC Board of Governors — and the Republican legislators who used a power grab to appoint this radical board. Public funds should be used for students, not paying off Confederate groups.”
Warren endorsements
Butler’s endorsement is now joined by those of Democratic state lawmakers Rep. Marcia Morey of Durham, Rep. Pricey Harrison of Greensboro and Rep. Susan Fisher of Asheville.
Durham County Commissioner Brenda Howerton, who also endorsed Warren, is hosting the Durham office opening on Wednesday night. Warren is also endorsed by Durham City Council member Vernetta Alston, who is running for a seat in the North Carolina House.
On Thursday, field office openings will coincide with watch parties for the Democratic candidates’ presidential debate.
Fisher is hosting the Asheville office opening and a Democratic debate watch party starting at 6 p.m. Thursday at 530 Merrimon Avenue, Suite E.
In Charlotte, the office opening and a Democratic debate watch party is being hosted by Rep. Christy Clark, who has not announced an endorsement. The Charlotte event starts at 7 p.m. Thursday at 3124 Milton Road, Suite T103.
The public can RSVP for office openings and watch parties at mobilize.us/northcarolinaforwarren/.
Warren’s campaign also announced endorsements from Black Womxn For, which is a progressive group for black women and gender non-conforming people, and from educator Takiyah Amin, activist Leslie Mac and activist Serena Sebring.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Domecast politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it on Megaphone, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published December 18, 2019 at 2:57 PM with the headline "Elizabeth Warren dives into NC with endorsements, offices — and a Silent Sam tweet."
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