Warren vows to forgo ‘fancy receptions or big money fundraisers’

Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) presidential campaign is pledging to skip “fancy receptions or big money fundraisers” as she seeks to separate herself in an increasingly crowded field of Democratic candidates.

Warren’s campaign sent an email to supporters saying she would avoid the high-end events and skip phone calls with wealthy donors, CNN reported.

“For every time you see a presidential candidate talking with voters at a town hall, rally, or local diner, those same candidates are spending three or four or five times as long with wealthy donors — on the phone, or in conference rooms at hedge fund offices, or at fancy receptions and intimate dinners — all behind closed doors,” Warren wrote, according to the network. “When I thank the people giving to my campaign, it will not be based on the size of their donation.” 

{mosads}The move comes as a number of candidates seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination have decried the use of corporate money in politics, and pledged not to take donations from corporate political action committees.

Warren is one of several candidates to enter the 2020 presidential race, along with Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) and former San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro (D).

Some of those candidates posted significant fundraising hauls, with Sanders, Harris and Klobuchar each touting more than $1 million in donations within a day or two of their announcements.