Democrats 'doomed to fail' without populist economic message, Warren warns

Elizabeth Warren warns that Democrats need to ‘read the room’ on the economy

Progressive champion Sen. Elizabeth Warren urges Democrats to distance themselves from wealthy donors in midterm election push. (Credit: National Press Club)

With the midterm elections fast approaching, progressive champion Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has a warning for Democrats to stop catering to the wealthy elites if they want to recapture majorities in the House and Senate this year.

"A Democratic Party that worries more about offending big donors than delivering for working people is a party doomed to fail in 2026, 2028, and beyond," Warren, the three-term senator from Massachusetts who ran unsuccessfully for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, emphasized in a speech Monday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

The address by Warren, who to a degree stayed out of the national conversation during President Donald Trump's first year back in the White House, seemed to be her attempt to shape the Democratic Party's approach to the 2026 midterms in her populist image.

The speech was part post-mortem of the 2024 elections, when Trump and Republicans enjoyed sweeping victories as they won back the White House and Senate and held onto their fragile House majority.

PROGRESSIVE POWERHOUSES LAUNCH PRIMARY WAR AGAINST DEMOCRATIC ESTABLISHMENT AHEAD OF 2026 ELECTIONS

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks about the future of the Democratic Party during a newsmaker event at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 12, 2026. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Pointing to the wealthy elites and major Democratic Party donors, Warren argued that "these movers and shakers want the Democratic Party to respond to the 2024 losses by watering down our economic agenda and sucking up to the rich and powerful, claiming that less progressive Democratic Party will win more elections. They are wrong."

Democrats scored decisive victories and overperformances in the 2025 elections and in a slew of special elections and other ballot box showdowns last year, which were fueled by their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation.

"Americans are stretched to the breaking point financially, and they will vote for candidates who name what is wrong and who credibly demonstrate that they will take on a rigged system to fix it," Warren emphasized.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE 2025 ELECTIONS

And she charged that "revising our economic agenda to tiptoe around that conclusion might appeal to the wealthy, but it will not help Democrats build a bigger tent. And it definitely will not help Democrats win elections."

SSen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks with reporters after her remarks about the future of the Democratic Party during a newsmaker event at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 12, 2026 (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

"Democrats need to read the room. Any room not stuffed with billionaires is a room that will tell you it is critically important to lower those costs," Warren reiterated, as she took questions from reporters following her speech.

REPUBLICAN SENATORS TOUT BORDER SECURITY, AFFORDABILITY, IN 2026 CAMPAIGN ROAD TRIP

Warren, a vocal critic of the president, also argued that "Donald Trump has not delivered" when it comes to lower costs. "People have made it clear that this is what matters to them and Donald Trump has not delivered. Our job is to both hold him accountable and to put out our own proposals in order to lower those costs. We do that, we will win."

President Donald Trump speaks on inflation at Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025.  (Adam Gray/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

The senator's speech comes amid a fierce policy debate among Democrats over whether to embrace an economic populist message promoted by Warren, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, and newly elected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, or to support a more moderate, business friendly agenda, in order to court moderate voters souring on Trump and the GOP.

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Warren's address is also her latest move to play an influential role in the 2026 elections.

The senator, who's a member of the informal Senate "Fight Club," a small group of left-leaning senators who are challenging Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's approach to the midterm elections, last week announced she had donated $400,000 to a slew of state Democratic parties.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."