Elizabeth Warren’s New Fundraising Rule Is More Than a Gimmick

Rejecting donations from corporate political-action committees has become a trend among Democrats. Roughly 180 of them took the pledge ahead of the November midterm elections, and it quickly caught on among members of the 2020 field, including Senators Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, and Kirsten Gillibrand, who assured their voters that they’re prioritizing small-dollar contributions.

But now Elizabeth Warren is upping the ante, rejecting an entirely new pool of donors on top of corporate PACs. The Massachusetts senator recently announced she would no longer participate in the high-dollar fundraisers and phone calls with wealthy donors that typically permeate a presidential campaign, and on Monday she challenged other candidates to do the same. It’s a decision that could be much more consequential than the PAC-money promise: It could be way more damaging to her campaign coffers, and to those of any other Democrat compelled to match her pledge.

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