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Why Elizabeth Warren Would Endorse Hillary Clinton

by Alex Gladu

The day after Hillary Clinton essentially clinched the Democratic presidential nomination, her party could be taking a major step toward unity — and it would all be thanks to a woman who's not necessarily after the White House. On Wednesday, reports surfaced that Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren would endorse Clinton. The two female Democratic powerhouses don't exactly see eye-to-eye on platform, so why would Warren endorse Clinton?

Ultimately, the decision could come down to party unity. It's no secret that the Democrats have been shaken up throughout the primaries thanks to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose campaign has presented a notable contrast to Clinton's. Sanders represents the more progressive, grassroots side of the Democratic Party, which wants nothing to do with Wall Street and everything to do with the average Joe. Clinton, on the other hand, has big-money backers, a history with Wall Street, and a life story that can seem pretty hard for the average Joe to relate to.

For her part, Warren tends to fall more in line with the progressive side of the party. She's outspokenly anti-Wall Street — but she must not be anti-Clinton, according to the reports of her endorsement.

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The timing of these reports about Warren seem to confirm that she's after party unity. Although Sanders — who's perhaps more like-minded to Warren than Clinton — has vowed to continue campaigning despite losses on Tuesday in New Jersey, California, and elsewhere, Clinton loudly declared victory. Now that Clinton has all but won the nomination, Warren's endorsement could help lure some of Sanders' supporters over to the former secretary of state's court.

Clinton will certainly need that unity in the weeks and months ahead. While she and Sanders battled it out in some of the final primaries on Tuesday, Republican nominee Donald Trump appealed directly to Sanders' supporters. At a speech given in New York on Tuesday night, Trump urged Sanders' supporters to join his fight for a complete overhaul of what he called a "rigged" system.

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Warren has remained officially neutral in the Democratic primary so far, but her endorsement of Clinton makes sense as a move for party unity. It also makes sense given the wide speculation that Clinton could be considering Warren as a potential running mate. The reports which surfaced Wednesday said that Warren wasn't expecting to be added to the ticket, but that she wouldn't rule it out. Joining the ticket could only further serve to unite the now-disjointed Democratic Party.