Elizabeth Warren announces endorsements as AZ early voting begins

On the first day of early voting for Democrats in Arizona’s presidential preference election, three women state senators announced they were endorsing Elizabeth Warren.

Sens. Andrea Dalessandro, Jamescita Peshlakai and Victoria Steele joined what the Warren campaign touted as a “broad coalition of political and grassroots support” across Arizona.

Peshlakai, a Navajo from Cameron and a Gulf War combat veteran, praised Warren as a strong supporter of Native Americans.

“Elizabeth’s plan to address the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women head on will make tribal communities safer and stronger,” she said.

Dalessandro, who is from Green Valley and represents a southern Arizona district, said Warren’s background as a public school teacher gives her insight into how best to fix our education system.

“As a retired teacher, I’ve seen firsthand how our government is working less and less for our public school students, and more and more for the powerful and well-connected,” she said.

And Steele, a Tucson Democrat, lauded Warren for being a “real and genuine” problem-solver with a track record of finding solutions for complicated problems.

“It is time for a woman to lead our country, and that woman is Elizabeth Warren,” she said.

The Warren campaign also announced other endorsements from Arizonans today, including Flagstaff City Council Member Jamie Whelan and Tempe Vice Mayor Lauren Kuby.

Although Warren began the 2020 campaign as among the front-runners for the Democratic nomination, she has faltered in recent months. She finished third place in Iowa and a distant fourth place in New Hampshire. In the most recent polls, she is typically running third or fourth.

Arizona’s election is March 17, but early voting begins today. Between now and then, 22 other states will hold elections or caucuses, including key states like Nevada and South Carolina.

On March 15, Phoenix will host a Democratic presidential debate.