Elizabeth Warren is jumping into Democratic primary battles across the country

Sen. Elizabeth Warren took sides in two Senate primaries on Thursday, part of an extended play to reshape her party in several key races — and push back party leaders in one of the most important battleground campaigns of 2026.

The Massachusetts senator on Thursday supported Sen. Zach Wahls of the state in the Senate race of Iowa and Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and military veteran, of Maine. On Wednesday, he approved Sen. Malloy McMorrow in the Democratic Senate primary in Michigan.

Warren has also put his stamp on other contested Senate primaries, giving an endorsement to Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, and Lt. Gov. of Illinois Juliana Stratton, who won the Democratic nomination in her state on Tuesday.

“The best way to make big, low-cost reforms and end corruption in Washington is to elect more fighters to the U.S. Senate,” Warren said in a statement to NBC News. “These candidates inspire people with authentic, grassroots campaigns and are leaders who are ready to fight for working families who are oppressed by a rigid system.”

Warren’s preferred candidates generally support populist policies, often criticize billionaires and corporations, and reject contributions from corporate PACs. Warren also described each as a “fighter” when announcing his endorsement.

His endorsement of Platner puts Warren at odds with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Democratic Party’s Senate campaign wing, which supports Gov. Janet Mills in the Democratic primary to face GOP Senator Susan Collins. The race is a must-win for Democrats hoping to flip the Senate, which will take a huge four-seat advantage in November.

Warren lashed out at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee earlier this year for failing, in his view, to support people who supported systematic economic reform. DSCC chairwoman Kirsten Gillibrand dismissed the criticism, saying she is “focused on winning and getting the best, most formidable candidate,” adding that the committee is also “looking for fighters.”

The endorsement from Warren also comes at a crucial time for Platner, after Mills launched his first attack this week. Mills released a TV ad highlighting social media posts in 2013 in which Platner downplayed sexual harassment. Platner issued a response ad saying those words are “words and statements that I hate from the time of my life when I was struggling the most after coming back from the war” and “not who I am.”

“Look, he’s apologized for that and he’s out talking to the people of Maine every day,” Warren told HuffPost on Thursday.

Warren’s support could be a boon to progressive women voters as Platner tries to fend off that onslaught, said one Democratic strategist who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak openly about the reforms.

“She is a progressive member of parliament from a nearby district, a woman who has taken the lead on all these important issues,” the strategist said. “This is the endorsement you would want right now if you were their campaign.”

Aside from the Maine race, the DSCC has not publicly endorsed a candidate in other contested primaries in key Senate battlegrounds. But the critics of this committee say that the leaders of the parties have quietly spoken what they like. The New York Times reported that a group of senators, including Warren, formed the so-called “Fight Club” to play in the primaries and oppose the possible influence of the DSCC and the leadership of the party, including Schumer.

“Neither Senator Warren nor I have ever shied away from a tough fight, and that’s why I’m so happy to have him in my corner,” said Wahls, the Iowa state senator, in an interview Thursday afternoon when asked about the DSCC’s criticism.

Wahls said Warren’s endorsement Thursday will be a blind spot in his primary, where he will face Rep. Josh Turek. Two of Warren’s Democratic Senate colleagues — Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, who chaired the DSCC, and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire — endorsed Turek this week.

Wahls and Warren have known each other for years. He endorsed his 2019 presidential campaign after he expressed interest in an issue he was working on in the state legislature: protecting Iowans who live in mobile homes from investment firms that want to take over trailer parks.

“He was willing to meet with my constituents and help raise this fight against these predatory companies on a national level,” Wahls said, noting that he and Warren have been in contact “from time to time” since his 2020 presidential bid loss.

“When we launched this Senate campaign, he gave me great advice about how important it is to go everywhere, talk to everyone, think hard about the challenges facing our country,” Wahls said.

Wahls wasn’t the only supporter of Warren’s presidential campaign to receive praise from him this week. McMorrow, a Michigan state senator, has also endorsed Warren’s 2020 run. McMorrow recounted on the Substack website that he began contacting Warren by phone after McMorrow won his first legislative race in 2018 and later endorsed Warren’s presidential campaign, writing that they have “remained close ever since.”

In supporting McMorrow, Warren differed from another front-runner, Sen. Bernie Sanders. Sanders also endorsed Platner in Maine but supported former Wayne County health director Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan. Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens is another front-runner in that primary.

Like Sanders, Warren’s endorsement comes with a fundraising boost as he uses his massive fundraising list to help the nominee.

Wahls was already seeing that growth just hours after Warren endorsed him, saying his campaign was on track to have its best fundraising day of the month and possibly its best of the entire quarter so far.

A McMorrow campaign official said Warren’s endorsement Wednesday coincided with one of the five best digital fundraising days for his campaign. Officials with the Senate campaign of Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota and the campaign of Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton of Illinois also told NBC News that Warren’s endorsement also came with fundraising hurdles.

“That’s huge for a campaign that’s building a digital fundraising system from the ground up,” said a senior member of Stratton’s campaign team.

Warren has also been tracking candidates, including Stratton, who won Tuesday’s primary. Warren campaigned for the Illinois governor last week and appeared in social media videos with Stratton. In one video, Stratton showed Warren his “persistent” tattoo, a nod to Warren’s viral Senate moment in 2017 when he argued against Sen. Jeff Sessions’, R-Ala., attorney general nomination.

Warren also campaigned with Flanagan in Minnesota in August, drawing a crowd of about 1,500 supporters one year before the state’s primary. Flanagan is running against Rep. Angie Craig in a primary that has also divided Senate Democrats and potential 2028 presidential hopefuls.

Warren has continued to play an active role in the Democratic Party, giving more than $400,000 to his campaign in nearly a dozen state groups earlier this year. Warren told Politico at the time that the investment was not a sign that he was eyeing another presidential run.

Asked if he would like to see him run again as president, Wahls said he was focused on his first race which will be held on June 2.

“I’m so focused on the next 74 days, I haven’t even thought about 2028,” Wahls said. “I think that if he were to run for office, he would be a great player again.”