Warren, a Harvard Law School professor whose public profile was forged in part during her battles in Washington as a consumer advocate, faces minimal opposition in her bid to win the party’s backing at the June convention and the nomination in the September Democratic primary.
The question is whether she has the muscle to sweep the caucuses and gain enough slates of delegates committed to her to block the two other candidates in the race - Marisa DeFranco of Middleton and James Coyne King of Dover - from the ballot.
At this point, neither has nearly the financial resources or the widespread support within the party that Warren has put together since she announced her candidacy in September. Last fall, soon after she jumped into the race, several of the more established Democratic candidates dropped out.
Under party rules, a candidate must receive 15 percent of the delegate vote to qualify for the primary ballot, a steep challenge for DeFranco and King. The two face an equally difficult task of getting 10,000 certified signatures by early May as required by state election laws to have their names appear on the ballot. To get those signatures, they will need a large field organization or a major financial commitment to hire a signature gathering firm.
“This is the first internal test of their supporters,’’ said state Democratic Party chairman John E. Walsh, noting that all three candidates are newcomers to electoral politics. “Now they have the first measurement of their operational effectiveness.’’
By most significant measures, it appears that Warren could potentially emerge from the convention as the only Democratic candidate. Statewide polls show her with an enormous lead in the primary matchup. Her record-breaking fund-raising has left her with $6.6 million in the bank as of a month ago.
DeFranco reported a $7,030 balance in her campaign account. King had $1,660.
