Elizabeth Warren Celebrity Donors Bring Huge Donations to Campaign
United States Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren has made it her mission to run using small donations from individuals, not corporations. She faces a battle against Massachusetts' Senator Scott Brown in November and has raked in several contributions from big-name celebrities.
Barbara Streisand and producer Marcy Carsey each donated $2,500 to Warren's campaign, as did DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and actor Toby Maguire. Their donations, however, were doubled by the likes of Susan Sarandon, Edward Norton, and Jon Krasinski. Among her biggest-donating celebrities are Jennifer Garner, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon, who all donated $10,000.
Warren released the names of her donors and has made it a mainstream issue that all candidates, no matter the office, fully disclose their donors. Of the $3.15 million that Warren has raised in one month, 56 percent has come from small donations of less than $250, showing her popularity with everyday people.
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Now, though, with the celeb disclosure, more people are able to see her popularity with the A-list. Warren has never claimed to be above her constituents and has committed herself to running an honest, everyday campaign. Her appeal lies in her humility, analysts have said, and could be crucial to her campaign against the incumbent Brown.
There are those, however, who do not trust Warren's "down-home" style and have criticized her history of working for Harvard University.
"This woman has always gone for the gold ring for herself," noted Huffington Post user Charles W. Noble. "Professor at Harvard to train the new Goldman Sachs of the world and now a senator. She seems to be gaining a lot from poor people. Why should anyone believe she's for real?"
Warren, however, has famously said, "There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea? God bless. Keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along."
