Warren faces pressure to revive fighter persona after 'unity' pitch falls flat

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Beto O'Rourke tried it. Kamala Harris tried it. Cory Booker tried it. And one by one, they all flamed out. Now, Elizabeth Warren is pitching herself as the Democratic candidate who can unify the party's progressive and moderate wings, a play that could lead her down the same bridge to nowhere, unless her message can quickly find some resonance.

The Massachusetts senator has pleaded with voters not to pick a divisive nominee who risks paving the way for President Donald Trump's re-election, telling a devoted crowd of supporters Tuesday in Manchester, New Hampshire, that she was Democrats' "best chance" of marshaling "a unified party" to the voting booths come November.

At the same time, Warren’s also feeling pressure from outside allies to return to her old “fighter” persona. After her unity-centric message flopped in Iowa and New Hampshire — where Warren finished in third and fourth place behind left-wing favorite Bernie Sanders and moderate upstart Pete Buttigieg — one operative supportive of Warren told NBC they hoped the results would be a “kick in the arse” for a campaign that’s been reluctant to stray from its “uniter” message.

The early-state struggles put Warren in a strategic conundrum that she is delicately navigating. She wants to demonstrate her combative streak as a "fighter" without appearing divisive, lest she undercut her closing pitch that she's uniquely suited to unify the party. In recent days she has taken subtle jabs at her main rivals — Sanders and Buttigieg — while reserving her most aggressive attacks for Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire entrepreneur rising in national polls.

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