Newton's Setti Warren Drops Out Of Race For MA Governor

NEWTON, MA — Supporters of former Mayor Setti Warren woke up to an email from him announcing, not quite a year into his campaign for governor of Massachusetts, he was dropping out of the race, citing campaign funds as the main reason.

"I have always told myself that we could beat Charlie Baker by following Gov. Patrick’s advice: stand up for what we believe and organize our communities. I’m proud that we stayed true to our beliefs, but at the end of the day, grassroots campaigns cost money and it just wasn’t there for us," he wrote.

Warren's campaign has $51,644 in its war chest. By comparison Gov. Charlie Baker has nearly $7.9 million at his disposal according to the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance.

With Warren gone just weeks ahead of the Democratic primary, it leaves Jay Gonzalez, who worked in former Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration, and entrepreneur Robert Massie to vie for the party's nomination on Sept. 4.

Patch reached out to Warren for comment but was told by the Warren Campaign that the former mayor is no longer giving interviews this week after he told the Globe Wednesday evening about his plans.

In September Mount Ida College announced today that Warren was set to serve as a Visiting Fellow at the college beginning in January 2018, following his departure from office.

"In this role, he will teach in the College’s Political Science and Pre-Law programs, work with students on civic engagement and service learning initiatives, and help advance the College’s community relations and fund-raising activities," read the press release at the time.

Warren's teaching role at Mount Ida will end in a couple weeks when the school closes at the end of the semester, according to a campaign official.

For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to your Free neighborhood Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.

In the meantime, check out his full message to supporters:

Nearly a year ago, I stood in front of the house where I grew up–and the house where I live now with my wife and two young children–to ask you to stand with me and take back the Corner Office. I got into this race because I believe that economic inequality is the defining challenge of our time and we’ve got to take it on. Since then, I’ve visited over 160 communities across Massachusetts to talk to people about the need to raise new revenue to fix our broken transportation system, fully fund our public education system, and knock down the opioid epidemic.

We’ve done so much together. We’ve built up a dedicated and hardworking campaign staff and signed up thousands of volunteers. I’ve been honored by the endorsements of Gov. Mike Dukakis, Sheriff Steven Tompkins, Mayor David Narkewicz, Rep. Solomon Goldstein-Rose, VoteVets, the Collective PAC for Black Candidates, and many others. Our grassroots campaign has continued to grow–and Massachusetts Democrats have shown that they are ready to take on the status quo on Beacon Hill.

One thing has always stood in our way. Even though we raised a lot of money from small-dollar donations, raising the kind of money we need to build a grassroots campaign that can take on Charlie Baker has been our biggest challenge from Day 1. Today, I have come to the difficult realization that this challenge is insurmountable. The money just isn’t there to run the kind of campaign I want to run. After talking to my wife Tassy, I have decided to withdraw from this race.

I have always told myself that we could beat Charlie Baker by following Gov. Patrick’s advice: stand up for what we believe and organize our communities. I’m proud that we stayed true to our beliefs, but at the end of the day, grassroots campaigns cost money and it just wasn’t there for us.

I’ve been a public servant for my whole life. For me, running for governor was an extension of the career I started at the Clinton White House and continued through Sen. John Kerry’s office, a deployment to Iraq, and eight years as mayor of my hometown. Though this effort was unsuccessful, I still believe in my heart that I have the capacity to help people. I will continue to look for new ways to serve.

Until we meet again, thank you.

Sincerely,
Setti

Previously on Patch:

Newton Mayor Setti Warren Officially Announces His Bid

For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to your Free neighborhood Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.

Photo of Setti Warren in front of his home last summer with his family as he announced his bid for governor. Credit: Jenna Fisher/Patch