Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks during a campaign event, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020, in Derry, N.H. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Associated Press

A high profile supporter of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren was point blank with criticism as the candidate's disappointing results rolled in primary night: "She's done."

The Warren campaign was effective at reaching voters across the state, but still struggled to persuade people to vote for the senator from the neighboring state.

A former NH Dems chair said she's "disappointed" in Warren's finish, but remains hopeful she's "ready for the long haul."

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NASHUA, N.H. — A high profile supporter of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren was point blank with criticism as the candidate's disappointing results rolled in primary night in New Hampshire.

"She's done," the campaign surrogate told Insider in a text Tuesday night.

Warren supporters' outlooks ranged from disappointed to defeatist in the wake of her distant 4th place finish in New Hampshire, with the surrogate arguing that the tail end of Warren's New Hampshire operation was bungled and less organized than it had been for most of the cycle.

"She couldn't find/doesn't have a lane — die hard progressives went with Bernie when they saw his health scare wasn't lasting," the surrogate, who asked for anonymity because they weren't authorized by the campaign to speak publicly, said in a text message. "She couldn't be the woman/centrist candidate with Klobuchar already there."

Mixed signals were sent about visibility for the campaign, they said, with the surrogate and others feeling held at arms-length at times and hastily courted at others.

The surrogate said Warren's ground game had been the strongest in New Hampshire through the cycle, but the late-term decision making left them befuddled.

JoAnn Fenton, a prominent Democratic organizer and fundraiser in Cheshire County who endorsed Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Monday, said she felt sorry for Warren on primary night.

"I do feel really bad," Fenton said in a text message. "What I think hurt her is not differentiating between big business/Wall Street and small business."

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" ... A lot of business owners perceived her as anti-business," Fenton continued. " ... they hate Trump, but think she's anti-business."

Kathleen Sullivan, who served as chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party in the early 2000s and was an early endorser of Warren, offered a more optimistic take after the 4th place finish.

"Am I a little disappointed? Yes," Sullivan told Insider Wednesday morning.

"It's always sad and difficult when your candidate doesn't do as well as you'd hoped, but as Senator Warren said last night, she's ready for the long haul."

Sullivan said an optimal mix of factors helped lift Klobuchar among undecided voters in New Hampshire at Warren's expense, citing Klobuchar's strong debate performance and endorsements from the editorial boards of three Granite State newspapers: The New Hampshire Union Leader, Seacoast Online and The Keene Sentinel.

"I think everything was continuing to run smoothly [with the Warren campaign], it's just I do think that a couple things happened: The debate happened, and it's pretty clear that a number of people turned to Amy Klobuchar after that debate," Sullivan said.

Sullivan drew on New England sports lore, recalling the Patriots 28-3 Super Bowl comeback in 2017 as a possible parallel to where Warren finds herself now. Nevertheless, Sullivan conceded the result was not ideal for a neighboring state senator widely credited with having the strongest ground game in New Hampshire.

"Long story short, obviously I wish Senator Warren had done better in New Hampshire."

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