Elizabeth Warren has mostly avoided mounting direct attacks on her Democratic rivals, instead urging her fellow 2020 hopefuls to eschew “harsh tactics” in the primary and keep their eyes on the prize: Defeating Donald Trump. She’s made an exception, at times, with Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former New York mayor and media mogul, accusing him of trying to use his “bags and bags of money” to buy the nomination and demanding that he face up to his history of misogynistic remarks and allegations of fostering a toxic work environment.

Now, she’s escalating her offensive against Bloomberg, suggesting that his past comments on race might be disqualifying. Speaking in Virginia on Thursday, Warren hit the ex-mayor over recently unearthed 2008 remarks he made in which he blamed a shift away from racist redlining policies for that year’s financial collapse. “A video just came out yesterday in which Michael Bloomberg is saying, in effect, that the 2008 financial crash was caused because the banks weren’t permitted to discriminate against black and brown people,” the Massachusetts senator said. “That crisis would not have been averted if the banks had been able to be bigger racists.”

“Anyone who thinks that,” she added, “should not be the leader of our party.” Warren’s broadside came as her campaign desperately seeks a foothold, and may signal that she is looking to draw sharper distinctions between herself and her rivals. Pitching herself as a wonk with a plan for everything, she has tried—admirably—to keep the focus on policy while many of her opponents take swings at one another. But after disappointing performances in Iowa and New Hampshire imperiled her campaign, she may be ready to take the gloves off.

Warren has taken subtle aim at Sanders, her progressive rival, accusing him before the Iowa caucus of telling her that a woman couldn’t win in 2020 and after his New Hampshire win criticizing “supporters of some candidates”— wink, wink —“shouting curses about other Democratic candidates” in her call for unity. “These harsh tactics might work if you’re willing to burn down the rest of the party in order to be the last man standing,” she said.

While suggesting Bloomberg’s redlining remarks are disqualifying would seem to betray that edict—when the dust settles on this increasingly acrimonious primary, the party is going to have to unify around one of these candidates—Warren’s comments are understandable given her long-held views on discriminatory housing practices. Bloomberg, who has yet to compete in a primary or square off against his rivals in a debate, only apologized for the racist stop-and-frisk policy he oversaw when he was at the threshold of his presidential bid. He’s only offered belated apologies for the policy and feeble that’s not what’s in his heart explanations for his out-of-touch defenses of it. Pointing that out, and using the 2008 comments as a springboard to talk about her opposition to redlining, could serve as a reminder of the magic her campaign captured when she surged last summer. “We need to confront the racist legacy of redlining head-on,” she said in an Instagram post Thursday, pointing to her housing plan as a way to address the ongoing issue.

But it’s unclear how confrontational she will ultimately be with the other Democrats, given her preference for policy debates. “If you believe in the plan, you stick to it,” Adam Jentleson, a Democratic strategist close to Warren, told Politico. “She believes in the strategy.” It’s also not clear if a more confrontational approach would ultimately be successful, given the way past dust-ups, most notably with Sanders, have impacted her. “Every time she’s tried to go out there and be more aggressive and really push the envelope in terms of policy and other candidates, there’s been a sharp rebuke from the press and the public against her,” Jonathan Westin, a Warren ally and executive director of New York Communities for Change, told Politico. “There very obviously is a sexism factor on how she’s able to go on the attack.”