Mayor Pete Buttigieg rarely goes into detail on policy, instead showing off his ability to explain and synthesize complicated topics. | Sarah Rice/Getty Images 2020 elections Warren vs. Buttigieg: Battle of the eggheads A former Harvard professor and a Harvard grad aren't afraid to let voters know how smart they are.

A battle of the brains is underway in the Democratic 2020 primary.

Former Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren and Harvard grad Pete Buttigieg are front-runners for the affection of well-educated liberals — an influential slice of the Democratic electorate with the capacity to provide a big boost in a crowded field.


Warren and Buttigieg have thrived in the early months of the race by running as candidates of the thinking person vying to take out an anti-intellectual president. And their targeted audience has taken notice: Polls show disproportionate numbers of Warren and Buttigieg supporters are college-educated Democrats.

But their tactics are radically different. Warren rolls out policies at a relentless clip, embracing her inner wonk and bragging that she “has a plan for that.” At a recent CNN town hall, the Massachusetts senator was asked whether she preferred teaching law students or serving in the Senate. “Oh, teaching, are you kidding?” she responded.

Buttigieg, meanwhile, flaunts his fluency in Norwegian, talks about his love of James Joyce and effortlessly analyzes John Rawls. Though he also describes himself as a wonk, Buttigieg rarely goes into detail on policy, instead showing off his ability to explain and synthesize complicated topics.

“Donald Trump has set the bar so low and I think there’s a real thirst for the exact opposite of him,” said Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic activist and former gubernatorial candidate in Michigan who knows both candidates.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren rolls out policies at a relentless clip, embracing her inner wonk and bragging that she “has a plan for that.” | Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Of course, past Democratic presidential primaries are littered with failed candidates who appealed to liberal elites — Paul Tsongas in 1992, Bill Bradley in 2000 and Howard Dean in 2004. Swiss cheese-eating John Kerry managed to clinch the nomination in 2004, only to fall to regular guy George W. Bush in the general.

But in a crowded primary, winning the well-educated lane would be no minor feat. Indeed, behind the enthusiastic wonkery of Warren and Buttigieg is a clear-eyed political calculation. Highly educated voters tend to be more politically active and more likely to donate money to candidates. They also turn out to vote at higher rates than other constituencies.

Then there's the sheer number of votes up for grabs: According to a CNN analysis of exit poll data from the 2016 Democratic primaries, 53 percent Democratic voters had college degrees, up from 46 percent in 2008.

"In a race with so many candidates, people are looking for what there is to distinguish one candidate from another," Richard Cordray, the former Democratic nominee for governor in Ohio and an ally of Warren, said of the efforts by the two candidates to woo highly educated voters.

Polls reflect how the Ivy League approach is playing with voters. A Morning Consult survey this week found that Warren's most enthusiastic backers are voters with a bachelor’s or post-graduate degree. The same poll found that Buttigieg fares better among people with that level of education than those with some or no college education.

According to a Monmouth poll in late May, among college graduates, Warren polled ahead of every Democrat except Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, who enjoy extremely high name identification. Buttigieg also performed well among that group.

Warren and Buttigieg have some of the most impressive educational backgrounds in the Democratic primary field. Buttigieg graduated from Harvard and then was a Rhodes scholar. Warren was an accomplished academic and lawyer who went on to teach at Harvard Law School.

On the campaign trail, neither shies away from their Ivy League credentials or intellectual bearing. But that may be where the similarities end.

Warren is “someone who really has done her homework and someone who has robust and deeply considered positions,” said Dan Kanninen, an unaffiliated Democratic strategist. And Buttigieg "comes across as someone with the preternatural talent for both connecting the dots on issues and policies.

"I think the perception is that his intelligence is that he can get to the simplest explanation that makes sense to people to describe very complicated problems."

Warren eagerly plays the professor during town hall events, breaking down her policies in easy-to-understand prose. She often tells voters that she’s about to “nerd out” before diving into the weeds.

Warren’s campaign has taken her policy-centric approach to places not typically associated with ivory towers. She visited Kermit, W. Va., a town ravaged by opioid addiction, shortly after rolling out her plan to fight the painkiller epidemic. On a swing through the Mississippi Delta, a region that’s struggled with a high poverty rate, she delved into her plan to make housing more affordable.

The online calculator featured on Warren's campaign website calculating how much college debt her plan would eliminate has been used by 250,000 people.

Buttigieg also isn't afraid to exhibit his intellect. He'll seamlessly slip in asides in the multiple languages he speaks one minute, then draw from law review articles the next to explain why he would add seats to the Supreme Court.

Responding to criticism that Buttigieg has been light on specifics, his team has quietly added policy positions to his campaign website. And the South Bend, Ind., mayor is talking increasingly about his ideas on the trail.

"Substance is very appealing in this day and age. People are very hungry for that," Cordray said.

