Nicole Gaudiano

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Monday that the message of the 2016 election is that Democrats must make it clear that they are the party for working people, not big corporations.

Despite Donald Trump’s election, the Massachusetts Democrat told more than 400 progressive leaders and state lawmakers it is “absolutely clear” that Republican policies don’t have the majority of American support. Half of Trump’s voters said the main reason they voted for him was to “shake up the political establishment,” and not to endorse Republican policy, she said.

“If there is any kind of definitive mandate from the American people from the 2016 election, it seems to me it’s to make government work for working families, not for big corporations, not for wealthy interests,” she said, drawing multiple standing ovations at the State Innovation Exchange annual conference. “We are the party on the side of working people. That’s what we have to make clear.”

The exchange promotes progressive policies at the state level. Warren said progressive state lawmakers, in many cases, will be on the front lines of the fight against Trump and the Republican Party’s “destructive” policies, aimed voter suppression, restrictions on access to abortion and women’s health services, crackdowns on immigration, rollbacks on LGBTQ and labor rights and environmental protections.

“It is essential that we have progressive voices standing firm on the side of working families,” she said. “We’re going to be on defense. But you know what? We’ve got to get out there on offense, as well.”

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Warren, along with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and former Attorney General Eric Holder, said Democrats need to begin focusing now on redistricting and fighting gerrymandering.

As Democrats attempt to overcome historic Republican control of state legislatures, Holder said the new National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which he will chair, will serve as a hub for redistricting strategy to “even the playing field” by 2020 and set priorities for investing in key races for governor, state legislature, and other down-ballot elections. The committee’s work will be a major focus for President Obama after he leaves office.

“We need to increase your numbers,” Holder told the state lawmakers. “That is the bottom line.”

Pelosi said she and other Democrats will be working with state lawmakers to figure out how to “protect” Americans from forthcoming Republican policies. Seniors, she said, are at risk of cuts to long-term care under Medicaid and having to pay more for prescription drugs and losing free checkups as Republicans work to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.

Warren called on progressives to fight “bigotry” and Republican efforts to “hurt” America’s working families. She attributed an increase of hate crimes against racial and religious minorities to Trump’s “ugly” campaign and his attacks on immigrants, minorities, women and people with disabilities.

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She also denounced Trump’s plan to nominate Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, whose nomination for a federal judgeship was rejected by the U.S. Senate 30 years ago because of racially insensitive remarks.

“For me, this is a time for progressives to say, loudly and clearly, there is no place for bigotry in the United States of America,” she said to applause.

Follow @ngaudiano on Twitter.