Pushing back against claims that Democrats remain divided following the 2016 presidential contest, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., this week said the party is united and "ready to fight" as it heads into the 2018 mid-term elections.

The senator, who has become a major figure in progressive politics, told reporters Friday she finds it hard to argue the Democratic Party is deeply divided, particularly given Democrats' unified rejection of GOP-led health care repeal efforts and other policies President Donald Trump's administration has pursued since taking office.

Contending that Democrats have "stood together" on an array of core issues, like health care, additional infrastructure spending and lowered student loan interest rates, the senator dismissed the idea of intraparty conflict.

Instead, she argued, the real divisions exist between Democrats and Republicans.

"One party in America said it was OK to roll back health care coverage for 25 million Americans and one party in America thinks that health care is a basic human right -- I'm ready to go on that one," she said in an interview with the editorial board of The Republican on Friday.

"One party in America thinks that the federal government ought to be making tens of millions of dollars in profits off the backs of kids trying to get an education, and one party in America thinks we ought to cut the costs of student loans -- we ought to do more to help kids get through college without getting crushed by student loan debt -- I'll go with that one too."

Warren argued that the parties' varying stances on such core issues offer insights into the things they value. She added that she believes "Democrats have demonstrated we are ready to fight."

The senator added that Democrats don't have to wait until they have a majority in Congress to begin their fight, noting that the party is already publicly discussing how best to move forward with high-profile issues.

On health care, for example, Warren said, "it's time to start talking about what else do we need to do to change," offering that addressing prescription drug costs could be an area on which lawmakers focus.

Opposition to Trump's agenda, meanwhile, has further helped fuel grassroots organization and pushed the Democratic Party to weigh in on an array of issues in recent months, the senator argued.

"We don't live in a world where a handful of insiders get to run the Democratic Party -- we just don't live in that world," she argued. "We live in a world where the heart and soul of the Democratic Party is down at the grassroots -- this health care fight has shown the power of the grassroots. It's not only that people have shown it to themselves and to each other, they've shown it to the leadership, as well."

"The world's changing and it's changing fast," Warren added.

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, the dean of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, said in a late June interview that he believes Democrats must do more to appeal to and win back those who have left the party and become independents.

He further cautioned Democrats against building their 2018 effort solely on opposition to Trump, arguing that while the Republican president helps unite the party, a long-term, successful political infrastructure needs to extend beyond one figure.

"It's got to be a return to the aspirations our parents and grandparents felt for the Democratic Party," he said. "The people that have left us, I think we need to figure out how to get them back."