The morning after being elected the first female senator in Massachusetts history, Democrat Elizabeth Warren told Matt Lauer on TODAY Wednesday that she is willing to reach across the aisle and work with Republicans in Congress to solve the looming deficit issue.
“I look at that deficit, $16 trillion,’’ Warren said. “We’ve got to find a way to bring that deficit down, and that means that we've got to both cut our spending and we've got to raise more revenue. I think there’s lots of room for compromise in there.’’
The issue of compromise in a gridlocked Congress is one Warren believes voters showed they want addressed.
"I think the key is that we're in the mood to work, and we've got to work on behalf of the people who sent us there,'' Warren said. "I think (the voters) sent a pretty clear message last night. The message is, they're tired of this. They've got to see our country come together and we've got to be looking at things, not for special interests, not for the big guys, but for America's working families."
Warren, 63, defeated Republican senator Scott Brown to return a Democrat to the congressional seat that the late Ted Kennedy held for nearly 50 years. The race was one of the most expensive in Massachusetts history, with the two candidates spending approximately $75 million combined, according to The Boston Globe. Warren has been a fierce advocate of consumer rights and a critic of the financial sector.
"This is a win for America’s middle class,’’ Warren said. "This is a win for every family that really has been hammered and chipped and squeezed for a generation now."
Warren raised a state-record $39 million for her campaign, but much of it came from small donors. She said 80 percent of her campaign funds came from donors giving $50 or less.
"Some of these races at least were not just about big-money interest; they were also about a lot of folks who said, 'This matters to me and I'm going to be part of this,''' Warren told Lauer.
Read more:
Now that he's won, the six splitting headaches waiting for Obama
Wisconsin's Tammy Baldwin becomes first openly gay senator
'War on women' may have helped Democrats; Senate has record number of women