BOSTON – Sen. Elizabeth Warren is seeking a third term representing Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate as voters head to the polls on Election Day. But first she’ll have to overcome a challenge from Republican candidate John Deaton. 

Elizabeth Warren running for re-election

Warren, a former Harvard Law School professor and consumer protection advocate, was first elected to the Senate in 2012, defeating incumbent Sen. Scott Brown. She easily won re-election in 2018 and ran for president in 2020, finishing third in the Democratic primary.

Warren is a member of the Senate Banking Committee who has railed against corporate billionaires and called for a wealth tax on “ultra-millionaires.” She said in her 2024 campaign announcement video that she’s running for office again “because there’s a lot more we’ve got to do” to make child care affordable, combat climate change and enact stricter regulations on banks. 

Who is Elizabeth Warren’s challenger, John Deaton?

Deaton is an attorney living in Swansea and a supporter of cryptocurrency. In campaign ads, he’s compared himself to former moderate Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, and says he’s in favor of abortion rights. The top issue on his website is immigration, and he says Massachusetts “has become Ground Zero in the migrant crisis.”

After winning a three-way race for the Republican nomination in September, Deaton said, “voters are turning their back on divisive partisan politics and are ready to support a message of optimism, unity, and solving problems.” 

Warren-Deaton debate

WBZ-TV hosted the first debate between Warren and Deaton in October. Warren accused Deaton of using “the Donald Trump playbook,” and told voters, “Don’t trust John Deaton.”

Deaton, meanwhile, tried to distance himself from the Republican presidential nominee. 

“She called me a MAGA extremist Republican recruited by the Trump machine when she knew that I was even more critical of Trump than she has been,” he said.

The debate covered immigration, crypto, housing and abortion rights. Deaton said that on the topic of abortion, he is “incapable of supporting a law that would restrict the freedoms and privacy of my own daughters.”

“I appreciate that Mr. Deaton has three daughters,” Warren said. “The justices that set Roe vs. Wade on fire and burned it to the ground collectively have 10 daughters. And Donald Trump has two daughters that we know of.”