The Hill News

Elizabeth Warren's primary challenger for the Democratic nomination in the Massachusetts Senate race is calling on the Harvard professor to reject money from corporate lobbyists and political action committees in the primary race.

Alan Khazei, the founder of a Boston nonprofit organization, said he would not accept any donations from outside groups. While Khazei says that his decision is ideological, it's also a politically savvy move â€" rejecting donations from PACs and lobbyists would lessen the brand-name advantage Warren brings to the race, while accepting donations threatens her credibility as an outsider and reformer. It would also handcuff Warren from accepting donations from some of her biggest supporters â€" labor unions and women's organizations that can fundraise outside the state.

"If she's true to her words, she'll join me in rejecting contributions from every single political action committee and corporate lobbyist," said Khazei in a statement. "For too long now, the political system in Washington has been failing average families because it is corrupted with powerful, monied PACs and special interests who are gaming the system."

Warren quickly jumped to the front of the Democratic field after announcing her candidacy earlier this week. Her work on consumer-affairs issues for the Obama administration, coupled with a relatively high media profile, is expected to draw in national attention â€" and national money. 

Already, EMILY's List, a prominent liberal group that backs female candidates who favor abortion rights, announced its support for Warren. The group raised almost $40 million for candidates last election cycle. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), a liberal activist organization, said last month that it had already raised more than $100,000 on her behalf.

While Warren can lean on grassroots support as well, doing so might make it difficult to stay competitive, especially in a general election against incumbent Sen. Scott Brown. Brown has a well-oiled fundraising machine that draws on Boston's financial-services community; the senator already has $10 million in the bank, according to financial disclosures, and Forbes referred to him last year as "Wall Street's Favorite Congressman."

Khazei also has a fundraising advantage, having had an opportunity to raise money in the months prior to Warren's entry. At the end of June, he had nearly a million dollars raised, according to campaign finance records.