Here’s what you need to know about Elizabeth Warren’s challenger, Ian Cain.

Senator Elizabeth Warren has another challenger. Quincy City Council President Ian Cain officially launched his campaign to unseat the popular progressive on Wednesday. Running as a Republican, Cain will first face John Deaton in what could be a close primary race before possibly facing Warren.

Who is Cain and how would he serve in the US Senate? All indications are that he presents himself as a moderate pragmatist, promising to put what’s best for the Bay State above partisan bickering.

“I will be an independent voice for Massachusetts that gets things done and fights for us, above all else,” he said in a video announcing his campaign.

This brutal language appears to be a central element of his campaign, which promotes a “GSD (Get S*** Done) program.”

At 41, Cain is Quincy’s first black and openly gay city council president, but he steers clear of “identity politics” and the progressive left. He was briefly a registered Democrat, but assumed his current role leading the Quincy City Council as an unregistered voter in January. Cain registered as a Republican in late February, according to The Boston Globe.

The story of Cain

Cain was raised in a middle-class, bipartisan, biracial family in Quincy, according to a Commonwealth Beacon profile from last year. An image of him wearing a George HW Bush sticker on his jacket as a child is featured in his launch video.

Cain’s father worked as a headhunter and human resources professional before becoming the first black person to run for municipal office in Quincy. He inspired his son, who remembers dreaming of running for president when he was 7, Commonwealth Beacon.

After attending Boston College High School, Cain earned an undergraduate degree in political science from Boston College and eventually earned an MBA from Duke University. He built a career in venture capital and commercial real estate before funding a startup incubator called QUBIC Labs in 2020.

With QUBIC, Cain sought to grow Massachusetts’ blockchain ecosystem by emulating Miami executives and their efforts to court cryptocurrency companies, according to a World profile from 2022.

He has served on the Quincy City Council since 2016.

Cain’s problems

In 2016, Cain posed for a photo with Warren after meeting her at a young elected officials event. He praised her, writing in a Facebook post that everyone shared her “optimism and commitment” to make meaningful change.

Eight years later, Cain storms out.

“No one disappointed Massachusetts more than Elizabeth Warren. Instead of working for Massachusetts, she works for herself. What’s worse is that it is unable to produce real results because it is mired in extreme partisanship that keeps Washington and our government in a bind,” Cain said in his launch video.

Asked about Cain’s campaign, a Warren spokesperson highlighted the senator’s accomplishments without referring to her potential opponent.

“Senator Warren has fought tough fights and won – from reducing the costs of student debt and hearing aids, to taxing billion-dollar corporations to fund climate investments, to helping provide more than $50 billion dollars in federal funding to Massachusetts – and she will continue to work hard for Massachusetts families, the spokesperson said in a statement.

Cain criticized Warren on social media in the lead-up to her official campaign announcement. Earlier this month, Warren made headlines when she told voters at a mosque that she believed international officials would consider Israel’s actions in Gaza to legally constitute genocide. Cain said that Warren was thereby “appeasing the far-left anti-Israel base” of the Democratic Party.

The “issues” page of Cain’s website makes no mention of the Middle East. On foreign policy, he focuses on responding to China’s growing influence with “even greater American strength, power and innovation.”

Cain emphasizes the need to improve US border security and reduce illegal immigration. On his website, he emphasizes the need to prioritize financial support for American citizens before that of migrants. Cain took advantage of the news that a Brazilian national who entered the United States illegally had been released in Massachusetts after being arraigned on multiple child rape charges.

“(Warren) has shown that she is not prepared to do anything to secure our border or solve this problem. Now these problems are in our backyard. Threatening our communities and our families”, Cain wrote on X.

Donald Trump, who pressured Republican lawmakers to reject a bipartisan bill that would have strengthened border security, has made opposition to illegal immigration and dehumanizing rhetoric about migrants a centerpiece of his presidential campaign. Cain presents himself as a Republican more in the mold of former Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker. Asked about Trump’s hold on the Republican Party last year, Cain responded Commonwealth Beacon that he comes to the party for its pro-business stance and that he references moderates like Baker and former Gov. Paul Cellucci.

Cain told Politico that he would not vote for either Trump or President Biden this fall. He describes himself as “pro-choice.”

Warren is one of the fiercest cryptocurrency critics in Washington, while Deaton specializes in cryptocurrency defense and litigation. On his website, Cain claims that most senators do not know the basics of the “digital economy,” cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. It is committed to “adopting responsible regulations that also do not limit the opportunities” that companies in this sector are trying to create.

Still, Cain told Politico this week that cryptocurrencies and related issues would not be a priority for most Massachusetts voters.

“I saw Elizabeth Warren come out as anti-crypto…And I saw John Deaton come out as pro-crypto. What that really tells me is that they are both blatantly out of touch and out of step with the voters of Massachusetts,” Cain told Politico.

Cain chooses instead to focus on holding politicians accountable, cutting taxes, lowering child care costs, and investing in infrastructure.

Racing outlook

Warren is still considered the heavy favorite to retain her Senate seat, especially after Cain and Deaton faced off in the GOP primaries. A Suffolk University poll in February found Warren had a 54 percent favorability and job approval rating for her job. Asked about a hypothetical matchup in which Jonathan Kraft would run as a Republican, Warren had the support of 56% of respondents.

Warren, a prolific fundraiser, stepped up her efforts in the first quarter of 2024. Her campaign account now contains $4.4 million, according to the World.

Deaton loaned his campaign $1 million and had raised more than $360,000 from individual contributors as of early April. He also has the support of wealthy heavy hitters in the cryptocurrency space, according to Politico.

Cain’s campaign has already collected the 10,000 signatures he needs to appear on the ballot before the May deadline, according to the World. It is working with Targeted Victory, a Virginia-based consulting firm, to scale up its fundraising efforts, according to Commonwealth Beacon. He described his campaign as a “high-growth startup.”