The Boston Globe released a new poll of the Senate race in Massachusetts. While the headline numbers continue to show Brown and Warren in a virtual tie, there are ominous signs that Warren’s handling of her ancestry claim is taking a toll with voters.
The vast majority of voters (72 percent) said the issue would not affect their vote, but 31 percent of self-described independents – a critical voting bloc – said the issue makes them less likely to support Warren in November. The Harvard professor’s popularity has also risen one percentage point, to 48 percent, since the Globe polled in March, but the percentage of detractors has climbed more precipitously, by nine points to 32 percent.
The poll also found that Sen. Brown is in a strong position, with 60% of voters approving of his job performance.
The media has only recently begun to aggressively cover Warren’s claims and her ever-changing story lines explaining her actions. There also hasn’t been a single political ad on the scandal. Yet, one-third of independents already say they are less likely to vote for her because of it. That’s a very worrying development for the Warren campaign.
It’s also troubling for Warren because, in her efforts this week to finally address the growing scandal, she has made statements that raise serious questions. These new doubts will make independents even more skeptical of her honesty.
The foundational myth of the Warren candidacy is that she is uniquely positioned to police Wall Street and ensure they provide consumers and investors with transparent and ethical disclosures about their practices. Even if we take her latest statements at face value, it has taken more than a month for her to fully disclose her own bio–and, at that, failing to admit that one of its major claims has been thoroughly discredited. If she can’t get her own life story right, how can she effectively police others? When that realization sets in, expect her support to quickly crumble.