Elizabeth Warren unscathed by Scott Brown's smear attempt

(Elizabeth Warren/Facebook) The attacks on Elizabeth Warren for her claims of Native American heritage by Sen. Scott Brown, bolstered by the sickeningly racist Boston Herald, haven't worked with the voters. According to a new Suffolk University poll of likely Massachusetts voters, she trails Brown by just one point, 48-47. That's a major shift from Suffolk's last poll, in Warren's favor. In February, they had Brown up by nine points, 49-40.

Brown was attempting to sow doubt in voters' minds about Warren's honesty. That didn't work.

A plurality of those polled'49 percent'believe Warren is telling the truth about being part Native American. Just 28 percent said she was not being honest while 23 percent weren't sure.

The attacks were also intended to paint Warren as unqualified, as having relied on her heritage claims for educational or career advancement. That didn't work.

A plurality of 45 percent also believe she did not benefit by listing herself as a minority at Harvard or the University of Pennsylvania, where she also taught.

And, ulitimately, a huge majority of voters reject the idea that this story matters at all to the election.

More than two-thirds of voters'69 percent'said Warren's Native American heritage listing is not a significant story, with just 27 percent saying it is.

Deeper down in the poll [pdf], some of Warren's advantages are evident. She is seen as a better advocate for the middle class, 49-36, and as more truthful, 40-37. That's further evidence of how little impact Brown's harping on the Native American story for the past month has had, and how endangered Brown is. 

None of which means there's not still a lot of work for the Warren campaign to do. Brown has high favorable ratings, "up 6 points in three months to 58 percent," and is still seen by 47 percent of voters as an "independent senator." On the other hand, Brown's vote threshold is still below 50 percent. The poll also tested him against immigration attorney Marisa DeFranco, and he topped out at 49 percent to her 28. This is an eminently gettable seat.

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