Warren’s stunt pushed her Native American problem deeper into voters’ minds, and they didn’t like what they heard.

Almost no one other than Elizabeth Warren thought her DNA test publicity rollout through The Boston Globe was a smart move.

As we have documented here, Warren has been excoriated by Democrats for pulling this stunt right before the midterms, and by the Cherokee Nation for insulting them and their sovereignty.

Even strong Warren supporters can’t believe she pulled this:

… I have liked Elizabeth Warren for a long time, but this is a massive political liability. She is wrong on this, she doesn’t seem to know she is wrong, she refuses to apologize, and she continues to make it worse. I don’t know why, instead of suggesting that this is a baseless smear, she can’t just say clearly and definitively that she shouldn’t have spent years publicly touting her Native ancestry. This stupid issue would dominate any contest with Donald Trump. It would never end. It would prevent us from ever actually discussing any serious issues. It would be like the goddamn email scandal all over again. And Warren has shown that she would handle it badly. At this point, I do not see how she can be a serious presidential contender.

Caitlin Flanagan at The Atlantic added to the chorus from a distinctly leftie point of view:

And at some point she decided that the thing to do was to have a DNA test and make the results public, which has only proved that Trump can push sensible people past the point of madness. Putting one’s genetic information into the public conversation about one’s fitness for office is a bizarre idea. Moreover, her insistence that it would offer definitive proof of something her supporters believe in was tone-deaf. Doesn’t Warren realize that race is a social construct and whiteness is an idea? Doesn’t she know that the science of genetics is often used as a tool of the oppressor, that you cannot destroy the master’s house with the master’s tools?

Is there evidence that all these anecdotes have hurt Warren with the masses?

Yes.

Politico reports on a newly released Politico/Morning Consult poll (emphasis added):

Roughly half of voters — 49 percent — say Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s decision to release the results of a DNA test indicating she has some Native American ancestry makes no difference in their view of her, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll…. Forty percent of voters surveyed nationally said the test’s release shifted their view in some way — 16 percent said it made their impression of Warren more favorable, while 24 percent said they view her less favorably.

Note the highlighted language. It’s in the middle of a fairly long Politico post, headline of which makes it seem as if there was no big negative fallout. But as Daily Mail U.S. Political Editor David Martosko tweeted, Politico buried the lede:

Buried lede: 24% say Elizabeth Warren’s DNA test exercise made them think less favorably of her. Just 16% say it made them view her more favorably.

Deeper down in the polling data is more bad news for Warren. As I previously noted, the controversy over the DNA rollout has ensured that her Native American problem is more widely known (emphasis added):

Warren shared her DNA test with the Boston Globe last week, and the story quickly dominated national headlines. Nearly two-thirds (61 percent) of those polled said they had seen a significant amount of coverage about Warren’s DNA test — 33 percent of registers voters said they’d seen, read, or heard “a lot” about its release, and 28 percent said they’d seen “some” information about it. Only 15 percent of voters said they’d seen “not much” about the test, and 23 percent said they heard “nothing at all” about it. As for Warren’s decision to list herself as a racial minority in the Association of American Law Schools Director of Law Teachers, a plurality (45 percent) of those surveyed said they agreed it was “inappropriate” for her to do. Twenty percent of registered voters polled said it was appropriate, and 35 percent said they did not know or have an opinion. Broken down by party, 61 percent of Republicans surveyed said Warren’s decision was inappropriate, while 25 percent of Democrats said the same. In contrast, 34 percent of Democrats said the decision was appropriate, and only 9 percent of Republicans agreed.

Michael Graham, who is based in Massachusetts, observed that MA Dems Are Asking: What’s Wrong With Liz Warren?

… in her home state of Massachusetts, there’s a quiet conversation among Democrats: Is Sen. Elizabeth Warren ready for POTUS prime time? “I love Liz Warren, love her to pieces—but I really hope she doesn’t run,” a Bay State Democratic consultant told InsideSources. Like nearly every Democrat we spoke to, this consultant was adamant about not going on the record. And they all had a similar story to tell: Massachusetts Democrats are dubious about Liz Warren as a 2020 presidential campaign, and her performance the the past few weeks have only increased those doubts. “A number of Democrats have told me they hope that she’s not running for president, just making some noise to distract Trump,” a longtime Massachusetts progressive activist tells InsideSources…. What’s most disconcerting for Democratic operatives watching Warren is that she appears to believe that her release of her DNA data regarding her alleged Native American heritage was a win. “She should have known she can’t beat Trump on that issue. He’s going to go after her no matter what,” a Massachusetts Democratic strategist told NHJournal. “All she did with the DNA test was raise questions, not answer them.” … And, once again, the only person who doesn’t appear to grasp that fact is Liz Warren, who is still trumpeting her 0.09 Native American gene match as a political victory. By doing so, she’s feeding fears that she’s not ready for POTUS prime time that previously existed.

In all, Warren’s DNA rollout backfired on her.

Big league.



