After a month where Elizabeth Warren's Native American ancestry dominated the tenor of Massachusetts' Senate race, the Democratic challenger appears to be faring well in the polls.
Western New England University's latest survey was released on Saturday, showing Warren and incumbent Sen. Scott Brown (R) in a virtual tie at 45 to 43 percent, respectively. The poll reached 504 registered voters from May 29-31, with a margin of error of 4.4 percent.
Warren's slim edge comes on the heels of Brown drilling claims regarding her Native American ancestry. At a Saturday rally, she told supporters that the heritage talk demonstrates "how nasty" the campaign may get, but added she was "ready" for battle with her Republican adversary.
Over the first two weeks of May, Brown raised the issue on a near-daily basis, calling for Warren to release college faculty personnel records where she listed herself as Native American. On Thursday, Warren acknowledged that she was a listed Native American when working at Harvard University and the University Of Pennsylvania.
Earlier in May, the AP reported that a genealogist uncovered an 1894 document listing Warren's great-great-grandmother as a Cherokee, which would make her 1/32 American Indian. But some members of the Cherokee Nation are not convinced, ramping up their efforts to get answers on Warren's background.
UPDATE (4:30 p.m. ET) -- Warren received Massachusetts Democrats' official backing on Saturday afternoon, securing the endorsement of 95.7 percent of delegates at the state's convention. Attorney Marisa DeFranco had collected the necessary 10,000 public signatures to make Sept. 6's primary ballot, but she fell short of the 15 percent of delegates, ending any possible competition between her and Warren.