Massachusetts senator is considered to have one of the best campaign organisations of any Democrat
Democrat Elizabeth Warren was set Saturday to officially kick off her 2020 White House run with a pledge to defend working Americans, even as a bitter row over her Native American ancestry threatens to nip her campaign in the bud.
The Massachusetts senator – who announced her intention to run on New Year’s Eve – is among the highest-profile of the growing pool of Democrats hoping to unseat President Donald Trump in 2020.
Her past battles with Wall Street have brought her a large following, and she is considered to have one of the best campaign organisations of any Democrat.
But it remains unclear how badly damaged Warren is by a stubborn controversy over her claim to Native American roots – a claim Trump has seized upon to belittle her, mocking her as “Pocahontas” and alleging she lied about her origins for professional benefit.
Hoping to put the controversy to rest, she released DNA tests in October – but this backfired when they showed her to have only negligible amounts of Native blood, dating back at least six generations.
Warren ultimately apologised for her claims to the Cherokee Nation.
But the matter reared its head again this week when The Washington Post published what it said was an official document dating from the 1980s in which Warren listed her race as “American Indian.
