Warren, Brown agree to debates in Massachusetts Senate race

Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) have agreed to hold debates in their closely watched Senate contest, just after the Harvard professor clinched the Democratic nomination in commanding fashion.

Warren officially won the Democratic nomination Friday with 96 percent of the vote at the party's endorsing convention, earning a higher percentage of delegates than any Democrat running for state-wide office in Massachusetts history.

"I want to congratulate Professor Warren on the endorsement she received yesterday at the state Democratic convention," Brown said in a statement. "I look forward to a spirited campaign and a good discussion of the issues, particularly how we can best create jobs, reduce debt and maintain America's position as a global economic leader. Over the next five months, voters will get a chance to hear from both of us through several debates and forums."

As for the debates, aides for the two campaigns will be meeting soon to iron out details of when and where the two will face off.
 
"I am glad Scott Brown has accepted my challenge to debate," Warren said in a statement. "My campaign has received a number of requests from all over the commonwealth, and we will be reaching out to the Brown campaign to discuss debates."

Brown has already floated the idea of one debate, which is being organized by conservative Boston radio host Dan Rea, who has been highly critical of Warren throughout the campaign.

The high-profile Senate campaign has been engulfed in controversy over Warren's ethnic heritage. Warren revealed to the Boston Globe last week that she told both Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, where she previously taught, that she was of Cherokee ancestry. Republicans have questioned that assertion, and Warren has not provided documentation that she has Native American ancestors aside from asserting repeatedly that her parents had told her as much.

But a poll released Saturday by the Globe revealed that 72 percent of all voters and two-thirds of independent voters say that the controversy over Warren's heritage will not affect their votes. That largely echoes other polling on the subject, suggesting the issue — which has dominated coverage in the race and drawn criticism from Bay State Democrats concerned over Warren's handling of the controversy — might not be earning traction among voters.

Still, even the slightest stumble could have serious ramifications in the closely fought election. The same Globe poll found Brown and Warren essentially deadlocked, with the incumbent senator's 2-point edge well within the margin of error. A Western New England University poll published Friday instead gave the Democratic challenger a 45-43 percent advantage.

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