Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts Democrat, cruised to re-election Tuesday, setting her up for a widely expected bid for her party’s 2020 presidential nomination.
The Associated Press called the race for Ms. Warren shortly after the polls closed in the deep-blue Democratic stronghold, where she faced challenges from Republican state Rep. Geoff Diehl and independent candidate Shiva Ayyadurai.
Her victory came despite criticism from Mr. Diehl, who accused her of being less interested in representing Massachusetts than with prepping for a presidential run, and Mr. Ayyadurai, who slammed her shaky claims of Cherokee ancestry made during her career as an Ivy League law professor.
Mr. Ayyadurai, who was born in Mumbei, ran on the campaign slogan, “Only a real Indian can defeat the fake Indian” and repeatedly challenged Ms. Warren to take a DNA test.
She finally did, releasing results in October that showed she had between 0.09 and 1.5 percent Native American ancestry, but the gambit backfired when critics pointed out that her percentage was about the same as that of the average U.S. white person.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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