Outside group to launch Warren attack ad over Native American land rights bill

An outside group is launching a new attack ad on Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren over the Massachusetts senator’s endorsement of a bill aimed at protecting Native American land rights. 

The digital ad will launch Thursday and run in Iowa and New Hampshire before the crucial, early state contests, according to a consultant with knowledge of the ad. The seven- to 10-day ad campaign will also run in Washington, D.C., the consultant said.  

The ad is paid for by the Coalition to Restore American Values, a group that has previously hit Warren over her support for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act. 

The ad aims to cast Warren, a top-tier candidate in the Democratic primary, as “fake” and “hypocritical,” according to a copy of the ad obtained by The Hill. 

The 30-second digital ad is the latest rolled out by the Coalition to Restore American Values attacking Warren over her support for the bill.

The group was also behind an online ad featuring Warren in a Native American headdress over her “casino plan,” that ran in May, The Daily Beast reported at the time.

The Coalition to Restore American Values is registered to conservative political donor David Langdon, according to The Daily Beast which cited Ohio state records. 

The group is also behind the “no faux casino” website that features the online ad reported by The Daily Beast. 

In response to the ad, a spokesperson for Warren pointed The Hill to a statement from Warren’s office to the Providence Journal from a 2018 report about the bill. 

“Our bill is about recognizing the Mashpee Wampanoag tribal homelands and the tribe’s right to keep their reservation. The federal government should not renege on yet another deal with Native Americans,” the statement said. 

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act passed in the House last year, with 47 Republicans joining almost all Democrats in favor of the bill. 

The measure would terminate a years-long legal battle to the tribe’s reservation by reaffirming the contested land belongs to the group and bar future lawsuits challenging the claim. 

Critics of the legislation dismissed it as a thinly veiled attempt to allow the tribe to build a casino. 

Trump had urged House Republicans to vote against it, using his derisive nickname for Warren. 

“Republicans shouldn’t vote for H.R. 312, a special interest casino Bill, backed by Elizabeth (Pocahontas) Warren. It is unfair and doesn’t treat Native Americans equally!” Trump tweeted at the time. 

The launch comes as Warren looks to build support in Iowa and New Hampshire ahead of the crucial nominating contests. 

A RealClearPolitics average of polling shows Warren in fourth place in both states, trailing Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), former Vice President Joe Biden and former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg.