Elizabeth Warren on Scott Brown’s heels in Globe poll

Despite a five-week drubbing over her claims to Native American heritage, Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren remains neck and neck with US Senator Scott Brown, a Republican, as she heads into Saturday’s state party convention, a new Globe poll shows.

But there are signs that the controversy has wounded the first-time candidate, whose entrance into the race came with a star power that galvanized Democrats and catapulted the contest into one of the most closely watched in the nation.

The vast majority of voters (72 percent) said the issue would not affect their vote, but 31 percent of self-described independents - a critical voting bloc - said the issue makes them less likely to support Warren in November. The Harvard professor’s popularity has also risen one percentage point, to 48 percent, since the Globe polled in March, but the percentage of detractors has climbed more precipitously, by nine points to 32 percent.