Despite clashes this week in the hotly contested Massachusetts Senate race, Elizabeth Warren trails Scott Brown closely, a new poll conducted from Sept. 29 to Oct. 5 by the Western New England University Polling Institute found.

Massachusetts voters were asked: if the election were held today would you be more likely to vote for Scott Brown, the Republican, or Elizabeth Warren, the Democrat?

The poll found that Brown and Warren are closely tied with 42 percent of registered voters claiming they would vote for Warren and 47 percent casting a vote for Brown. 10 percent remained undecided.

Unsurprisingly, Democrats leaned heavily towards Warren (82 percent Warren, nine percent Brown) while Republicans favored Brown (three percent Warren, 92 percent Brown). The Independent vote, seen as crucial in this close election, was split somewhat unevenly, with 32 percent choosing Warren and 57 percent choosing Brown.

Declared by many as a Harvard elitist, the poll also asked voters to express their feelings on Warren's tenure as a Harvard Law professor.

Massachusetts registered voters determined that Warren's affiliation with the Harvard Law School would not hurt her candidacy and may actually help her. 21 percent of voters claimed her experience would make them more likely to vote for her, 13 percent claimed it would make them less likely to vote for her, and an overwhelming 63 percent said it would make no difference to their decision.

The poll results come after a long week of public skirmishes between Warren and Scott.

In a televised debate Tuesday, Warren and five other Democratic candidates for the Massachusetts Senate seat, once held by Ted Kennedy and currently occupied by Scott Brown, were asked how they paid for their college educations.

I kept my clothes on, Warren replied, alluding to a nude Cosmopolitan photo spread of Brown from his law-school days.

Thank God, Brown replied laughing in a radio interview for WZLX Thursday. Warren brushed off Brown's remark Thursday afternoon, but the back and forth has spurred outrage from many women's groups angered by Brown's insensitive comments about Warren's physical appearance.

Terry O'Neill, the president of the National Organization for Women, described Brown's quip as a sexist misogynistic attack.

Despite the public sparring between Warren and Scott, poll results show the two candidates remain at each other's heels.

The Western New England University Polling Institute conducted the survey via telephone, polling 524 adults ages 18 and older, 475 of whom were registered to vote in Massachusetts.

Law school