The Mercers bring their politics, and millions, to Mass.

By Annie Linskey GLOBE STAFF OCTOBER 28, 2017

WASHINGTON — The radio attack spots, played during Red Sox games, attempt to sow some doubt. Does Senator Elizabeth Warren discriminate against women? Does Warren really care about student debt and bankruptcy?

They attempt to paint Massachusetts’ populist senator as phony and an elitist, a go-to playbook for her political opponents. But this time the attacks are coming from someone new: Robert Mercer, a New York billionaire who is trying to remake American politics and who bankrolled former Trump chief strategist Stephen Bannon’s Republican revolution.

Mercer’s methods are anything but subtle. One political operative described Mercer’s approach to politics as a “trail of tears” tactic, a reference to President Andrew Jackson’s forced removal of Native Americans from their homelands.

“He wants to see more people who are noncareer politicians,” said Shiva Ayyadurai, a Republican outsider who is angling for support from Mercer and is one of four Republicans mounting bids to take on Warren. “We’re fundamentally tired of people who are elites. . . . All I know is it is a refreshing breath of fresh air that people like the Mercers are involved in politics.”

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