I’m not sure how exactly to headline the new Rasmussen poll on potential Colorado U.S. Senate race matchups. Three weeks ago I highlighted the fact that Jane Norton’s lead over the Appointed One Michael Bennet was widening, and that Bennet was dropping across the board against all potential Republican challengers.
The results this time aren’t altogether so clear. Yes, Jane Norton has an even greater 14-point advantage over Bennet, but her presumed 12-point lead over Bennet’s Democratic primary challenger Andrew Romanoff has slipped to 7 points.
GOP contender Tom Wiens — who just reported a hefty but heavily self-funded fourth quarter — may have leveled off. But he lost a little ground against both Bennet (6-point lead dropped to 4) and Romanoff (5-point lead dropped to 2).
Finally, however, defying the evidence of any potential polling trend, Ken Buck roughly kept the same lead over Bennet but pushed ahead of Romanoff — going from a 1-point to a 6-point advantage.
With this slight but sudden change of fortune, Weld County DA Buck is the only one of the three Republican contenders who performs better against the former Colorado speaker of the house. But for those expecting Michael Bennet’s big money and heavy-hitting endorsements to help him secure his party’s nomination over Andrew Romanoff, Jane Norton has all appearances of being the GOP’s strongest hope — even if the 14 points may be somewhat of a stretch.
Of course, you can challenge (or uphold) the conventional wisdom by letting us know your predictions on matchups for this and other major statewide and Congrssional races on our latest survey of Colorado’s political temperature.
On a related side note, Rossputin relates at length his positive impressions of Jane Norton from their recent in-person meeting.
This poll tells me that there is one GOP candidate that can unify the party and beat either democratic opponent, and that is Ken Buck.
The dem strategy will be to split the GOP base in 2010 between the grassroots and grasstops. Ken Buck is the conservative Republican candidate that will appeal to the majority of the GOP.
Here’s a trend; Jane Norton has steadily increased that double-digit lead from September. Buck’s numbers against either AR or Bennet are not nearly as close, and his funding is not there. Buck would be a great challenger for Markey in CD-4, but it’s time for Republicans to rally behind Norton as the conservative candidate with the most state-wide viability, electability, and financial backing. Even though it’s early, 14 points is tough to argue with.
GEEZ… When will we see a poll of the Dem primary? I wanna see how bad these guys are pummeling each other.
And, what’s up with this poll? Tom Wiens is a strong conservative good ole’ boy, exactly what Colorado needs and what they’ll vote for. It’s way too early to tell and way too early for most voters to know who these candidates are. Let Wiens introduce himself and you’ll see.
You know, when I started snowboarding, my friends told me “put up or shut up.” And Tom Wiens is putting up and it looks like Norton is shutting up. At least we have a candidate that is committed to this thing…
I got an email today from Senator DeMint’s Senate Conservative Fund that they are recognizing Norton policy positions.
http://senateconservatives.com/v1/index.php?p=post&id=71
Interesting development…
Agree with much of this except for Buck’s paid guys note at the top. Norton is far out front of both Dem candidates. She continues to take tough positions on the issues – she is not shy in fighting for conservative ideals. She picked up another endorsement yesterday and has Armstrong and Penry’s endorsements. Buck and Wiens should look elsewhere and allow the party to get ready for the big fight.