Last night I posted a quick analysis on the fresh survey data on Colorado’s big-ticket 2010 political races. Down the ticket, state treasurer hopeful Walker Stapleton has a 10-point lead on J.J. Ament — who only a month ago won a resounding victory at the State Assembly. Having bypassed the assembly process, Stapleton successfully petitioned onto the ballot.
The big numbers: Stapleton 41, Ament 31, Undecided 28. And according to the crosstabs underneath, Stapleton lead (or at least is statistically tied) among all demographic groups — age, gender, race, region, etc. Even the pro-Tea Party voters narrowly picked Stapleton over Ament, 37-34.
“This poll clearly shows that our message is resonating with voters across Colorado. Voters don’t want another politician,” said Stapleton campaign spokesman Michael Fortney. “They want to elect someone with real business experience from the private sector to get our state back on track.
“This poll shows that we are in a great position but we are going to continue to work hard to earn every vote.”
No doubt SurveyUSA indeed brings welcome and encouraging news to Walker Stapleton. But along with the lower profile of the state treasurer’s race, the large share of voters without a stated preference and the fact the primary election still looms some seven weeks away, the numbers indicate a race that remains up for grabs.
“The high number of undecided voters in each of these races is evidence that Coloradans have not fully focused on the primary elections,” said Ament spokesman Jesse Mallory.
“As voters further evaluate candidates – we are confident that they will come to the same conclusion as many Colorado leaders, the State GOP convention and numerous TEA parties organizations – and that is Colorado needs a political outsider as treasurer with J. J. Ament’s professional financial experience and a plan to help turn Colorado’s economy around.”
Still, the challenge looms to distinguish Ament from Stapleton to the broader primary electorate. A 3-to-1 cash advantage for the new treasurer poll’s frontrunner only makes the challenge that much harder.
As long as the fiscally conservative Republican team is ready, willing and able come August 11 to oust Cary Kennedy from the state treasurer’s office, I will be pleased.
Ben DeGrow is a Contributing Author at People’s Press Collective, Your Source for Colorado Politics.
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