DENVER - Republican Ken Buck is expanding his lead over Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, according to a new poll released Wednesday.
Despite the opposition's attempts to paint Buck as "too extreme" for statements he made during the GOP U.S. Senate primary, the Weld County District Attorney attracts 49 percent in a new poll from Reuters, while Bennet comes in at 40 percent.
"This is great news for my grassroots campaign," said Buck. "Coloradans are ready for a senator who rein in Washington's out of control spending."
But political analyst Eric Sondermann doesn't put much stock in the polls, taken just weeks after contentious primaries and more than two months ahead of November's general election.
"I regard these as a starting point poll. I'm not sure much has sunk in since the primary," Sondermann said. "It's the second half of August, a time for backyard barbeques, ballgames, and the start of school. People are not focused on their TV screens, not focused on politics.
"And it was a primary that for a whole lot of voters felt like a general election, given the intensity of it and that there were three high-profile races at play," Sondermann said. "So I think voters, even voters who are paying attention, are catching their breath."
But there's better news for Colorado Democrats in Reuters' new poll on the governor's race, in which Tom Tancredo's third-party candidacy again appears to be putting Democrat John Hickenlooper, the mayor of Denver, in the driver's seat.
Hickenlooper picks up 41 percent of those polled.
Republican Dan Maes, who is getting virtually no support from the state party and nary a dime from the Republican Governor's Association, comes in second with 33 percent support.
Tancredo, who left the Republican Party to run with the American Constitution Party, gets 16 percent support.
Not surprisingly, most of those voters would move into the Maes camp were Tancredo not in the race.
In a hypothetical two-way match-up between Maes and Hickenlooper, the candidates are tied with 45 percent of the vote each, despite the obvious discrepancies in name recognition, political experience and financial support.
"The biggest obstacle to a Republican victory in November is Tom Tancredo," Maes said in a press release while calling again on Tancredo to quit the race.
"Tom, honor your promise to me and to Coloradans," Maes said. "Your support is falling by the day, and your presence in this race is seriously affecting our ability to take back this state and get our economy back on track. Be a man of your word and withdraw from this election."
Last week, Tancredo offered to get out of the race if Maes did the same, thereby allowing the Republican Party to agree on one conservative candidate to challenge Hickenlooper.
Maes declined the offer.
"If this ever engaged as a two-person race, and if Maes ever showed in a two-person race the potential to actually be in the race or even come out on top, everything would change," said political analyst Eric Sondermann. "And, trust me, John Hickenlooper wouldn't be running ads standing in the shower."
Despite the opposition's attempts to paint Buck as "too extreme" for statements he made during the GOP U.S. Senate primary, the Weld County District Attorney attracts 49 percent in a new poll from Reuters, while Bennet comes in at 40 percent.
But political analyst Eric Sondermann doesn't put much stock in the polls, taken just weeks after contentious primaries and more than two months ahead of November's general election.
"I regard these as a starting point poll. I'm not sure much has sunk in since the primary," Sondermann said. "It's the second half of August, a time for backyard barbeques, ballgames, and the start of school. People are not focused on their TV screens, not focused on politics.
"And it was a primary that for a whole lot of voters felt like a general election, given the intensity of it and that there were three high-profile races at play," Sondermann said. "So I think voters, even voters who are paying attention, are catching their breath."
But there's better news for Colorado Democrats in Reuters' new poll on the governor's race, in which Tom Tancredo's third-party candidacy again appears to be putting Democrat John Hickenlooper, the mayor of Denver, in the driver's seat.
Hickenlooper picks up 41 percent of those polled.
Republican Dan Maes, who is getting virtually no support from the state party and nary a dime from the Republican Governor's Association, comes in second with 33 percent support.
Tancredo, who left the Republican Party to run with the American Constitution Party, gets 16 percent support.
Not surprisingly, most of those voters would move into the Maes camp were Tancredo not in the race.
In a hypothetical two-way match-up between Maes and Hickenlooper, the candidates are tied with 45 percent of the vote each, despite the obvious discrepancies in name recognition, political experience and financial support.
"The biggest obstacle to a Republican victory in November is Tom Tancredo," Maes said in a press release while calling again on Tancredo to quit the race.
"Tom, honor your promise to me and to Coloradans," Maes said. "Your support is falling by the day, and your presence in this race is seriously affecting our ability to take back this state and get our economy back on track. Be a man of your word and withdraw from this election."
Last week, Tancredo offered to get out of the race if Maes did the same, thereby allowing the Republican Party to agree on one conservative candidate to challenge Hickenlooper.
Maes declined the offer.
"If this ever engaged as a two-person race, and if Maes ever showed in a two-person race the potential to actually be in the race or even come out on top, everything would change," said political analyst Eric Sondermann. "And, trust me, John Hickenlooper wouldn't be running ads standing in the shower."
