Republican Cory Gardner is inching closer to incumbent Democrat Mark Udall in the U.S. Senate race from Colorado, according to a new poll.
In numbers released by
Public Policy Polling, Gardner, who serves in the U.S. House, trails by 2 percentage points — 42 to 40. The data reflects Udall's job performance numbers: 41 percent of Colorado voters polled approve and 40 disapprove.
Other GOP candidates for the 2014 midterm election did not fare as well in the latest poll, released Tuesday.
State Rep. Randy Baumgardner trailed Udall 37 percent to 44 percent. State Sen. Owen Hill — who pulled out of the Senate race on Monday, lending his support to Gardner — was also behind Udall, 43 percent to 38 percent.
Of the Republicans who were still running at the time the poll was taken several days ago, Gardner was the favored candidate with a 44 percent favorability rating; Baumgardner was at 15 percent; Hill, at 6 percent; Tom Janich, 4 percent; and Mark Aspiri trailed at 3 percent.
Udall has been in the news for several reasons lately.
Americans for Prosperity is spending nearly $1 million on ads that target Udall and his support for Obamacare; Udall also reportedly disclosed classified CIA material during a December hearing.
The PPP poll found that Democrats are also on the upswing in the Colorado governor's race. Incumbent John Hickenlooper's approval rating went from negative territory in December to positive numbers; he's favored by a 48 to 41 percent margin.
Hickenlooper now leads his Republican challengers by double digits. Still, all opponents are within striking distance: Bob Beauprez trails by 10 percentage points; Scott Gessler by 12 points; Tom Tancredo by 14 points; Greg Brophy by 15 points; and Mike Kopp by 17 points.
The race for the Republican nomination in June's GOP primary has tightened up. Tancredo is the frontrunner by 4 percentage points over Beauprez and 6 points over Gessler.
"Things are looking up for John Hickenlooper," said Dean Debnam, president of Public Policy Polling. "But if the Senate race remains this close, Colorado will be at the center of the national political spotlight for a fourth election cycle in a row."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.