Poll: Obama, Romney Tied in CO; Obama Underperforming

A Survey USA/Denver Post poll released on Friday has President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney essentially tied in Colorado, a state Obama won by nine points in 2008. Obama only leads Romney by 3 points in the RealClearPolitics average of polls. 

In the poll, Obama leads Romney by one point, 47% to 46%. When Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson was factored in, Obama still led Romney by one point. 

Romney polled strongest among whites, military families, gun owners, and conservative voters in Colorado Springs and pro-life voters. 

Obama performed best among women, Hispanics, voters in the cities, voters who earn less than $40,000 a year, and pro-choice voters.

The poll surveyed 750 Colorado adults, 676 of whom are registered voters, between Sunday and Monday, before anti-American unrests swept across North Africa and the Middle East. The partisan breakdown of the poll was: 34% Republican, 34% Democrat, 30% unaffiliated. 

An American Research Group (ARG) poll released on Thursday had Obama leading Romney by two points but potentially revealed what could be a vulnerability for Obama going forward if the gap between Obama and Romney closes even more in Colorado. In the ARG poll, Obama only had the support of 53% of Hispanics while Romney had 38%. Hispanics make up more than 10 percent of Colorado’s voters, and Obama underperformed among them by about 15 points compared to how he fares among Hispanics nationally and in other states. 

Another poll released on Thursday had Obama leading by five points, but mainstream outlets, unlike local news organizations in Denver, failed to mention that the poll was conducted by a public affairs firm run by Democratic operatives who ran the campaigns of Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Sen. Mark Udall, both of whom are Democrats.