The Colorado GOP isn’t thrilled that former GOP Rep. Tom Tancredo is running as a third-party candidate in the state’s gubernatorial race. And a new poll of the contest finds that the GOP’s fear — that Tancredo will draw votes away from the Republican nominee in the race — seems very justified.
A SurveyUSA poll of the race shows Tancredo almost splitting the GOP vote, giving Democrat John Hickenlooper a big double-digit advantage over his potential general election foes. In a two-candidate race, the new poll gives Hickenlooper a 48%-43% lead over Republican Scott McInnis. Add a dash of Tancredo, though, and Hickenlooper’s lead increases: he’s out front with 44%, with McInnis at 25%, and Tancredo — outperforming McInnis — at 26%. The story’s much the same with Republican Dan Maes as the party’s nominee. The poll shows that in a Hickenlooper-Maes matchup, Hickenlooper leads 50%-41%. Add Tancredo to the mix, though, and Hickenlooper’s advantage increases: he gets 46% of the vote, while Maes and Tancredo are each at 24%.
The new SurveyUSA poll is the first from any pollster to include Tancredo in its match-ups. A SurveyUSA poll from June 17 showed McInnis topping Hickenlooper 47%-43% and Maes edging Hickenlooper 45%-44%. Even without the addition of Tancredo, then, the latest survey would be good news for the Hickenlooper camp.
The margin of error for the latest SurveyUSA poll is ±3.1 percentage points. The Republican primary is August 10.
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