Democratic incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet is leading tea party favorite and gaffetastic Republican nominee Ken Buck in the Colorado Senate race, according to a new poll out today.
The survey of 751 likely voters by Democratic pollster FM3 and Republican pollster Public Opinion Strategies shows Bennet leading Buck 43-40. The pollsters describe the race as a “dead heat” and note that “a Libertarian candidate garners 5% of the vote - greater than the margin between the two major party candidates.”
Indeed, past polling of the race has shown the race to be very, very close. The TPM Poll Average shows Buck ahead 46.0-42.8, which is basically too close to call this far from election day.
Democrats have long said that Buck — who is among the fringier Republican Senate nominees this year — would be an easier candidate to beat in the primary than the woman Buck defeated in the Aug. 10 GOP primary, Jane Norton. So far, Bennet has yet to break free from Buck, though today’s bipartisan poll is the first in awhile to show him ahead in the race, if only slightly.
Bennet fought off a tough primary challenge of his own, which raised his stature among observers who were unsure what to expect from the campaign neophyte who was appointed to his current job just last year. Today’s poll shows some sign that by getting exactly what they wanted in Colorado — Bennet vs. Buck — the establishment Democrats may have a chance to hold onto the seat in what’s shaping up to be a tough year for their party.
Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.
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