A new Tarrance Group poll in Colorado brings bad news for Gov. Bill Ritter, who's running for re-election next year (Sept. 16-17, 500 LV, MoE +/- 4.5%). More people feel the state is headed in the wrong direction (48%) than say it's on the right track (41%) -- an upside down direction-of-the-state rating is not part of the recipe for a successful re-election, especially when the economy is easily the most important issue (31%).

More bad news is that 56% are ready for a new person to be governor, while just 33% say he deserves to be re-elected. His favorable and job approval ratings are right side up -- more people view him favorably (47%) than unfavorably (43%), more approve (48%) than disapprove (46%) of the job he's doing as governor -- though at sub-50% they remain troubling signs for his re-election.

Ritter was elected in 2006 by a 17-point margin against then-congressman Bob Beauprez. The survey did not test the governor against his potential GOP challengers, but did test the Republican primary, between former Rep. Scott McInnis and state Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, a former congressional aide to McInnis.

McInnis 40
Penry 13
Und 47

Also tested were the primaries in the Senate contest. Appointed Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) is running against former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff in the Democratic primary; tested for the GOP primary were Lt. Gov. Jane Norton and Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck.

Bennet 41
Romanoff 27
Und 32

Norton 45
Buck 15
Und 40

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 04:50 PM | Email Author | Permalink

A new Rasmussen survey finds Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) in dangerous territory against two potential GOP challengers. Ritter trails former Rep. Scott McInnis (R) by 5 points and leads state Sen. Minority Leader Josh Penry (R) by just 1 point -- a statistical tie.

McInnis 44
Ritter 39
Und 10

Ritter 41
Penry 40
Und 12

McInnis served six terms in the House from 1992 to 2004 (in the district now represented by Democrat John Salazar). Penry is 33 years old and a former congressional aide to McInnis. A PPP survey released last month found Penry tied with Ritter and McInnis leading by 8 points.

Ritter's approval rating is up some in the Rasmussen survey to 49%, though his disapproval ratings is up as well (49%). Ritter won in 2006 by 17 points, and Pres. Obama won the state by 9 points in 2008.

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 05:10 PM | Email Author | Permalink

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D), who shot into office in 2006 with 17-point margin of victory, is vulnerable as he gears up for a run at re-election. A new Public Policy Polling survey found the governor with an upside-down approval rating and trailing a potential Republican opponent.

Ritter trails with 38 percent to 46 percent for former Rep. Scott McInnis (R), who served six terms in Congress from 1992 to 2004. The other Republican tested is Josh Penry, a 33-year-old state Senate minority leader and former congressional aide to McInnis. Ritter and Penry are tied at 40 percent apiece.

"The good news for Bill Ritter is that despite a tough budget cycle and Democrats polling worse nationally he's not in any worse shape than four months ago," said PPP president Dean Debnam. "The bad news of course is that he already had a negative approval rating and an outside the margin of error gap against one of his possible GOP opponents back then."

Posted by Kyle Trygstad at 04:00 PM | Email Author | Permalink