A new poll indicates voters in Colorado are solidifying their choice in the deadlocked governor’s race with Election Day two weeks away.
A Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday shows nine out of 10 likely voters have made up their minds, a significant shift from a month ago when about a quarter suggested they remained uncommitted. It coincided with the start of voting after ballots began arriving in mailboxes last week.
The poll found Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper at 45 percent and Republican challenger Bob Beauprez at 44 percent, a split that makes the race a tossup within the 3.1 percent margin of error.
The live-caller poll — conducted Oct. 15 through Tuesday — reached 974 self-identified likely voters on land lines and cellphones. It found the other candidates in the race received a combined 5 percent, and only 7 percent were undecided.
The latest numbers fit the mold from most other polls at this point, but it represents a shift for Quinnipiac, which gave Beauprez solid leads in two prior polls.
A week ago, Quinnipiac showed Beauprez with a 4-point edge, 46 percent to 42 percent. And a Sept. 17 poll gave Beauprez a 10-point lead that led even Republicans to question the results.
The wild swings make it difficult to tell if Hickenlooper is rebounding or whether Quinnipiac is getting more accurate numbers on the state of the close race.
To complicate the picture, a USA Today/Suffolk University poll released a day earlier and conducted at essentially the same time showed Beauprez on the rise.
Beauprez took 45 percent to 43 percent for Hickenlooper in the survey of likely voters released Wednesday — a reversal from the newspaper’s September poll showing the Democratic incumbent up 2 points. Both surveys are within the margins of error.
