Republican Cory Gardner continues to hold a stable lead over Democrat incumbent Mark Udall in Colorado’s U.S. Senate race, according to the latest poll.
A Quinnipiac University poll, released Friday, shows Gardner at 46 percent to Udall’s 41 percent. Independent candidate Steve Shogan received 6 percent, and another 6 percent remain undecided.
The 5-point lead shows the race in essentially the same position as a week ago when Quinnipiac put Gardner at 47 percent and Udall at 41 percent. A month earlier, the polling outfit gave the Republican challenger an 8-point edge.
“The needle is barely moving, if at all,” said Tim Malloy, the poll’s assistant director.
The poll — conducted Oct. 15 through Tuesday — reached 974 voters via land lines and cellphones who said they were likely to vote.
Other polls conducted at the same time and released this week showed mixed results in a close race with national implications.
The GOP sees Colorado as key to their efforts to win six more seats and win control of the U.S. Senate, and Democrats suggest the contest is a firewall in an election year that favors Republicans.
A Reuters-Ipsos online poll released Thursday found Gardner with a a 2-point lead, 47 percent to 45 percent, an advantage so small that the race appeared tied.
A USA Today/Suffolk University poll released Wednesday gave Gardner an even larger edge, 46 percent to 39 percent.
The Democratic polling firm Public Policy Polling also showed Udall behind in its latest survey, released Tuesday. Gardner received 46 percent to Udall’s 43 percent, again within the margin of error, making it a deadlocked race.
In the Quinnipiac survey, Gardner’s favorability rating stood 49 percent to 42 percent unfavorable while Udall’s was flipped, 44 percent favorable to 49 percent unfavorable.
John Frank: 303-954-2409, jfrank@denverpost.com or twitter.com/ByJohnFrank
