University of Denver Poll in Colorado: Obama 47%, Romney 43%

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by: Colorado Pols

New post-debate polling in Colorado out this morning from the University of Denver shows President Barack Obama dented, but still very much in contention after his rough night:

Four percent said that they would vote for someone else, and five percent noted that they remain undecided. The poll also found that President Obama is currently leading among independent voters, 48-31.

Despite President Obama’s current lead in Colorado, respondents have improving impressions of Gov. Romney. Those who said that they watched or heard about the debate believe that Gov. Romney won by a huge margin, 68-19. That includes almost half of Obama supporters (47 percent), with just 37 percent of the president’s supporters saying he did the better job…

Sixty-nine percent of debate watchers became more strongly committed to their candidate, while only 7 percent became less strongly committed to their candidate. Five percent of debate watchers reported changing their minds. [Pols emphasis]

“…The poll found a significant amount of polarization in the Colorado electorate in regards to the economy,” noted University of Denver political scientist Dr. Seth Masket. “Democrats are much more likely to see the economy and their overall economic situation to have improved over the past year. Republicans, meanwhile, have strongly negative views of the economy and their own economic situation over the past year. Independents are more likely to say that the economy has gotten worse over the past year.”

Poll details here. Apparent in these results is Mitt Romney’s debate performance hitting the wall of an already mostly-decided electorate. Romney was good, but not enough to shake Obama’s base of support in large numbers. There just aren’t that many undecided voters out there to be swayed at this point, and impressions of the two candidates are more or less indelible.

Due to the overall closeness of this race, we are in a relatively unusual situation where the October presidential debates have at least a hypothetical chance of affecting the pre-debate trajectory in the polls–which was Obama beginning to pull away from Romney decisively. With little else remaining between now and Election Day, this is the spin the Romney campaign wants to impart on everything. And there’s no question Romney’s post-debate bounce is real.

But where Romney needed a knockout, what he may be getting is a high water mark. Obama is still in a position to choose which one it will be in the upcoming debates. External events, like Friday’s good news on jobs, push back in Obama’s favor. Obama’s very lucky, and maybe in some eight-dimensional chess way was always aware, that Wednesday was not his last chance to prove his mettle. No doubt David Plouffe will say so if, by November 6th, he manages to.

13 thoughts on “University of Denver Poll in Colorado: Obama 47%, Romney 43%”

GiveEmHellHarry says:

October 7, 2012 at 6:33 pm

Across the country this race is tightening. Romney now seems to be ahead in Virginia and North Carolina and another poll has him up in Colorado.

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Dark Cloud says:

October 7, 2012 at 7:06 pm

Judas. Romney was NOT good at the debate in anything but the visuals of acting. It’s content was mostly world class, letter sweater horse droppings, and I find it hard to believe anyone was moved by it whatever. He repeated lies already discredited and agreed as discredited by other Republicans.

He backed away from his own tax plan and he lied/was incompetent about his vague health insurance stance, saying his plan most certainly protected those with existing conditions when it most certainly did not. His own campaign had to immediately correct that when cornered after.

The media, which makes money in a controversial election, doesn’t vector in on that but chums the water.

Nobody draws a connection between the Mormon Church – for secular reasons solely involving church wealth – taking a lunch with God who miraculously allows them to do what they wanted to do which only coincidentally profits them in a secular manner. Polygamy good to polygamy bad. Push-pull, click-click. Blacks excluded? Blacks included. Click-click. This is the religion with such solid, bedrock principles that provides Romney with a faith he says influences all he does. No kidding, and how god awful.

He can lie and reverse positions and pretend to divine inspiration to do so. If that’s a god, it’s a confused one unable to see into the future given he changes his mind so often.

Today, Romney is pretending to show his ‘softer side’ as if he’s ever held a position or view with relentless stamina or even notional turgor, much less entertained anything more than the situational ethics of his alleged faith.

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1. dukeco1 says:
  
  October 7, 2012 at 11:36 pm
  
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Tazistan Jen says:

October 7, 2012 at 7:27 pm

But that is always the case in recent elections. People get hung up on the undecideds, but there are too few of them to make a difference, given that they will be divided among the candidates. What matters is who turns out their voters.

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1. Gilpin Guy says:
  
  October 7, 2012 at 8:37 pm
  
  I wonder if it is a coincidence that the Obama campaign has hired twice as many field organizers as Romney.
  
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Sir Robin says:

October 7, 2012 at 9:43 pm

http://veracitystew.com/2012/0…

34% approved. That sucks. He was known as a smooth snake oil salesman. More a used car salesman than Governor.

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raymond1 says:

October 7, 2012 at 9:58 pm

https://twitter.com/JeffersonO…

So, note to self, “Gravis Marketing” is one of those non-credible firms Nate Silver warned about — a corporate marketing firm that, in election season, decides it can use its hundreds of phone lines to do a shit robo-poll.

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dukeco1 says:

October 7, 2012 at 11:44 pm

extend rope to these assholes before.

Romney, given said rope, has shifted tectonically to the center in one poll nudging move. But 27 lies in 38 minutes is a record that is in jeopardy…Congressman Paul Ryan is in rehearsal.

The truth will win this election, I am confident.

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GiveEmHellHarry says:

October 8, 2012 at 1:02 am

Tom Strickland was five points up on Wayne Allard with two weeks to go in 2002. Allard won by seven points or more. A lead this small is meaningless and we Democrats really need to step it up.

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RavenDawg says:

October 8, 2012 at 2:08 am

Same issue in other states where R-SOS and legislatures have been working to limit turnout.

It is Obama’s to lose but R’s will do everything possible to jack the vote.

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1. GiveEmHellHarry says:
  
  October 8, 2012 at 2:27 am
  
  The race is tightening. Gallup has Obama’s lead narrowing and the GOP leaning Rasmussen shows Romney now leading after having Obama ahead for weeks.
  
  This race is not Obama’s to lose it is dead even. We need to work hard to make Colorado goes for Obama.
  
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2. Gray in Mountains says:
  
  October 8, 2012 at 2:37 am
  
  that there will be thugs as pollwatchers to challenge and intimidate likely D voters. That oufit that Gessler likes so much, True Vote, seems to be very quiet but that is what they like to do and practice for
  
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MADCO says:

October 8, 2012 at 3:20 am

designed to make the D”s overconfident and stop doing what needs doing to win.

The voter registration deadline is imminent. Crow all you want after that- …no wait, early voting has started…stop talking about Obama has this thing won.

(even though he does.)

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