Colorado Presidential Race Within One Point in Nonstop Politics to Conventions

Historically, presidential campaigns begin after Labor Day with massive advertising and field activities.  That was even mostly true in 2008, but this year, neither presidential candidate wants to be behind on Labor Day and neither is trusting a bump from their respective conventions.

Colorado, as a targeted state, is receiving the full effect of a presidential campaign on the first of June.

Campaign commercials from Super Pacs and candidate campaigns are two or three deep on local 10:00 pm news channels and presidential visits are now counted in weeks.

Both campaigns are building ground games as Colorado has closely balanced blocs of base voters and one of the country’s largest contingency of swing voters.  President Obama started last fall and Mitt Romney is only now catching up.

Expect the intensity to continue.  An April published poll from a self-described bipartisan organization called Purple Strategies calls Colorado a 47 percent to 47 percent tie.  Carl Rowe cited the poll in his recent Wall Street Journal column claiming the national election for Romney and Colorado a key state that will be in the Republican camp.  A couple of new May polls, one from the Democratic group Project New America states Obama has a four point advantage over Romney (48% to 44%), and a NBC News/Marist poll claims a one-point Obama advantage.

The new rule is to win or stay close in the pre-convention period or you may never catch up.

See:
PurplePoll April 2012 edition

The Hill:  Rocky path for Obama in Colorado

The Weekly Standard:  What about Colorado?

Project New America memo

NBC News/Marist poll