Colorado – In Middle of Political Ranking Will be Contested

Two new Gallup polls just released reaffirm Colorado’s position as a state near the middle of the political spectrum and likely to be contested in the presidential election.

Obama’s approval rating has mostly ranged in the mid-40s since his re-election. It is now 46 percent, exactly Colorado’s score.

Western states joining Colorado toward the middle of the pack are Nevada (45%), New Mexico (47%) and Arizona (44%).

Colorado’s partisan and ideological ratings place it among 16 states Gallup considers competitive. Similar to Obama’s approval rating, Colorado is joined by Arizona and Nevada as competitive states.

Gallup notes that Republicans have improved their position since 2008 when they dominated only five states compared to 35 Democratic states. Today, Republicans have the stronger position in 20 states compared to only 14 in the Democratic column.

Colorado is on the liberal side in ideology (14th most liberal), but near dead center on partisanship (i.e., 25th state).

See Gallup:
Red states outnumber blue for first time in Gallup tracking
Obama rated best in Hawaii in 2015, worst in West Virginia