Democrat senate incumbent in Colorado in difficult race
There is something going on here in Colorado politics that is not much different than what happened in Virginia exactly one year ago: a shift away from the status quo and the odds-on favorite Democrat toward his Republican challenger.
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., is seeking a second full term against Republican challenger Joe O'Dea. And the question, in a state where people tend to dislike both parties but increasingly favor Democrats, is whether O'Dea is independent enough to earn their vote.
Democrats viewed O'Dea as enough of a threat that they dropped $10 million into the Republican primary to manipulate voters into backing his "stop-the-steal" primary rival. Their advertising to Republican voters aimed to paint O'Dea as a centrist, which complicates their task now. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is really unpopular in this state.
For his own part, O'Dea is a really good candidate whose worldview very much reflects that of the voters here: fierce, independent thinking and owing nothing to anyone.
Like Virginia, Colorado is a blue state that occasionally flirts with Republican candidates. And as in Virginia, the voters here are unhappy that the Democrat running to represent them has lost his independence. They are now listening to the candidate who speaks to them and not just a party line -- and polling reflects that. A survey conducted for the Republican Attorney General's Association shows Bennet up over O'Dea by just one point, 48% to 47% -- that in a state Biden won handily less than two years ago.
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Inflation and crime appear to be the main issues for voters. Biden and the Democrats have alienated many of the voters in Colorado.
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