Posted on 10/18/2002 4:53:43 AM PDT by BlackRazor
Near tie in race for 7th District
Feeley, Beauprez court undecideds
By Arthur Kane
Denver Post Capitol Bureau
Friday, October 18, 2002 - The candidates vying to represent the 7th Congressional District are locked in a virtual dead heat, with both sides seeking to lure the undecided and tune up efforts to get voters to cast ballots.
Republican Bob Beauprez had the support of 40 percent, and Democrat Mike Feeley had support from 38 percent of 403 likely voters, according to a Denver Post-9News-KOA poll. Nineteen percent were undecided.
Pollster Floyd Ciruli said voters can expect both sides to continue TV ads, but the key to winning is getting supporters to the polls.
"There will be a tough ground campaign to get the votes out - walking, literature," he added. "Turnout will be a very big thing."
Both candidates said they were not surprised by the results, and said they would have to continue working hard to get out their messages.
"We'll keep working on our message, talking to people about pocketbook issues," Feeley said.
Beauprez agreed. "There's no real strategic difference," he added. "We'll talk about the issues."
Unaffiliated voters will play a key role in the district, which is evenly split three ways among Democrats, Republicans and independents. So far 35 percent of unaffiliated voters say they will vote for Feeley, compared to 21 percent for Beauprez. Thirty-five percent said they're undecided.
That many of the undecided are women, who mostly favor abortion rights, bodes well for Feeley, Ciruli said. But Beauprez is likely to benefit because the district's Democrats are less affluent and therefore less likely to vote.
Beauprez is getting a substantial amount of his support from people voting along party lines, the poll showed. Thirty-one percent of people who said they will vote for Beauprez are doing so because of party affiliation. Only 22 percent of people who said they would vote for Feeley said they are doing it because they are Democrats.
Both men have a substantial amount of money left to get their messages to voters, and they continue to raise money. Beauprez has $542,000 left in his campaign coffers, and Feeley has $178,000, as of the last disclosure Tuesday.
The parties have also chipped in hundreds of thousands of dollars for advertising.
Democrats have spent about $700,000 on TV issue ads, compared to to about $1.9 million for Beauprez, say the parties. That is on top of what the candidates spent.
State Democratic Party Chairman Tim Knaus said Feeley continues to raise money for ads, and Democrats have contacted 275,000 infrequent Democratic voters to get people out.
"We have a complex multilayer program, and we'll know exactly who voted (before Election Day) and contact the ones who didn't," Knaus said.
State Republican Party Executive Director Alan Philp said the party has spent thousands on issue ads in the race, and plans an aggressive effort to get out the vote.
"This is the type of race that is decided household by household," Philp said.
Neither party was sure that any prominent Republicans or Democrats would swing through the district. President Bush already held a fundraiser for Beauprez.
Feeley has a slight edge when it comes to voters supporting a candidate because of performance in public life. Feeley has 13 percent of people supporting him because of his campaign or public record, compared to Beauprez's 11 percent.
The abortion issue is also helping Feeley, who favors abortion rights, with 15 percent saying they support him because of his stance. Thirteen percent said abortion is the reason they support Beauprez, who favors abortion only when the life of the mother is threatened.
Also, 5 percent of people will vote for Feeley because he's the lesser of two evils, while 3 percent said they will vote for Beauprez for that reason.
The poll, taken Oct. 9-15, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent.
If you want on or off my poll ping list, let me know!
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