Posted on 04/27/2004 5:01:38 AM PDT by BlackRazor
Poll has Salazar on top
Schaffer would fare better than Coors if race were held now
By Gwen Florio, Rocky Mountain News
April 27, 2004
Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Ken Salazar would beat Republican Bob Schaffer if the election were today, according to a Rocky Mountain News/News 4 poll.
Even so, the Schaffer campaign found good news in the numbers.
That's because, according to the poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, Salazar also would beat Pete Coors - the silver-haired political novice with the golden name who's challenging Schaffer for the Republican nomination. And Salazar would beat Coors by an even wider margin.
Schaffer spokeswoman Elizabeth Blackney credited the results to Schaffer's track record in Congress and in the Colorado Senate. As to Coors' famous name, she said, "We've been very comfortable with Bob's name recognition."
One expert said he anticipated that the famous Coors name would provide a bigger boost.
"You would expect with name identification and all of that, it would have helped Coors out of the chute," said John Straayer, a political science professor at Colorado State University.
The poll of 600 registered voters conducted last week showed Salazar besting Schaffer 48-37 percent, or by 11 percentage points. He topped Coors 52-36 percent, or by 16 percentage points. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Coors spokeswoman Cinamon Watson said the beer baron "had only been in the race a couple of days" when the poll was conducted.
"For stepping into the race and 48 hours later getting 36 percent, we're very pleased."
Actually, Coors had been in the race a week when the poll began on April 20 and continued for four days.
"Clearly," said the polling firm's Lori Weigel, "Pete Coors still has a little work to do in getting acquainted with people."
Salazar, Colorado's two-term attorney general, and Schaffer and Coors are the three main candidates to succeed Republican Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell. Campbell's unexpected retirement, and the decision of Republican Gov. Bill Owens - who would have been a formidable opponent - not to enter the race, set off a frenzy among potential candidates.
Schaffer was the first Republican to announce as a candidate; Coors did not formally announce until two weeks ago, setting up a Republican primary. Meanwhile, Democrats united early behind Salazar. Colorado Springs educator Mike Miles also seeks the Democratic nomination, but is seen as a long shot.
While noting that the election is still six months away, "we're very gratified by these results," said Jim Carpenter, Salazar's campaign manager. "I think this (the poll results) shows that the race for the Republican nomination is far from over."
Salazar fared well against both of his opponents nearly across the board.
However, an analysis of the poll results found Schaffer posting a good showing in the plains - his old congressional district, said Weigel. He topped Salazar 52-36 percent among those responding.
Salazar fared better among women, partly because of the support of Republican women polled, said Weigel. Women preferred Salazar to Schaffer 50-32 percent, and Salazar to Coors 55-30 percent. The margins were slimmer among men polled; Salazar over Schaffer 46-42 percent, and Salazar over Coors, 49-43 percent.
Coors fared best among men under 45, who preferred him to Salazar, 51-40 percent. They preferred Schaffer to Salazar, 47-36 percent. Men older than 45 preferred Salazar.
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