Fourth poll shows Gardner leading Udall

DENVER, Colo. — Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) has a 6-percentage-point lead over Democratic Sen. Mark Udall (D) in the latest independent poll of the race, the fourth this week to show Udall trailing.

{mosads}But the poll, from Quinnipiac University, suggests the race has moved slightly in Udall’s direction since mid-September, as it shows him narrowing Gardner’s lead and gaining some support from women.

Gardner takes 47 percent support to Udall’s 41 percent support among likely voters, and independent Steve Shogan takes 8 percent support. Just 4 percent are undecided.

That compares to a Sept. 18 poll that gave Gardner 48 percent support and Udall 40 percent support.

The survey is the fourth out this week to show Udall trailing his GOP challenger. The senator gave a fiery performance during their final debate on Wednesday night and is launching a bus tour to barnstorm the state for support in the final weeks.

Udall also leads women by 9 percentage-points in the latest survey, 49 percent to 40 percent for Gardner. In September, Quinnipiac showed Udall leading Gardner with that voting bloc by just 3 percentage points.

The senator’s double-digit deficit with men remains static, with Gardner leading by 19 points.

Like the other three surveys released this week, which gave Gardner varying leads, the latest Quinnipiac poll shows Udall underwater with voters, with 42 percent viewing him favorably and 49 percent viewing him unfavorably. Gardner’s seen positively by 47 percent, while 41 percent view him negatively.

And the new poll indicates voters largely have their minds made up heading into the final stretch of the race: 87 percent of Colorado likely voters say they have decided who they’re supporting.

Udall’s campaign has remained unfazed by the steady stream of bad polling, even as their own internals have tightened over the past month as well. They’re insistent that their voter targeting and get-out-the-vote operations will make the difference for them on Election Day.

Quinnipiac conducted live interviews of 988 Colorado likely voters from Oct. 8-13 via landline and cellphones, and the poll has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.