The Local newsletter is your free, daily guide to life in Colorado. For locals, by locals. Sign up today!
Scott McInnis, the GOP’s frontrunner for governor, learned earlier this week that he was polling ahead of Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, the likely Democratic nominee for governor, by six points.
The news in a Rasmussen Reports poll was particularly welcomed by McInnis (pictured left): Just a month prior, he had been trailing Hickenlooper by four points (via Fox 31).
But now, a new poll by Public Policy Polling has added more confusion. In that poll, Hickenlooper enjoys a strong 11-point advantage over McInnis, notes the Denver Business Journal.
Fully 50 percent of likely voters support Hickenlooper, and former Congressman McInnis garners 39 percent (11 percent are undecided).
“John Hickenlooper’s entry into this race has turned it from one where Democrats were favored to lose to one where they will be favored to win,” says Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling (via 2KWGN).
“McInnis’ leads last year were much less about his strength than [current Governor Bill] Ritter’s weakness. With a stronger Democratic candidate in the picture, this is now a completely different race.”