Tea Party Favorite Ken Buck Gains Strength in Colorado Senate Race

Colorado is another one of those states where a favorite of the Tea Partiers and conservative activists seem to have come from nowhere, and its example is Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck who a new poll shows running as well or better against either of the potential Democratic candidates for Senate than the presumed GOP frontrunner, former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton.

Weld has never been on the ballot outside his home county in the northeast part of the state. Norton has a big campaign warchest and is no stranger to the party's establishment.

But matched against Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, Weld does as well as Norton. Norton leads Bennet 46 percent to 40 percent, with 9 percent preferring another candidate and 8 percent undecided, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted June 7. Buck leads him 46 percent to 41 percent with 5 percent preferring someone else and 9 percent undecided.

If former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff beats out Bennet for the Democratic nomination, Buck runs more strongly than Norton. Buck leads Romanoff 45 percent to 39 percent with 6 percent preferring someone else and 11 percent undecided. Norton leads him 43 percent to 42 percent with 7 percent preferring someone else and 8 percent undecided. The margin of error is 4.5 points.

A Public Policy Polling survey in mid-May had Buck closing in on Norton. She still led by 31 percent to 26 percent (six other candidates shared 15 percent and 29 percent were undecided) but in March she had led by 34 percent to 17 percent.

Rasmussen also asked voters their reaction to stories, which Romanoff confirmed, that a White House deputy had discussed jobs "that might be available" to him if he dropped his challenge to Bennet.

Seventy-two percent said they had been following the story somewhat or very closely, and 50 percent said it would be very or somewhat important to their decision on how they vote. Forty-three percent said it would not be very or at all important, and 7 percent were undecided.

The nomination contests will be settled in an August 10 primary.

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