November 05, 2012 06:25 PM UTC

Poll: Who Will Win in SD-22?

•  
• by: Colorado Pols

It’s funny to think that the marquee legislative race in Jefferson County this year almost never happened. Just one year ago, after all, Rep. Andy Kerr had a perplexing primary challenge for his HD-26 seat on his hands and and Rep. Ken Summers was expected to sail through to another term in the House. The two were then drawn into the same district alongside Rep. Max Tyler, of course, and what was next was anybody’s guess until, through a surprise reapportionment quirk, incumbent SD-22 Senator Tim Neville was rendered unable to run for his current seat.

Kerr then announced his bid for Neville’s seat, followed unsurprisingly by a similar announcement from Summers’ camp. Since December, then, this race has pitted two equally-experienced state representatives from the same area against each other in a campaign for a seat in which neither has the numerical advantage.

Summers initially led Kerr in fundraising and cash-on-hand — by dint of the fact that the Democrat had in 2010 raised money for other candidates when he was in House leadership — although Kerr quickly caught up and overtook Summers by mid-August. Kerr maintained that fundraising lead throughout the fall, leading Summers by over $60,000 as of October 29th. And, unlike the Republican, Kerr has spent his money actively campaigning — Summers has been mostly invisible on the campaign trail all year, aside from a few drastic jumps off the deep end.

Both candidates have faced scathing, non-stop attacks from outside groups, and each have their vulnerabilities. Summers has been painted as too ideologically extreme for the swing district while Kerr has been dogged by his legal challenge to TABOR.

This campaign will be heavily influenced by the presidential race at the top of the ticket. With dark blue pockets in Edgewater and parts of Lakewood and torch red swaths in Ken Caryl, the candidate who does a better job of turning out his base without appearing too extreme will likely be proclaimed the winner tomorrow evening. While Kerr’s field effort should give him the lead, Summers’ base may be more likely to vote straight-ticket after casting their ballots for president.

Neither candidate has ever had a clear edge in this hotly-contested seat and that hasn’t changed in the final hours of this election. With that in mind, we want to know: Who do you think will win in SD-22, Andy Kerr or Ken Summers? Remember, vote for the candidate you sincerely believe will win, no matter how much that may pain you ideologically.

A poll follows.

 Loading ...