August 17, 2008 04:16 PM UTC

"Fix" Tightens Colorado Senate Race

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• by: Colorado Pols

Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza updates his Senate Line, moves Colorado down to #5 most likely to switch parties. As he explained Friday:

5. Colorado (R): Three factors are responsible for the tightening of this open seat race. First, former Rep. Bob Schaffer (R) has managed to stay out of his own way for the past month. Second, a myriad of outside groups are pounding Rep. Mark Udall (D) on television. And, third, Colorado is a state that still tilts ever so slightly toward Republicans. (Previous ranking: 3)

All we would add is the fact that polling this week moved back into the general trend line we’ve seen most of the year (Udall up by five or so), and that Schaffer “staying out of his own way” is a debatable claim. Schaffer may have stayed out of his own way a little better in the last few weeks–but his family members and foul-mouthed campaign manager have been doing a fine job picking up the slack, with negative press galore.

And to those who agree Udall is getting ‘pounded’ by outside groups on television, we say this: wait until after Labor Day, that shoe is headed for the other foot. And the ads we’ve heard about make the 527 hits on Udall we’re seeing now look like kid stuff.