August 25, 2008 10:57 PM UTC

Udall's Numbers Improving In Latest Polls

•  
• by: Colorado Pols

Two new polls, as the Washington Post reports:

With the eyes of the political world focused on Denver, Democrats are touting two new polls as evidence that the Colorado senate race is trending their way.

A Suffolk University poll conducted in the state Aug. 21-24 showed Barack Obama leading John McCain in the presidential race, 44 percent to 39 percent, while also showing Rep. Mark Udall (D) ahead of ex-Rep. Bob Schaffer (R) in the Senate contest, 39 percent to 31 percent.

The poll result was similar to that of another survey, taken Aug. 13-15 by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. for the Denver Post, that gave Udall a 10-point lead (and Obama a 3-point margin over McCain).

Republicans were skeptical of that survey, with Schaffer campaign manager Dick Wadhams telling the Post: “That flies in the face of just about every other number I’ve seen in this race, and I think Mason-Dixon had a bad night. This poll is so far off the mark, I can’t even respond to it.”

Of course that’s what Wadhams is going to say, but it’s not anywhere near accurate: far from “flying in the face” of other polling, this result continues a positive trend for Udall first indicated a week ago after some tightening in the race at the end of last month.

Especially interesting is how these are results obtained at the height of the recent saturation TV campaign against Udall. Are the shrill-cum-silly attacks on Udall by pro-Schaffer 527s losing traction?