Jodi Garnier was ready to go out walking.

Ten days before the election, the Littleton Republican had just met U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner, who is challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Udall in what could be tightest U.S. Senate race in the country, and she was fired up to head out into nearby neighborhoods on a balmy Saturday afternoon to persuade voters to turn in their mail ballots.

Garnier said she made phone calls during the last two presidential elections for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Arizona Sen. John McCain and wanted to do her part this time, but this time she was sure it would be different.

“I want to win,” she said. “I want to win. I volunteered the last two times, and we didn’t win, and it was very disappointing because I spent a lot of time on the phones, and I want to win this time.”

If Colorado Republicans turn around a decade-long losing streak at the top of the ticket this year, it will be because of an unprecedented get-out-the-vote effort fueled by volunteers like Garnier, gubernatorial nominee Bob Beauprez told a crowd of several dozen supporters on Saturday at a Republican field office in Littleton.

Beauprez reminded the volunteers that he won his first congressional race back in 2002 by what amounted to one-third of a vote per precinct and that every vote turned out could make the difference in a solidly purple state this year, when most polls show statistical ties in all the top races.

It could be Gardner’s race against Udall or it could be Beauprez’s own bid to unseat Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper, he said, or it might be another statewide race or a congressional contest that comes down to the slimmest of margins. “We don’t know for sure,” Beauprez said. “But we’re going to have one of those, and it’s probably going to be in Jefferson County that’s going to make the difference.”

Beauprez and Gardner barnstormed Republican field offices this weekend, making stops in Highlands Ranch, Littleton, Lakewood and Thornton on Saturday, and everywhere the message was the same: this year, Republicans can win.

“We’ve got the best ticket I think we’ve ever had in Colorado,” a beaming Beauprez said. “This is partly why Colorado is so excited. We all feel it — you’re evidence,” he told the assembled volunteers, who were ready to start making calls and hit the pavement.

“We’ve never had this kind of enthusiasm, this kind of effort top to bottom throughout the party, people fired up, hungry for a change in leadership — actually, I should change that — hungry for leadership,” Beauprez said. “It’d be nice to have some, whether it’s in Washington D.C., or here in Colorado, people are so sick and tired of people who can’t stand up and make the call, people who can’t make the decision, even the obvious ones. If they won’t lead, we’re ready to, and with your help, we’ll get it done.”

Gardner echoed the message and said he was confident that recent polls showing him pulling outside the margin of error foretold a Republican win when ballots are counted.“Let’s get it done, let’s win!” a grinning Gardner told the volunteers.

“Ten days to go, we’re excited,” Gardner told The Colorado Statesman after rallying volunteers. “We’re running against an incumbent United States senator, (which) is not an easy task, but we’re excited about the enthusiasm, the energy. The only poll that matters is the one on Nov. 4, and we’re going to finish this strong.”

Volunteers from both parties are scrambling to get voters to send in mail ballots, which were sent to every registered voter in the state for the first time this year, making the standard push to get out the vote a three-week endeavor.

Through Friday, the secretary of state’s office reported that 518,610 ballots had been received by clerks throughout the state. Of that total, 43.7 percent were cast by registered Republicans, 31.7 percent were cast by registered Democrats, 23.5 percent were cast by unaffiliated voters, and the remaining 1 percent were cast by members of other parties.

“The early votes are great,” Gardner said in the interview. “We’re glad to be where we are, but we have to make sure every nook and cranny is put there voting.”

As the campaign nears the finish line, he added, he couldn’t be happier with how things were turning out.

“I’m very excited about the hard work the campaign has put in,” Gardner said. “We’ve got hundreds of people doing just an amazing job. They’re a tight-knit group of people, they are focused on the people of Colorado, and, more importantly, they’re focused on putting less Washington in people’s lives.”

State Senate candidate Tony Sanchez — running against state Sen. Andy Kerr, D-Lakewood — made an impassioned plea for the volunteers to remember what’s at stake.

“Ronald Reagan said, it’s not so much about left or right — it’s up or down, it’s about the tyranny of government vs. your own personal freedom. People are sick and tired of not being heard, they’re sick and tired of politics as usual,” Sanchez said, standing in front of a poster depicting the Bill of Rights.

Secretary of state nominee Wayne Williams, the El Paso County Clerk, reminded the crowd that it isn’t unusual for Colorado elections to come down to just a handful of votes per precinct, pointing to the win Republican Gov. Bill Owens scored in 1998.

“The last time Republicans won the governorship was 16 years ago, and it was by 8,000 votes statewide — about two votes per precinct,” Williams said. “Does talking to your neighbor, talking to the person at the checkout line make a difference? It does.”

State Senate candidate Tim Neville, who is running to unseat state Sen. Jeanne Nicholson, D-Black Hawk, in what could be the closest legislative race in the state, revved up the volunteers with a similar entreaty.

“Now is the time to take back our lives,” he said. “We’re asking you for 10 more days of your time.”

The volunteers, Neville said, would be able to turn to their children and grandchildren and tell them, “Oh yeah, we did it, we didn’t sit back, we didn’t let it slip away, we took it back.”

Beauprez punctuated the message with a fist-bump with a supporter — his knuckles are getting raw from so much fist-bumping, he joked a few minutes later — and a big smile. “Ten more days, God bless you — let’s close the deal, let’s get ’er done.”

— Ernest@coloradostatesman.com