Clinton opens up some breathing room in latest Colorado poll
A new poll gives Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton a little breathing room in Colorado – a 5-point lead over Republican Donald Trump in the final days of the campaign.
The Denver-based Keating Research and OnSight Public Affairs poll released Friday showed Clinton leading Trump 43 percent to 38 percent. The poll sampled 605 likely voters.
After other polls indicated Republican El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn was gaining on incumbent Democrat Michael Bennet in the U.S. Senate race, the latest poll shows Bennet ahead by 11 points, 49 percent to 38 percent.
“At the top of the ticket, Trump is failing in two areas seen as critical in presidential election years,” Chris Keating, president of Keating Research, said in a statement. “He trails Clinton by double digits in the suburban swing counties around Denver, and he performs even worse with Hispanic voters.”
The statewide survey was conducted Wednesday and Thursday and has a margin of error of 4 percent.
The RealClearPolitics average of major polls gives Bennet a 7.4 percent edge.
Clinton’s lead against Trump, Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein averages 2.9 percent in Colorado through Friday.
The Keating Research, Inc./OnSight Public Affairs poll indicated that Clinton leads 46 percent to 33 percent over Trump in Arapahoe and Jefferson counties, which historically play a big role in determining statewide elections. With Colorado’s Hispanic voters, her lead is huge: 57 percent to 19 percent.
The sampling of unaffiliated voters, the largest segment of Colorado’s electorate, gave Clinton a 12-point margin, 39 percent to 27 percent.
“Another difficulty for Trump is that he trails Clinton ‘big league’ in support from unaffiliated voters, whose votes are critical for Election Day success in statewide races in Colorado,” Curtis Hubbard, a partner with OnSight Public Affairs, said in a statement.
Clinton also had a large lead with voters ages 18 to 49, 43 percent to 30 percent, but Trump led with voters older than 50, 45 percent to 42 percent. Older voters account for about 40 percent of the ballots returned so far, Hubbard said.
“Any chance at a Trump victory in Colorado rests in the hands of voters ages 18 to 49. If they show up, Trump loses,” he stated.

