Election Day 2010 is still 17 months away, but recent polls suggest first-term Gov. Bill Ritter and newcomer Sen. Michael Bennet could face a struggle in their respective races.
If they’re going to overcome this weakness, we think both will have to project more forceful, principled leadership.
The findings look most grim for Ritter. His approval rating has fallen from 49 percent in mid-December to 41 percent, according to Public Policy Polling (PPP). At this point in his first term, former Gov. Bill Owens had an approval rating of 65 percent and coasted to re-election.
When asked whether they would vote for Ritter or former Republican Congressman Scott McInnis, 48 percent of those polled said McInnis and 41 percent said Ritter. When paired up with state Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, the governor squeaked out a mere 42 to 40 victory.
Much can change over the next year and a half, but it’s clear Ritter has fallen a long way from his 17-point victory over Bob Beauprez in 2006. A political novice, Ritter has made mistakes.
He angered the business community in his first year by issuing his infamous — and completely unnecessary — Friday afternoon executive order that bypassed the General Assembly and granted state employees collective bargaining rights. And as he tried to recover from that mistake, he later angered the labor community.
The governor then slumped through a lackluster second year, failing to find more money for transportation and doing little for health care. At the time, we said he risked becoming known as the do-nothing governor. His lack of leadership at certain moments makes him look weak.
He has managed a few legislative accomplishments this year, but now he’s strapped with a bad economy and a difficult state budget. When the economy struggles, those in charge carry the blame.
Ritter also angered Hispanic leaders late last year when he appointed a new secretary of state and a new U.S. senator to replace Ken Salazar without seriously considering, at least publicly, any Latino candidates.
Now, Hispanic and the unaffiliated voters who were important to Ritter’s taking the governor’s office are disaffected, the PPP findings suggest.
Among the unaffiliated, Ritter’s disapproval rating is 52 percent; among Hispanics, it’s 47 percent.
Colorado pollster Floyd Ciruli told Post reporter Lynn Bartels the poll shows that “Ritter is incredibly vulnerable at this point.”
And Bennet, who is unknown to most Coloradans and who has been silent on some issues, most notably the Employee Free Choice Act, appears to struggle in a separate PPP poll. In office but three months, the survey found 41 percent disapproved of his job performance and only 34 percent approved.
The poll shows Bennet losing in a theoretical matchup with former Congressman Bob Beauprez, albeit by a single percentage point. (The Salazar replacement must run for re-election in 2010.)
Democratic officials question the PPP findings, because they were obtained by an automated system in which those called pressed buttons on their phones to indicate responses. The polling company says the margin of error is 3 percentage points, though officials conceded some factors might skew the results.
The polls are simply snapshots in time. But if Ritter and Bennet want to stay in office, they’ll have to change how some Coloradans view them and their work.
