Suffolk University/USA TODAY Poll: Republican Challenger Cory Gardner Leads by 7 Points Over Mark Udall in Colorado U.S. Senate Race

WOW,  a Colorado Rocky Mountain High for Republican Challenger Cory Gardner …

Just two weeks ahead of the 2014 elections and a recent Suffolk University/USA TODAY poll has Republican challenger  Cory Gardner ahead of incumbent Mark Udall by 7 points in the race for the Colorado US Senate seat. The poll shows Gardner leading Udall, 46% to 39%, with 6% for other independent candidates and 9% undecided. An incumbent candidate with only 39%, that usually means they are toast. If a state like Colorado that has been trending blue in recent years is shifting this much to the red in this election cycle, there really could be a wave election for the Republicans … with really no help from the GOP. With Barack Obama’s continued falling approval rating, failed policies and unpopular presidency … those that have sided with Obama are taking a hit in the 2014 elections. This Senate seat really does appear to be slipping away from the Democrats, one that not many really counted as a GOP pickup several months ago.

RCP has all polls for Gardner and the challenger up by 4.

Cory Gardner for Senate

Democratic incumbent Mark Udall now trails Republican challenger Cory Gardner by 7 points in the Colorado race for U.S. Senate, according to the latest Suffolk University/USA TODAY poll.

The poll of likely voters in the general election shows 46 percent backing Gardner and Udall with 39 percent, with 9 percent undecided and 6 percent spread among four independent and third-party candidates.

The Colorado race for governor continues to be a close race, with former Congressman Bob Beauprez, a Republican, leading Democratic incumbent John Hickenlooper 45 percent to 43 percent, with 8 percent undecided. Beauprez is gaining while Hickenlooper’s numbers have not moved from a month ago, when he led Beauprez 43 percent to 41 percent.

The Obama factor

Anti-Obama sentiment seems to be on the rise in Colorado. The president’s unfavorable rating was 56 percent; his job disapproval was 57 percent; and 56 percent said that Obamacare is bad for Colorado. Udall’s unfavorable numbers at 54 percent are in line with Obama’s.