With polls starting to turn against Republican Bob Schaffer, The Rothenberg Report revised its rating of Colorado's U.S. Senate race on Monday to "lean takeover" by Democratic nominee Mark Udall.
Rothenberg had previously rated the race a "toss-up" in mid-September.
Politicker's Pindell Report rates the race as a "toss-up," though it ranks the race as the third-most competitive U.S. Senate race in the nation.
Rothenberg political editor Nathan Gonzales told PolitickerCO.com that Udall seems to be pulling away from Schaffer because of a "mixture of factors," including voters' desire for change this election season, Democrats' attacks on Schaffer for months, and the fact that Udall is a current member of Congress while Schaffer has been out of Congress for six years.
"It was surprising that Udall didn't put the race away sooner, in my mind, but now it's evident that he has a clear lead," Gonzales said. "In a normal environment, this would probably be a seat that Republicans would hold on to. But this is not normal, and Democrats are excited, energized, organized, and Colorado is no exception."
