CO POLL: Obama fares better against Repubs than does Hillary, Obama campaign responds in memo

[jefferson_dem]

A new poll by Democratic firm RBI Strategies & Research finds that Colorado could be in play next year — it is a swing state that has been trending towards Democratic dominance recently — but Hillary Clinton might not be in such good shape for it:

Giuliani (R) 50%, Clinton (D) 44%
Giuliani (R) 46%, Obama (D) 45%
Clinton (D) 48%, Romney (R) 42%
Obama (D) 50%, Romney (R) 37%

Rudy Giuliani has a favorable/unfavorable rating of 53%-36%, Barack Obama 51%-38%, and Mitt Romney 34%-34%. Hillary Clinton is the only one of the four tested candidates to have a net negative rating there, at 43%-51%.

http://tpmelectioncentral.com/2007/09/poll_hillary_not_doing_well_in_colorado.php

***

Obama Campaign Memo: West Is Great Opportunity For Us
By Greg Sargent - September 6, 2007, 4:21PM

Barely hours after the news broke of that new poll in Colorado showing Obama faring better against Rudy than Hillary in the state, the Obama campaign has already sent out a new memo arguing that Colorado in particular, and the west in general, presents a big opportunity for Obama and his "message of change."

The memo, from campaign manager David Plouffe, notes that Obama is staffing up and opening offices in the state and argues that Obama's "appeal to independents shown through countless national polls" is a key advantage in Colorado, because "unaffiliated voters are the largest block of registered voters in the state."

Colorado, of course, is a key swing state and was the site of recent Dem gains on the state level. It was chosen to host the Democratic National Convention, reflecting the belief of national Dem strategists after the gains of 2006 that the west offers major possibilities for expansion next year and beyond. By pointing Obama's appeal among indys and to the poll showing Hillary faring less well in the state, Camp Obama, obviously, is trying to make the case that (unlike Hillary) he is the Dem who can consolidate these gains and best exploit these expansion opportunities.

For those of you who like reading these things, we've got the full memo after the jump.

Full memo:...

http://tpmelectioncentral.com/2007/09/obama_campaign_memo_west_is_great_opportunity_for_us.php

[SaveElmer]

1. Well I'll trade you good news in Colorado for...

Same in Pennsylvania and Ohio...where Hillary is doing better....sounds like a fair trade to me!!! ;-)

[BeyondGeography]

2. Looks like they're going to work CO hard

Some of this was picked up in today's Denver Post:

Obama team pushing Colo. caucus strategy

Staff for Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama said today the campaign will aggressively organize their caucus strategy in Colorado even ahead of some larger states who also are holding primaries on the so-called "Super-duper Tuesday" that is Feb. 5.

In a conference call, David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manager, said Ray Rivera, a former official at the Colorado Chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, had been picked to organize the Colorado effort and would be opening an office soon in Denver. Rivera has been working out of Obama's Chicago headquarters as a field director.

...He's to start right away. On Saturday, Rivera will be meeting with, he said, hundreds of volunteers from at least 23 counties on Saturday at Manual High School from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Working with state Democratic Party officials, the event is meant to show volunteers how the caucus process functions.

http://www.denverpost.com/extremes/ci_6818607