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Pollster: Ritter lead drops in 2 districts

Stuart Steers, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 6, 2006 at midnight

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A memo from a pollster who works for Democratic groups warned this week that Bill Ritter's lead in two Colorado legislative districts was shrinking significantly and said Democrats "need to really begin to tear Beauprez's head off."

The memo by Virginia pollster Andrew Myers was sent Monday to Dominic Delpapa, a local political consultant.

In the memo, Myers says his polling found Ritter losing most of his lead in one Larimer County district and dropping from a 9 point lead to 5 points in a district centered on Broomfield.

Democrat Ritter is facing Republican Congressman Bob Beauprez in the race for governor.

"I fear we are beginning to watch a trend develop," wrote Myers. "I am also concerned about the attacks Ritter is enduring and to what extent they are not only energizing Beauprez's base, but also creating some real doubts among the swing independent voters."

Both Myers and Delpapa consult for Democratic "527" groups, organizations that under federal law are allowed to raise unlimited amounts of money but cannot work directly with candidates. Many of the attack ads in campaigns are funded by the 527s.

Ritter has recently come under fire from Beauprez for negotiating plea bargains with immigrants from Mexico who committed felonies. Beauprez has launched an attack ad on the subject.

Many Democrats are eager to go after Beauprez on the issue, and Myers' memo seemed to be an indication the 527s are planning an attack.

Myers said he didn't think the polling data he found was a big surprise because both of the districts surveyed were heavily conservative.

Myers declined to say which 527 groups he consults for, but he said Beauprez could be vulnerable to criticism on the illegal immigration issue.

Several recent polls have shown Ritter with a double-digit lead. However, a spokesman for Ritter said he expects the election to be closer.

"We expect the race to tighten," said Evan Dreyer. "This will be a close race."