Obama leading in new Colorado poll

A poll released this week by Project New America shows Obama with 57 percent of the vote among registered unaffiliated voters to just 30 percent for Romney in Colorado. While Obama holds large leads in numerous important categories of voters, his overall lead in Colorado is just four points, 48-44, according to the poll of 601 likely Colorado voters.

Colorado is considered a key swing state by both Obama and Romney, one of a small handful of states that could go either way and play an outsized role in determining the winner of the election. Other recent polls have shown Obama leading by a wider margin in Colorado.

“A 27-point margin for the president among unaffiliated voters is surprising,” said Jill Hanauer, president of Project New America. “Colorado elections are won among unaffiliated voters, mostly in the suburbs of Denver. Mitt Romney has a steep hill to climb with this group.”

Obama also holds a large lead among the state’s fastest-growing demographic, Hispanic voters, among whom he leads 67-24. Jason León, PNA’s director of national outreach, said, “Colorado Hispanics have been hit hard by the recession, but these numbers suggest that Mitt Romney’s economic message is not resonating. We’ve seen a significant movement from ‘undecided’ towards Obama in the past year,” he said in a press release.

Obama leads 51-40 among women in Colorado, according to the poll.

Pollster Chris Keating said, “These numbers show it will be difficult for Romney to win Colorado, especially if Obama continues to appeal to women.”

The live polling was done by Keating Research. Both Keating and Project New America, formerly known as Project New West, are liberal-leaning organizations.