Colorado independent voters “a tantalising prize”

Colorado independent voters aren’t playing hard to get — they’re actually hard to get.
2 min. read
A stuffed ballot box is damp and disheveled from a raging evening hail storm. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite) election; ballot; vote; denver; colorado; denverite; kevinjbeaty;

Come for the British spelling, stay for the outsider perspective (whatever it's worth): Independent voters are either playing hard to get or they're really hard to get. 

The Financial Times took a quick look at Colorado's independent voters and the efforts by both the Clinton and Trump campaigns to capture their votes.

One of the most anxiety-inducing things for observers in and outside of the state is that it's tough to know who's really making strides, not only because public polling jumps around but also because it's hard to know who, among those independent voters, will actually vote.

"Steve House, head of the state Republican party, says Colorado is ripe for Mr Trump. 'Bernie supporters are libertarian leaning because Colorado has a strong libertarian [streak]. Some will lean towards Gary Johnson but more and more away from Hillary.' He sees much enthusiasm for Mr Trump, but says it is hard to tell who will vote. 'Many of them are not active in politics, so we don’t know how it is going to play out, but we would rather have them.' "

Also of interest:

  • The Trump campaign tells the FT that women in particular stay undecided longer than men.
  • Trump does better with Hispanics in Colorado than elsewhere in some polls, possibly owing to a large number of older Hispanic voters living in rural areas.
  • A lobbyist says that the issues that matter to Colorado are "gas, grass and guns."

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