Centennial State News

Republican gubernatorial nominee Heidi Ganahl said a recent poll shows her closing in on incumbent Gov. Jared Polis, which reflects what she has heard from Coloradans during her campaign.

"Finally, the polls are starting to reflect what we are seeing on the ground and at our rallies," Ganahl said. "People are tired of having their concerns about inflation, crime and education dismissed by Jared Polis as 'madness.' This mad mom is closing the gap with the support of mad moms, dads, grandparents, aunts and uncles. I look forward to surprising millions of pundits and members of the media who wrote their narratives on this race months ago."

Ganahl's campaign issued a news release citing a recent poll conducted by the Trafalgar group which found Ganahl just seven points behind Polis. Out of the 1,174 respondents, 42% indicated that they would vote for Ganahl, 49% said they would vote for Polis and the remainder selected a  third-party candidate. Three percent of respondents selected Danielle Neuschwanger, who is running as a member of the American Constitution Party. The release highlights the fact that although Polis has spent tens of millions of dollars on negative TV ads about Ganahl, he continues to poll under 50%.

In a tweet, one Coloradan called Neuschwanger a "vote-splitting friend to the Polis campaign."

Neuschwanger originally planned to run as a Republican in the gubernatorial race, but failed to secure a spot in the primary election because she did not receive enough delegate support. She then decided to run as a third-party candidate, ignoring criticism from some Republicans who felt that she would increase the odds of incumbent Polis winning another term by splitting the conservative vote, Colorado Politics reported.

During a debate on Oct. 25 between candidates Polis and Ganahl, Polis called Ganahl a "mad mom" and said, "I identify myself as a happy dad." Ganahl said she is in fact a "mad mom" and listed her reasons for being angry, which include surging crime, inflation, the state's fentanyl crisis and the fact that the majority of Colorado students are below grade-level proficiency in math and reading. She said, "I have a right to be angry."