So what exactly did Udall do that made Colorado voters mad at him?

[Matty]

Based on the last few weeks of polling, this is Gardner's race to lose. I, however, am doubtful because the pollsters are not reaching Hispanic voters who will vote Udall. I do, however, struggle to understand why Udall apparently lost control of this race and the narrative. Colorado as a whole is trending blue. Was it something to do with gun control?

[Maxwell]

Maybe read up on the race?

It was a combination of factors. Gardner ran a terrific campaign, changing his mind on abortion, embracing immigration reform, and coming off as a moderate, compassionate Republican. His ads hit the right notes and the "Nice Guy" ad not only diffused Udall's experience, but set a trap for Democrats that they fell for in terms of over-reaction.

Combine that with consistent Udall debate derps ("I'm the last person Obama wants to see", "Mark Uterus", "Senator Gardner") and his cringe-worthy one-note abortion campaign, and we get a very real potential for a Gardner win.

[Miles]

He emphasized social issues almost to the point of running a one-issue campaign.

His latest ad is about the NSA and is really good. I wish he made that a bigger issue.

[Suburbia]

He allowed Gardner to define his Senate record, and Udall didn't fight enough. There is still time.

[backtored]

Based on the last few weeks of polling, this is Gardner's race to lose. I, however, am doubtful because the pollsters are not reaching Hispanic voters who will vote Udall. I do, however, struggle to understand why Udall apparently lost control of this race and the narrative. Colorado as a whole is trending blue. Was it something to do with gun control?

It probably has more to do with the implosion of the Democratic brand in Colorado than anything Gardner did. National issues play a part in that, but especially the gun issue has dramatically weakened the Democratic Party here. That was a catastrophic political misjudgment.

And, yes, Udall's bizarre abortion campaign misread what happened in 2010 and tried to win an election on an issue where Coloradans are actually more conservative than Udall.  It was a repulsive, fanatical campaign and it is wonderful that it has been such a failure.

[DrScholl]

Gardner faking being a big moderate is what has allowed him to lead in this race. He's running around claiming to be pro-choice and pro-life at the same time, it seems and people are buying it. With that said, Udall will still win by two to four points, because of good ground work.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Voting with obama 99% of the time was a poor choice by udall.

[Maxwell]

Voting with obama 99% of the time was a poor choice by udall.

That wasn't really Udall's problem though. He could've gotten away with 155% if he ran a good campaign.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Voting with obama 99% of the time was a poor choice by udall.

That wasn't really Udall's problem though.

It may have hurt, as it destroys one of the two reasons he's been telling CO to vote for him again.

When Udall's not talking about abortion, he's telling CO that he's been an "independent senator" focused on representing CO. Meanwhile, he's off voting for whatever Obama (who, btw, is quite unpopular in CO these days) wants, regardless of CO's opinion.

[Ebowed]

There is a Republican wave this year and Colorado is not immune to it.  That doesn't mean Udall will lose, it just means that he will have to fight tooth-and-nail to keep his seat.

[Princess Nyan Cat]

Colorado is a very evenly divided state. Any statewide election there is likely to be a shootout.

[sg0508]

I'm still picking Udall/Hickenlooper to pull both races out. The CO GOP has proven to find ways to lose races before and until they can win one at the top of the ticket, I assume they'll keep losing.  I don't know that I'd talk too much about the GOP wave this year either because that was clearly the case in 2010 and the CO GOP blew it.