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In Colo., male candidates battle over women's rights

Trevor Hughes
Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., greets supporters during appearance at a campaign headquarters in northwest Denver suburb of Wheat Ridge, Colo., on Sept. 5, 2014.

DENVER — Women's reproductive health issues have taken center stage in U.S. Sen. Mark Udall's battle to retain his seat as Colorado's senior senator.

The most recent polling in the race shows Republican Rep. Cory Gardner with a slight edge over Udall, a Democrat, the third poll in a row to show the Republican challenger up. Both sides have flooded the airwaves and Internet with advertising, as have their proxies, in large part because a victory for Gardner could help the GOP gain control of the Senate.

"Had you asked me to handicap this race six months ago, I would have said Udall's incumbency … would have given him a really good shot at winning," said Kyle Saunders, a political science professor at Colorado State University. "(Now) this is a really close race and a lot closer than a lot of people thought it would be."

The race likely comes down to about 10%-15% of Colorado voters. Republicans have only a slight edge in voter registration, and large numbers of Coloradans are unaffiliated. Saunders said many of those unaffiliated tend to vote consistently with one of the two major parties, leaving only a small number of actual undecided voters.

Gardner, a two-term congressman, says voters' discontent with both Washington and the president are giving him an opportunity to make his case. "The fact that people are very familiar with Sen. Udall is the very reason why they're voting for me," Gardner said. "They're tired of Washington, and even though Washington is a long way away, Washington's policies are in their backyards."

Gardner and his allies have flooded the airwaves with advertisements touting his proposal to make birth control available over the counter, a new approach to an issue that has been challenging for him.

Gardner previously supported a Colorado ballot measure that would have given legal rights to a fertilized egg, a position he now disavows. His name, however, remains on a federal-level proposal declaring that life begins at conception.

Gardner argues the two measures are different, but most experts say the two proposals are functionally equivalent because both could lead to the banning of some common forms of birth control.

Udall's campaign has been running advertisements attacking Gardner's support for over-the-counter birth control, pointing out that birth control prescriptions are covered 100% by Obamacare, whereas women would have to pay for over-the-counter pills. Udall's ads have also accused Gardner of splitting hairs in his distinctions about personhood.

Udall, for his part, has carved out a reliably liberal record on health care and the environment, and for years he issued vaguely worded press releases warning the public about what he considered overreach by the nation's cyberspies. It wasn't until Edward Snowden began releasing his files that Udall, who serves on the Select Committee on Intelligence, could talk more openly about his concerns.

Udall says voters consider privacy a top issue, along with recovery from last fall's devastating floods and wildfire protection and prevention. Udall was an early and strong backer of Obamacare and has been attacked relentlessly during the campaign for his ties to the law and to President Obama. Udall this summer skipped a fundraiser Obama held on behalf of fellow Democrats in Denver.

"The (Affordable Care Act) had a rough start. That's inexcusable. We've got to make it work for Colorado," Udall said. "Knowing what I know now, I would have insisted on reform being done differently. But let's fix what's not working and move forward."

Saunders said the close focus on health care and reproductive issues indicates the vast majority of voters have already picked a side in the increasingly contentious race, and that tens of millions of dollars are being spent to sway a tiny percentage of undecideds.

"The question is whether or not the center of Colorado's electorate, that middle 10%-15%, and even inside of that, suburban women, will that sway them enough to either demobilize them or keep their vote with Udall," Saunders said. "Guessing as to which demographic group that's going to show up more than others … is so hard to tell. But it is definitely clear that so far this has been a women's issue election, as least according to the campaign ads we've been seeing."