Washington Post: “Many GOP Strategists Have Already Written Off Sen. Cory Gardner”

Denver, CO - A new Washington Post deep-dive on Republican anxiety over losing their grip on the U.S. Senate includes alarming news for Senator Cory Gardner: “many GOP strategists have already written off Sen. Cory Gardner['s]” reelection chances. This comes days after two polls showed Gardner losing by double digits.

President Trump’s botched coronavirus response continues to be a liability for Republicans like Gardner, who “refused to evaluate the administration’s response so far” and remains with the Trump administration “100%” on everything from their lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act to attacks on Colorado’s public lands.

Gardner’s allegiance to Trump and Mitch McConnell over Colorado has him “sinking further underwater,” with 53 percent of Coloradans viewing him unfavorably in a new poll. Gardner’s approval is now 16 points underwater, tied with Trump at a mere 37%.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Washington Post: Republicans grow nervous about losing the Senate amid worries over Trump’s handling of the pandemic

By Seung Min Kim and Mike DeBonis | May 10, 2020

• Republicans are increasingly nervous they could lose control of the Senate this fall as a potent combination of a cratering economy, President Trump’s handling of the pandemic and rising enthusiasm among Democratic voters dims their electoral prospects.
   
• In recent weeks, GOP senators have been forced into a difficult political dance as polling shifts in favor of Democrats: touting their own response to the coronavirus outbreak without overtly distancing themselves from a president whose management of the crisis is under intense scrutiny but who still holds significant sway with Republican voters.
  
• The emerging consensus of several Republican strategists is that GOP incumbents should be able to hang on in states Trump won in 2016 if the president can hang on to those states himself. That list includes North Carolina, Arizona and Iowa, which Democrats are heavily targeting this cycle.
  
• The flip side for Republicans is that states Trump lost in 2016 — such as Colorado and Maine — could be out of reach. Many GOP strategists have already written off Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), barring a major shift, and some have doubts that Collins will be able to continue her trend of faring far better in elections than Republican presidential candidates she has shared the ballot with.
  
• A third GOP strategist acknowledged that Colorado, Arizona, Maine and North Carolina had become “incredibly competitive.” 

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