Colorado may be a Republican-leaning state, but voters so far prefer Democratic Attorney General Ken Salazar over beer baron Pete Coors in the high- stakes U.S. Senate race.

If the election were held today, 53 percent of voters would select Salazar, while 42 percent would choose Coors, a Rocky Mountain News/News 4 poll found.

Voters overwhelmingly believe Salazar is more in touch with the concerns of average Colorado families and cares more about the environment.

And the poll shows Salazar winning the Hispanic and rural vote - both of which will be critical Nov. 2, said Lori Weigel of Public Opinion Strategies, which conducted the poll.

"The thing that is difficult for Coors right now is his image is beer and not much else," Weigel said. "A third of the voters look at him and think 'beer.' "

Nearly a third of the voters look at Salazar and think "attorney general," which Weigel said she found surprising because that is not a high-profile office.

"The other thing that would be concerning to me if I were on the Coors campaign is that Salazar has half the unfavorable rating as Coors," she said. "And Pete Coors has had 'positive image ads' up on TV for a long time."

Posted by: Jonathan Singer / 8:58 AM | Basie! Home