HOUSTON, Texas — Democrats in Colorado have a big problem this election: women. Colorado Senator Mark Udall, the Democrat incumbent, appears to be in particular trouble going into November’s elections after running a campaign with a strong focus on women.
Back in 2008, Udall won his senatorial seat as a man from a political family who ran a very traditional campaign. He won the seat with ease despite being the candidate who’d had the most money spent against him.
Had he utilized a similar strategy this election season, he arguably would be in much better shape now.
Instead, this time around, Udall ran a campaign that focused almost exclusively on women’s votes. Rather than earning the respect of women, however, his campaign largely came off as forced and manipulative.
Incidentally, there is nothing a woman dislikes more than being forced or manipulated into something. As Bloomberg columnist Margaret Carlson put it, women “know what we don’t want, and that is to be treated like ninnies, the sum of our body parts, captives of gender….If you are trying so hard to pander to us on one thing, it’s because you are assuming we are one-issue simpletons who won’t penalize you for ignoring all of the other things we care about. Turn me into a Barbie doll voter, and I will turn on you.”
Carlson went on to call Udall a “one joke candidate.”
More than half of Udall’s ads are about how his opponent — U.S. Representative Cory Gardner, a Republican — supposedly treats women like sub-citizens while trying to restrict their reproductive rights, Bloomberg reported. In response, Gardner began advocating for over-the-counter birth control; but still, Udall refused to pull his own ads.
Despite the fact that Gardner had shifted his stance on the issue, Udall continues to push the idea that Gardner has an agenda that seeks to limit a woman’s access to birth control.
The Denver Post even blasted Udall for running an “obnoxious one-issue campaign.”
Udall is trying to make Gardner look like the stereotypical “backwards” Republican who refuses to change with the times, when in reality that description arguably fits Udall himself. Instead of shifting his campaign to fit Gardner’s changing views, Udall has dated himself by constantly berating for his opponent for things that are no longer true.
In the end, Udall will only have himself to blame if he loses his coveted seat in the senate — and according to fresh polls, that very well may happen. A SurveyUSA poll released this week shows Gardner at 46 percent and Udall at 44 percent.
Follow Kristin of Twitter @KristinBTate.
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