As noted by the weblog ToTheRight.org, a September 15 Rocky Mountain News article by reporter Lynn Bartels and a report by Jodi Brooks on the September 14 broadcast of KCNC's CBS4 News at 10 p.m. uncritically repeated an assertion by Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez's campaign that, as the News reported, “Beauprez overcame double-digit deficits to win in both of his congressional campaigns.” Neither report indicated to which polls the Beauprez campaign was referring.

However, polls catalogued by PollingReport.com -- which calls itself "[a]n independent, nonpartisan resource on trends in American public opinion" -- never showed Beauprez trailing his 2002 [subscription required] or 2004 [subscription required] opponents by more than three percentage points.

Both news outlets uncritically repeated the Beauprez campaign's claim in the context of reporting on a September 10-12 Rocky Mountain News/CBS4 poll that showed Beauprez trailing Democratic candidate Bill Ritter by 17 points.

Bartels's September 15 News analysis article about the poll stated, “Beauprez's been down this road before,” adding, “In an e-mail to supporters last week, campaign manager John Marshall noted that Beauprez overcame double-digit deficits to win in both of his congressional campaigns.” Bartels's article did not challenge this assertion.

Similarly, Brooks uncritically reported on CBS4, “As for Bob Beauprez's camp, they tell us, in his last two elections he was down 15 points, and in the end, he still won.”

2004 CD 7 RACE: BOB BEAUPREZ (R) vs. DAVE THOMAS (D)

* Poll not listed on Polling Report.

** Ridder/Braden is also consultant for Colorado Media Matters.

2002 CD 7 RACE: BOB BEAUPREZ (R) vs. MIKE FEELEY (D)

From Bartels's September 15 article in the Rocky Mountain News, “It's no fun to be a Republican”:

The national political climate and Beauprez's miscues in Colorado have combined to drop the Republican candidate for governor in a Republican-leaning state 17 points behind the Democratic candidate, according to a new Rocky Mountain News/CBS 4 poll.

Beauprez has been hammered from the start, from his perceived waffling on Referendum C, to his choice last month of a running mate who linked gays to bestiality.

Though Ritter has escaped that kind of scrutiny, [Lori] Weigel [a Republican pollster who conducted the Rocky Mountain News/CBS4 poll] said, there's still time for Beauprez to sharply define Ritter for voters, who are only vaguely familiar with either of the first-time statewide candidates. Brace yourself for a barrage of negative ads, Weigel warned.

“By the end of the campaign, everybody is going to be on a first-name basis with these guys,” she said. “Right now, we're still sort of on the first introductions. We've got a long way to go.”

Beauprez's been down this road before.

In an e-mail to supporters last week, campaign manager John Marshall noted that Beauprez overcame double-digit deficits to win in both of his congressional campaigns.

From the September 14 broadcast of KCNC's CBS 4 News at 10 p.m.:

BROOKS: We have shared these results with both candidates. Bill Ritter's campaign tells us that they will continue to work tirelessly. They tell us the only poll that matters is the one on Election Day. As for Bob Beauprez's camp, they tell us, in his last two elections he was down 15 points, and in the end, he still won.