(Part of UPI's Special Report on Election 2002)
DENVER (UPI) -- The major candidates are the same in Colorado's U.S. Senate race as they were six years ago but the stakes are much higher this time.
Republican Wayne Allard defeated Democrat Tom Strickland 51 to 46 percent in 1996 to win the open Senate race, but this year the outcome of their contest could determine which party controls the Senate and the balance of political power in Washington.
Colorado and Arkansas are the states where Democrats have the best chance of beating an incumbent Republican and they have targeted Allard, a 58-year-old veterinarian who grew up on a Colorado farm and began his political career in the Legislature.
Allard had 39 percent and Strickland 35 percent in the most recent poll released Oct. 11 by the Rocky Mountain News and KCNC-TV. The Denver Post, in a survey of 500 likely votes released Oct. 1 had Allard with 41 percent and Strickland with 38 percent, and a margin of error of plus/minus 4.4 percent. Libertarian Rick Stanley had 4 percent in the rocky Mountain News poll, with another 18 percent undecided.
An MSNBC/Zogby International poll released Oct. 12 was closer with Allard at 41.6 percent of the vote to Strickland's 41.5 percent.
"This is one of the closest races in the country," says Daniel Smith, an associate professor of political science at the University of Denver. "You've got an incumbent in Wayne Allard who -- when you're only polling in the 30's -- there's a question. He had a very close race six years ago with Tom Strickland that he edged out and he has not been able to distance himself from Strickland."
On the other hand, Smith said, Allard has a "mastermind" in campaign manager Dick Wadhams who has been effective in countering Strickland attacks by labeling him a millionaire lawyer-lobbyist.
Smith said the Colorado's unaffiliated voters could hold the key in the race, which may be the most expensive Senate race in the state's history. A survey done for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee by Garin-Hart-Wang Research Group in August said it found an anti-incumbent mood in the state, with 58 percent of the votes concerned about the direction the nation was taking.
In a Sept. 24 appearance on NBC's Meet The Press that highlighted the national importance of the race, Social Security and corporate responsibility dominated the discussion, as they do at home when the candidates debate the issues.
On Social Security, Allard believes those who want to stay on Social Security should be allowed to do so but he thinks others should have the option of "individualizing" their accounts with investments in stocks, bonds or savings. He rejects Strickland's charges that he favors "privatization."
Strickland says a revitalized national economy is key to restoring the health of Social Security and both say something must be to done to assure that Social Security will be there when those who are entering the work force today reach retirement age.
Strickland, a 50-year-old Denver attorney, says the Allard labeling of him as a millionaire lobbyist, which first surfaced in the 1996 race, is unfair. He says he will oppose special interests in Congress and champion the views of most Coloradoans.
Strickland may be best known as the U.S. attorney who was sworn into office the day after the Columbine High School shooting in suburban Denver. He later led a crackdown on gun violence as a prosecutor.
While Strickland portrays himself as the environmental candidate with endorsements from the Sierra Club and Clean Water Action Coalition, Allard is targeted for defeat by the League of Conservation Voters and has been attacked by the Sierra Club after claiming he had an "honorary membership." But he has, nonetheless, won praise for some of his conservation efforts.
Allard takes pride in creating a wildlife refuge at the old Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant near Denver and pushing legislation to create the Great Sand Dunes National Park and the Spanish Peaks Wilderness Area in southern Colorado.
Allard has the backing of the Colorado farmers and ranchers, the National Taxpayers Union and National Federation of Independent Business. He had a 98 percent GOP voting record in his first term in the Senate, where he hopes to return for a second term.
(Reported by Phil Magers in Dallas)
