WASHINGTON, November 5 (RIA Novosti) — Democratic Senator Mark Udall loses the Senate race in Colorado due to the low ratings of US President Barack Obama, President of RBI Strategies Research and former presidential campaign manager Rick Ridder told RIA Novosti Tuesday.
"What drove the Senate result [in Colorado] was the unpopularity of the President of the United States," Ridder said, noting that Obama's favorability rating in the state is less than 40%.
Republican Congressman Cory Gardner defeats Democratic Senator Mark Udall in Colorado's senate race. With 83 percent of the ballots counted, Gardner is leading with 51 percent, leaving behind Udall with 44 percent, according to the latest reports.
When the Gardner campaign linked Udall to the president "in a very successful manner, independent voters decided to go for a change", Ridder said.
He also said Gardner's constant refrain that Udall voted with Obama 99% of the time, along with Udall's poor economic performance in the eyes of Colorado's middle class, helped drive the electorate towards the Republican camp.
"Looking at the data set from Colorado, it appears to be a response on a statewide basis that Colorado is moving back into the purple column," Ridder said.
Tuesday's elections will determine 36 senate seats. The Republicans need to secure 51 out of 100 seats to control the upper house of US Congress, where Democrats currently have a 55-45 majority.
According to NBC News, the GOP is also projected to maintain a majority in the US House of Representatives. Early projections show Republicans could add 10 seats to their current majority of 233 seats. All 435 seats of the House are up for reelection.
