Lieutenant Governor Jane Norton now posts a 14-point lead over incumbent Democrat Michael Bennett, but her lead over Bennet’s intraparty challenger, Andrew Romanoff, is not as big in the race for the U.S. Senate in Colorado.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely Colorado voters finds Norton still the strongest of three Republican hopefuls against either of the candidates who hopes to be the Democratic nominee.

Norton leads Bennet 51% to 37%, a two-point gain for her from last month.

She runs just seven points ahead of Romanoff, a former state House Speaker who is challenging Bennet for the Democratic Senate nomination – 45% to 38%. In January, Norton had a 12-point lead, 47% to 35%.

For the two most prominent Republicans challenging Norton for their party’s nomination, ex-state Senator Tom Wiens and Ken Buck, a country district attorney, the contest with either Democrat is much closer.

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Wiens leads Bennet 45% to 40% and is in a virtual tie with Romanoff, 42% to 40%.

Buck for now beats Bennet 45% to 41% and Romanoff 45% to 39%.

The numbers are roughly comparable to those from last month and both Democratic hopefuls seem locked into the 35% to 40% range for now, regardless of their GOP opponent.

But while Norton’s lead on Bennet has steadily grown in polling since last September, she continues to hover in the mid-40s against Romanoff, suggesting that incumbency may be one of Bennet’s biggest problems. Given voter unhappiness with the national health care plan and the state of the economy, a number of Democratic senators are experiencing a similar challenge.

Other Democratic Senate incumbents who currently trail their challengers include Harry Reid in Nevada, Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas and Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania. Democrats Barbara Boxer from California, Evan Bayh of Indiana and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin find themselves in potentially more competitive races than usual.

Republicans lead open-seat Senate races in Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Ohio.

Forty-five percent (45%) of voters in Colorado rate their personal finances as good or excellent, while just 12% say their finances are poor. Twenty-three percent (23%) say their own finances are getting better, but nearly twice as many (44%) say they are getting worse.

Forty-seven percent (47%) believe it is possible to balance the federal budget without raising taxes, but 38% disagree. A majority (53%) in the state favor an across-the-board tax cut for all Americans, although 34% are against that idea.

Fifty-six percent (56%) think cutting taxes is a better way to create jobs than increasing government spending. Only 17% say increased spending is a better job creator.

Forty-four percent (44%) of Colorado voters say the United States and its allies are winning the war on terror. Twenty-four percent (24%) say the terrorists are ahead.

Thirty-nine percent (39%) believe America is safer today than it was before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, but 42% disagree.

When it comes to important national issues, 73% of voters in Colorado trust the judgment of the American people more than that of the nation’s political leaders. Just 11% trust the leaders’ judgment more.

Seventy percent (70%) say the federal government has become a special interest group, and the identical number (70%) think government and big business often work together to hurt consumers and investors.

Bennet, the superintendent of the Denver public schools, was named to the Senate by Democratic Governor Bill Ritter last January to fill out the term of then-Senator Ken Salazar when he became secretary of the Interior. Bennet is now seeking a full-term of his own. But Romanoff, reportedly miffed because he wasn’t named to Salazar’s seat, has opted for a primary challenge of Bennet, viewed nationally as one of the Democrats’ most vulnerable incumbents.

Both parties will hold their primaries on August 10.

Seventeen percent (17%) of Colorado voters have a very favorable opinion of Bennet, while 24% view him very unfavorably. For Romanoff, very favorables total 17% and very unfavorables 16%.

Norton is viewed very favorably by 21% and very unfavorably by 14%. Eleven percent (11%) have a very favorable regard for Buck, and eight percent (8%) see him very unfavorably. Wiens’ very favorables total 11%, and his very unfavorables are seven percent (7%).

At this point in a campaign, Rasmussen Reports considers the number of people with a strong opinion more significant than the total favorable/unfavorable numbers.

Norton, Bennet and Romanoff are the best-known of the candidates, but roughly 20% of voters still don’t know them well enough to venture even a soft favorable or unfavorable opinion.

Barack Obama carried Colorado over John McCain with 54% of the vote in November 2008, but just 45% of Colorado voters now approve of the president’s job performance, including 33% who strongly approve. Fifty-three percent (53%) disapprove of how the president is doing his job, with 45% who strongly disapprove. This is slightly more critical than current views nationally in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

Forty percent (40%) approve of Ritter’s job performance as governor, while 56% disapprove. Ritter surprised many in the state by announcing several weeks ago that he would not seek reelection this year. Rasmussen Reports will release new numbers on the Colorado governor’s race on Monday.

In 2008, Rasmussen Reports projected nationally that Obama would defeat John McCain by a 52% to 46% margin. Obama won 53% to 46%. Four years earlier, Rasmussen Reports projected the national vote totals for both George W. Bush and John Kerry within half-a-percentage-point.

In Colorado, Rasmussen Reports polled on two races during the 2008 campaign. In the race for president, Rasmussen polling showed Obama with 51% and McCain with 45%. The final results were Obama 54% McCain 45%. In the 2008 Colorado race for U.S. Senate, Rasmussen polling showed Mark Udall beating Bob Schaffer 51% to 44%. Udall won 53% to 42%.

In the 2006 race for Governor, Rasmussen polling showed Bill Ritter leading Bob Beauprez by twelve, 51% to 39%. Ritter won by fifteen, 56% to 41%. In the 2004 Presidential race, Rasmussen polling in Colorado showed George W. Bush defeating John Kerry by five, 50% to 45%. Bush won the state by five, 52% to 47%.

See all Rasmussen Reports 2008 state results for president, Senate and governor. See 2006 results for Senate and governor. See 2004 state results for president.

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