Next year’s U.S. Senate race in Colorado is a lot more crowded this week, and incumbent Michael Bennet has some serious competition on hand.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Colorado voters finds Bennet trailing former Republican Lieutenant Governor Jane Norton 45% to 36%. Norton formally announced her candidacy on Tuesday.

In that contest, seven percent (7%) like some other candidate, and 12% are undecided.

Another newcomer, former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, is expected to announce his candidacy today (Wednesday), challenging Bennet for the Democratic Senate nomination next year. In a match-up with Norton, the highest profile Republican in the race so far, Romanoff is down by eight points – 42% to 34%.

Eight percent (8%) prefer some other candidate, and 15% are not sure which candidate they would vote for.

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Bennet, named to the Senate by Democratic Governor Bill Ritter after President Obama nominated Senator Ken Salazar to be secretary of the Interior, has been considered politically vulnerable from the start. Rasmussen Reports polling in Colorado last week found Bennet in a toss-up with two potential – and lesser-known - Republican challengers.

Norton carries 76% of the GOP vote in a match-up with Bennet, while the incumbent earns 81% Democratic support. Voters not affiliated with either party favor Norton 52% to 21%.

In a race against Romanoff, Norton picks up 71% of Republicans, while he has 82% backing from Democratic voters. Unaffiliateds go for Norton by a 47% to 16% margin, but nearly one-out-of-four voters (24%) are undecided.

Eight percent (8%) of Colorado voters have a very favorable opinion of Bennet, while 19% view him very unfavorably. Romanoff is seen very favorably by 12% and very unfavorably by 20%.

For Norton, very favorables total 13%, while very unfavorables stand at 12%.

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.

Despite holding statewide offices, both Norton and Romanoff have to work to become better known to Colorado voters. Twenty-three percent (23%) say they don’t know enough about either candidate to express an opinion of them. Fourteen percent (14%) say the same of Bennet.

In last week’s survey, Colorado voters were evenly divided on the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. Opposition nationally now is at a record high, but it’s unclear if those Colorado numbers still hold.

Views of the plan, particularly if Democrats push it through without Republican support, are likely to be critical in next year’s elections. Bennet’s vote on the plan is sure to be an issue in both the primary and general election campaigns.

Forty-eight percent (48%) of Colorado voters now approve of the president’s job performance, while 51% disapprove. Thirty-five percent (35%) strongly approve, but 43% strongly disapprove. This is roughly comparable to national findings in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll. Obama carried Colorado in the 2008 election.

Eight percent (8%) of Colorado voters rate the economy as good or excellent while 49% rate it as poor. Thirty-three percent (33%) say it’s getting better while 39% believe the economy is getting worse.

Fifty-two percent (52%) are worried that the federal government will do too much in responding to the nation’s economic woes. Thirty-eight percent (38%) are worried they won’t do enough.

Forty percent (40%) approve of Ritter’s performance as governor, while 57% disapprove. Those who strongly disapprove outnumber those who strongly approve by nearly three-to-one.

Ritter, who trounced his GOP opponent to win the governorship in 2006, now trails Republican challenger Scott McInnis by five points – 44% to 39% - in an early look at next year’s race for governor. Ritter’s in a virtual tie with another GOP challenger, state Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry.

Rasmussen Reports has begun surveying other potential 2010 Senate match-ups and already has released findings from Connecticut and Nevada. Numbers from New Hampshire are set for release at noon EDT today.

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