Elway.
Polis is too damaged from COVID.
I don't understand this. Polis had one of the more moderate responses of any Democratic Governor to the pandemic, and it's a response that turned out to be the correct one. Colorado is approaching a 70% partial vaccination rate, and our cases continue to decline. Polis' approval ratings match up with the state's partisan lean. He's been a noncontroversial incumbent, and Republicans don't detest him as much as they might other Democratic politicians.
At any rate, Elway would have been a solid candidate for Republicans a decade or so ago, and his chances in a year such as 2010 or 2014 would have been good. He's still a decent candidate now, but Colorado has become much more Democratic and partisan in its voting habits. Elway might come within single digits, but the best I could see him doing is a ~6-9% loss, like those suffered by George Brauchler in 2018 and Cory Gardner last year.
Poll
