Beauprez, Hickenlooper in Statistical Tie for Governor’s Race

A new poll has Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper in a statistical tie with Republican challenger Bob Beauprez.  The poll from Quinnipiac University released yesterday shows Hickenlooper trailing Beauprez among potential voters 43 to 44 percent, which is within the margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.  Republicans picked Beauprez as the gubernatorial nominee last month. In 2006, he lost the governor’s race against Democrat Bill Ritter.  During the last year, Hickenlooper has faced criticism over gun control and energy laws he signed, and his decision to grant an indefinite stay of execution for convicted killer Nathan Dunlap.  The poll found a split approval rating for Hickenlooper, with 48 percent of voters approving and 46 percent disapproving.