In a warning sign to Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, more voters view him unfavorably than favorably and he trails a leading Republican opponent, according to a Rasmussen Reports survey conducted September 15.

The survey of 500 likely voters found that 49 percent held a "somewhat unfavorable" or "very unfavorable" view of Bennet, who was appointed in January to the Senate seat that Democrat Ken Salazar vacated to become Interior Secretary in the Obama administration. Thirty-six percent of respondents said they have a somewhat favorable or a very favorable view of the senator.

Bennet trails Republican Jane Norton, who announced her candidacy on Tuesday, by 45 percent to 36 percent. Norton, a former Colorado lieutenant governor, is the best-known of a half-dozen Republicans who are challenging Bennet.

Colorado's first-term Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter, Jr. looks on shaky ground, for now, when it comes to re-election in 2010 with his job approval ratings flipping from positive to negative since January, according to a Public Policy Polling survey conducted April 17-19.

Forty-nine percent disapproved of the way he is doing his job compared to 41 percent who gave him positive marks, with 9 percent undecided. In January, he had a positive favorable-to-unfavorable ration of 47 percent to 40 percent.

Democrat Michael Bennet, appointed to fill the seat of Ken Salazar when he was tapped as Secretary of the Interior, has his work cut out for him if he is to put himself in a strong position for re-election in 2010, according to a Public Policy Polling survey conducted April 17-19.

Forty-one percent of voters disapprove of his job performance compared to 34 percent who give him positive marks, with 25 percent undecided. One of his weaknesses is with the 14 percent of the sample who are Hispanic and may still be unhappy that a Hispanic was not named to succeed Salazar. They disapprove of him by a 45 percent to 36 percent with 18 percent expressing no opinion. That compares to the 58 percent to 36 percent approval ratio that President Obama enjoys. Independents also disapprove of Bennet, by 43 percent to 32 percent with 25 percent undecided.

Democrat Michael Bennet, named to fill the Colorado Senate seat that Ken Salazar vacated to join Barack Obama's cabinet, has made clear he intends to run for a full term in 2010. The early read on his prospects in a Public Policy Polling survey conducted Jan. 23-25 finds that the former Denver school chief is still unknown by a plurality of voters in the state, but those who do know him view him favorably.

Bennet's favorable to unfavorable ratio is 33 percent to 21 percent with 45 percent unsure. PPP matched him up against four possible opponents - two of whom have since said they don't intend to run - and he led all but one. Putting specific candidacies aside, 45 percent of voters said they would back the Democrat in 2010, 42 percent said they would support the Republican and 13 percent weren't sure.

The top choice of Colorado voters to replace Sen. Ken Salazar is Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, although the field of contenders still looks pretty open, according to a Public Policy Polling survey conducted Dec. 16-17.

Hickenlooper is the choice of 23 percent, followed by Rep. John Salazar (the senator's brother) at 15 percent, House Speaker Andrew Romanoff at 12 percent, former mayor and cabinet member Frederico Pena at 11 percent, Rep. Diane Degette at 8 percent, Rep. Ed Perlmutter at 6 percent and Treasurer Cary Kennedy at 2 percent.

Hickenlooper is the top choice for Democrats, Republicans and independents, and polls strongest among White voters. Pena draws the support of 15 percent of black voters followed by four of others at 12 percent. But Pena is the clear leader among Hispanics (14 percent of the sample) with 32 percent with Salazar next at 18 percent.

"The main conclusion of this poll is that there is no overwhelming preference among Colorado voters when it comes to who should replace Ken Salazar," said PPP's Dean Debnam. "Most of the candidates being discussed publicly at this point have some level of popularity."

Today we update North Carolina, Colorado, Alabama, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Maine, Oregon, Delaware, Michigan, Massachusetts, West Virginia, Arkansas and New Hampshire in our round-up of state-by-state general election match-ups between Barack Obama and John McCain. CQ Politics is changing its rating on Virginia from "Leans Republican" to "No Clear Favorite."

Visit our Presidential election maps which give you four different ways to look at the race, including one that lets you build your own electoral scenario.

Here's a summary of our race ratings categories. Use this link for background on how we arrive at them

• No Clear Favorite, for races that are deemed to close to call.
• Leans Democratic and Leans Republican, for highly competitive races in which the named party is perceived to have at least a slight edge, but in which an upset is a highly plausible possibility.
• Democrat Favored and Republican Favored, for races in which the named party has a clearer advantage and is likely to win, though an upset cannot be completely ruled out.
• Safe Democratic and Safe Republican, for races in which the named party is viewed as certain to win.

Today we update New Hampshire, Colorado, Minnesota, Kentucky, Virginia and Kansas in our round-up of polls on Senate races. CQ Politics is also changing its rating on the New Mexico race from "Leans Democrat" to "Democrat Favored."

To keep up with our race ratings, you can also go to our Senate Races to Watch page. Here's a summary of the categories:

• No Clear Favorite, for races that are deemed to close to call.

• Leans Democratic and Leans Republican, for highly competitive races in which the named party is perceived to have at least a slight edge, but in which an upset is a highly plausible possibility.

• Democrat Favored and Republican Favored, for races in which the named party has a clearer advantage and is likely to win, though an upset cannot be completely ruled out.

• Safe Democratic and Safe Republican, for races in which the named party is viewed as certain to win.

Our latest round-up of match-ups between Barack Obama and John McCain updates Florida, Colorado, New Mexico, Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, New Hampshire, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Illinois, New Hampshire, Georgia, New Jersey, Connecticut and Ohio. One series of polls that stood out was a new "Big Ten Battleground Poll" co-directed by University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientists. Of six states they surveyed, McCain and Obama were exactly tied or statistically tied in five: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, Iowa and Pennsylvania with only Obama's home state of Illinois being non-competitive. Some of these were also among the 33 updates we posted yesterday. Also, check out CQ Politics' election forecasts for detailed stories on races in each state from the tops of the tickets down. Also go to our Presidential Election Maps to see our calls and use our Scenario Builder to make your own.

Today we update Colorado in our round-up of state match-ups between Barack Obama and John McCain. Also, check out CQ Politics' election forecasts for detailed stories on races in each state from the tops of the tickets down.

• Colorado: Another poll confirms the closeness of the race here. McCain is leading Obama 44 percent to 41 percent with 3 percent for Libertarian Bob Barr, 2 percent for Ralph Nader and 8 percent undecided in a Rocky Mountain News/CBS 4 poll conducted Aug. 11-13. That result was within the poll's 4.38 percent margin of error. The survey found a "massive generational split" with Obama leading McCain 56 percent to 34 percent among voters under 35 years of age and McCain leading Obama 51 percent to 34 percent among those 65 and older. A Public Policy Polling survey conducted Aug. 5-7 had Obama leading McCain 48 percent to 44 percent with 7 percent undecided in a. The margin of error was 3.2 percent. Obama was competitive with McCain among white voters, among whom the Republican leads by a bare 2 points, while holding a 51 percent to 36 percent among Hispanics who comprise 15 percent of the sample. PPP's Dean Debnam says that if Obama can "secure a draw" with McCain among whites, "he's almost definitely going to win the state." Obama also leads among independents, 50 percent to 35 percent. This is one of the states, along with Florida, Nevada and New Mexico, where Hispanics may be an important force. They make up 15 percent of the sample in the PPP poll and Obama leads among them 58 percent to 34 percent while running evenly with McCain among white voters. The state has gone Republican the last three elections (by less than 5 points in 2004), but the Obama camp thinks they can make it competitive.