When we polled Colorado in early March Michael Bennet and Jane Norton were tied. Last week we found Bennet with a 3 point lead. One of the biggest reasons for that shift? Bennet went from leading Norton by 12 points with Hispanic voters to a 21 point advantage. That large shift in a Democratic direction among Hispanics mirrors what we saw in our Arizona Senate polling last month- Rodney Glassman went from trailing John McCain by 17 points with them in September to now holding a 17 point lead.
Of course, I predicted this as well. The immigration issue, outside of perhaps the border states, is an asymmetric one. It will benefit the Democrats because Hispanics will get more worked up over it than white people will. It's helping Bennet in Colorado (who seemed like a sure goner on account of his lack of a power base in the state), it's helping Barbara Boxer and Jerry Brown in California, Glassman in Arizona, and who knows who else. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that this could save the Democrats' majority in November.
