Trump Statements, Slow Start Put Pivotal Southwest At Risk
3 HOURS AGO THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BY BY THOMAS BEAUMONT -
DENVER (AP) — Once a swing state in presidential elections, Colorado has teetered on the brink of becoming solidly Democratic. Donald Trump may have pushed it over the edge.
Trump's disparaging words about Mexicans, negative comments about women and weak campaign organization have punctuated the state's shift from a nip-and-tuck battleground to one that's Democrat-friendly. For the first time in more than 20 years, there are now more registered Democrats in the state than Republicans.
"Trump is turning off as many key voter groups as we have in this state," said former state Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams. "I would have to believe Trump's having trouble."
And it's not just Colorado. Trump's inflammatory rhetoric and weak campaign structure could ensure that perennially competitive Nevada and New Mexico are out of reach as well.
That matters for Trump. He can't win the 270 electoral votes needed to capture the presidency without capturing some states that favored Barack Obama in the last two elections.
The three Southwestern states — which have a combined 21 electoral votes — might have offered some hope. All backed Republican George W. Bush 12 years ago.
But Trump isn't making as much of a push for those states as is his likely Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. He made his first campaign appearance in Colorado just Friday, speaking at the Western Conservative Summit in Denver.
Clinton made her fifth trip on Wednesday, proposing college-loan deferment for graduates who start businesses. It was a tactical move aimed at swaying young voters, many of whom flocked to Sen. Bernie Sanders, who beat Clinton soundly in March's Colorado caucuses.
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