Republican opens biggest lead in Colo.

Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) leads Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) by 7 points in a new Suffolk University poll, the biggest lead he’s seen all month.

{mosads}The poll gave Gardner 46 percent support to Udall’s 39 percent support among likely voters. That’s a significant shift from Suffolk’s last survey, conducted in September, when Gardner led Udall by just 1 point, 43 percent to 42 percent.

Gardner has posted a lead over Udall in nearly every public poll released this month, and his lead has consistently widened, though this is the first poll to show him with a 7-point advantage in the race. 

Udall has made Gardner’s position on women’s issues — and particular his previous support for a state measure that would effectively ban abortion — his main focus in the race. The tactic has drawn criticism and contributed to his loss of The Denver Post‘s endorsement, which accused him of running an “obnoxious one-issue campaign.”

Democrats are projecting confidence, however, even as Udall’s own internals have shown a tightening race. They’re promising that their ground and data operations, which helped drive Democrats to improbable wins in the state in 2010 and 2008, will again help Udall come out on top.

The live poll was conducted among 500 likely voters Oct. 18-21 and has a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.