In the battle today for Colorado's key 9 electoral college votes, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney run effectively even in two different matchups - one that goes out of the way to name Libertarian Gary Johnson, and one that does not - according to a Denver Post poll conducted by SurveyUSA.

Obama has a nominal (statistically insignificant) 1-point advantage, 45% to 44%, in a 3-way match-up, where the Libertarian Johnson gets 3%. And, Obama has the same, nominal 1-point advantage, 47% to 46%, when voters are asked to choose between just the two major-party candidates.

* Romney is backed by whites, military families, gun owners, voters in greater Colorado Springs and voters who would limit abortion in some or all cases.
* Obama is backed by women, Hispanics, voters in Metro Denver, voters who earn less than $40,000, and those who would not restrict abortion.

* By 8:7, Colorado trusts Romney to fix the economy.
* By 5:4, Colorado says Romney would do a better job of reducing the federal debt.
* But by 5:4 Colorado says that Obama is more in touch with the working person.

Voters say "jobs" is the number one issue they want the President to focus on ahead of all others, followed closely by "balancing the federal budget." Not surprisingly, the lowest income group is the group most focused on jobs. Those who identify themselves as fiscal conservatives are uniquely focused on balancing the budget. "Health care" is the 3rd most frequently named issue, disproportionately cited by women, seniors and Democrats.

Amendment 64, which would de-criminalize marijuana in Colorado, narrowly leads today, 51% to 40%. Amendment 64 is backed disproportionately by younger voters and Democrats, opposed by older voters and Republicans.

Two months after the shooting in Aurora CO, Colorado voters say that it is more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns than it is to control gun ownership. Men and women see this issue differently. Overwhelmingly, Colorado voters say that the best way to reduce gun violence is to enforce existing gun laws, rather than passing stricter gun laws.

John Hickenlooper's job approval is high at 58%. Hickenlooper's Net Approval Rating is Plus 3 among Republicans, Plus 35 among Independents, and Plus 67 among Democrats.

Cell-phone and home-phone respondents included in this research. SurveyUSA interviewed 750 Colorado adults 09/09/12 through 09/12/12. Of the adults, 676 were registered to vote. Of the registered voters, 615 were determined by SurveyUSA to be likely to vote in the 11/06/12 election. This research was conducted using blended sample, mixed mode. Respondents reachable on a home telephone (74% of likely voters) were interviewed on their home telephone in the recorded voice of a professional announcer. Respondents not reachable on a home telephone (26% of likely voters) were shown a questionnaire on their smartphone, tablet or other electronic device. In this research, cell-phone respondents are more likely to favor the decriminalization of marijuana than are land-line respondents. All interviews conducted after the Democratic National Convention. Most interviews conducted before attacks on American embassies and the killing of an American ambassador.