Editors note: This is the Journals weekly roundup of campaign news.
The race between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney turned personal and got nastier this week. That all came to a screeching halt Friday morning.
Both campaigns said they were taking down their negative ads in Colorado in the wake of the Thursday night shooting at an Aurora theater that killed 13 people.
There are gonna be other days for politics. This, I think, is a day for prayer and reflection, Obama told an audience in Florida that had gathered for a campaign rally and instead saw a brief address to the nation.
Earlier in the week, Obamas campaign kept up a steady drumbeat of calls for Romney to release more of his tax returns. Romney responded with ads and speeches repeating Obamas comments on the role of government and the private sector.
Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If youve got a business you didnt build that, Obama said last week in Virginia. Romney and his campaign have focused on the last sentence of that quote to paint Obama as disrespectful of business owners.
Neck and neck: A Purple Strategies poll released Monday showed Colorado voters equally unenthusiastic about their choices for president. Obama led Romney 45 percent to 44 percent, but both candidates had negative approval ratings.
Obama had a job approval of 45 percent, with 51 percent of respondents disapproving. Romneys favorability ratings were even worse 37 percent favorable and 55 percent unfavorable.
The poll of 600 likely voters had a margin of error of 4 percent.
Neck and neck II: Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, and Democratic challenger Sal Pace turned in nearly identical fundraising totals for the spring quarter. Tipton raised $416,000 about $3,000 more than Pace.
Air war: Once again last week, NBC reported that Colorado is the center of the television ad campaign. Denver, Colorado Springs and Grand Junction ranked first, second and third in ad saturation by the campaigns and their allies.
Countdown: 108 days until the November election.
