In what can only be described as a sheer act of political desperation, Betsy Markey has released a polling memo that shows her statically tied with Treasurer Walker Stapleton.  Without having released the full data behind her poll, however, we can’t help out B.S. on this one. 

Releasing inaccurate polls to create a picture rosier than reality, is Markey’s M.O. whenever she is losing.  In 2010, eight weeks out from her race against Cory Gardner, Markey released a poll that showed the two of them tied.

From the Coloradoan at the time:

The Markey campaign poll showed her and Gardner with 38 percent each, independent Ken “Wasko” Waszkiewicz at 5 percent and American Constitution Party candidate Doug Aden at 2 percent. The remaining 17 percent were undecided.

Of course, we all know how that race turned out.  Gardner beat Markey by 11 points, 52 to 41.  The final results of that race were in line with other public polling available at the time.

When it comes to polling how the sample size is weighted and what questions are asked can be tweaked to essentially show countless outcomes.  Without full transparency of who was polled and what they were asked, no poll should be trusted let alone considered close to political reality.

In contrast, Public Policy Polling recently showed her trailing Stapleton 33 to 43 with 24 percent undecided.  We’re betting this is a lot closer to the truth than the fundraising ask/polling memo released by Team-Markey.