Despite the polls showing Senator Barack Obama with a significant lead over John McCain in Colorado, 9News reports that the early numbers for the first two days of voting show the race may be close.

According to early voting statistics posted by Colorado’s Secretary of State on Tuesday, 96,104 mail-in ballots were returned by Democrats. Republicans turned in 99,306. When looking at the number of voters who showed up at early voting centers, 9,173 were Democrats and 6,309 were Republicans.

Governor Sarah Palin campaigned in state Republican strongholds on Monday, drawing large crowds. Her husband campaigned in Glenwood Springs, Eagle, and Colorado Springs on Tuesday. Senator John McCain has a full day scheduled here Friday, with stops in Denver and Durango.

The Democrats, meanwhile, have also had a big presence in Colorado this week and will end the week with rallies featuring Senator Hillary Clinton on Friday and Barack Obama on Sunday.

Are voters really still undecided? According to the Rocky Mountain News, requests for mail-in ballots are so high, several counties are swamped:

Several counties, including Adams, Douglas, Arapahoe and Denver, have been flooded in the last few weeks with mail ballot requests. Other counties, like Jefferson and Larimer, are less stressed because most of their applications came in months ago.

Colorado seems to still be in play for both candidates. And neither one is giving up or taking us for granted. It could be a long election night for us, even if it isn’t for the rest of the nation.