MILWAUKEE — If Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) is worried about his reelection odds, he's not showing it publicly.

"It seemed like I really had an unfair advantage," Hickenlooper quipped after a Democratic Governors Association briefing here Friday afternoon. "The approval ratings were so high — it really didn't seem even fair. So, we made a few strategic decisions to try to move ourselves back into play, forcing us to be on our game, a little more focused."

A June Quinnipiac University poll showed the first-term Democrat running neck and neck with Republican Tom Tancredo, a failed 2010 gubernatorial candidate and former congressman. Hickenlooper's decision to grant a temporary execution reprieve to a man convicted of killing four people appeared to hurt his once solid standing. A Republican poll conducted for Secretary of State Scott Gessler (R) also found Hickenlooper to be vulnerable.

"If I lose, I go back to 14 weeks of vacation. I'm in a no-lose situation, right?" Hickenlooper said.