Nov. 4, 2002 -- Although Republican Sen. Wayne Allard and Democratic challenger Tom Strickland continue to split Colorado's vote down the middle in their tight battle for the U.S. Senate, Libertarian candidate Rick Stanley could hold the key to victory.

Both Allard and Strickland are hovering at around 40 percent of the vote apiece in recent polls, while Stanley pulls only three percent of voters. But in an election that could be decided by a razor-thin margin -- and with control of the Senate hanging in the balance -- analysts say Stanley's influence could provide the final boost to put one candidate over the top.

"It ultimately could affect whether Democrats have a majority," pollster Paul Talmey told Denver's Rocky Mountain News. "Maybe the whole universe tilts on Rick Stanley."

It's the same principle, analysts say, that led some to accuse Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader of "spoiling" the 2000 presidential election for Democrat Al Gore. In the crucial battleground state of Florida -- the state whose 25 electoral votes decided the election's outcome -- Nader picked up some 97,000 votes, far more than the 537-vote margin that separated Gore from Republican George W. Bush. Some Gore supporters blasted Nader for remaining in the race, saying he siphoned votes from people who might have otherwise voted for Gore.

However, Republican analyst Katy Atkinson said she was unsure exactly where on the political spectrum Stanley supporters might fall.

"Anytime you have a close election, that's really the only time these third-party candidates are significant," Atkinson told the Rocky Mountain News. "A mainstream Libertarian candidate would probably be drawing from Republicans. Stanley is so far out on the fringe, I'm not sure who he is drawing from."

According to his campaign Web site, Stanley opposes income tax and strongly supports gun rights. Stanley was arrested three times in the last year for carrying a holstered gun to public events. A self-styled maverick, Stanley says "mainstream politics is about upholding the lies told to Americans the last 100 years."

Meanwhile, the two mainstream candidates continue to trade barbs as the campaign reaches its final hours. On Thursday, Allard took Strickland to task for failing to file criminal charges while he was a U.S. attorney against the top official of a company that owned the Summitville gold mine, the site of one of Colorado's worst environmental disasters.

Allard Campaign Manager Dick Wadhams accused Strickland of "lying" about his record as U.S. attorney, the Denver Post reported.

"While bragging about his role in the Summitville mining pollution case, the truth is [he] refused to file federal criminal charges against the polluter," Wadhams said.

The Denver Post wrote that Strickland had actually reopened the criminal probe into the Summitville case after it had been closed by his predecessor. According to the Post, the $27.5 million settlement that the U.S. Justice Department reached with the polluter was approved by Republican Gov. Bill Owens, one of Allard's strongest supporters.

Strickland's campaign manager called the attack a "smear attempt by a campaign bankrupt of ideas."