Polls

Obama leads by 6 points in Colorado

| Tom Jensen


Header-poll-results
Raleigh, N.C.–
PPP’s newest Colorado poll finds Barack
Obama leading Mitt Romney 51-45 in the state. That represents a three point
improvement for Obama since Labor Day weekend when he had a 49-46 advantage.

The key for Obama in Colorado is that he’s neutralizing or even holding a
small lead with some of the groups he tends to struggle with. For instance he’s
actually slightly ahead, 49-48, with white voters and when you add his typical
65-29 lead with Hispanics to the mix it gives him his overall healthy lead.
He’s also leading 51-46 with men to go along with his usual advantage among
women, 52-44 in this case. Romney does have a 52-45 lead with seniors but Obama
more than offsets that with a 58-38 lead among voters under 45.

Since our last poll Obama has seen a 4 point improvement in his net approval
rating, from slightly negative ground at 48/49 to slightly positive at 50/47.
Romney’s seen a small decline in his favorability numbers from 46/50 to 45/51.

Romney did not help himself with his ‘47%’ comments earlier this week. 38%
of voters said his sentiment made them less likely to vote for him, compared to
only 27% who consider them a positive. Romney trails Obama 51-41 with
independents and Obama is also benefiting from a more unified party with 91% of
Democrats supporting him compared to 86% of Republicans who are behind Romney.

We also tested an iteration of the Presidential race in Colorado including
Libertarian Gary Johnson. Johnson polls at 4% but doesn’t have any sort of
spoiler effect- he pulls equally from Obama and Romney, still leaving Obama
with a 6 point lead at 49-43.

“We have consistently found Barack Obama leading in Colorado and that
advantage is widening again as the election nears,” said Dean Debnam, President
of Public Policy Polling. “Romney’s going to need to get it turned around soon
to have a chance at winning the state.”

PPP surveyed 940
likely Colorado voters from September 20th to 23rd . The margin of
error for the survey is +/-3.2%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by
any campaign or political organization.

Topline results are below.  Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.

Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of President
Barack Obama’s job performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 50%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 47%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 3%

Q2 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Mitt Romney?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 45%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 51%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 4%

Q3 The candidates for President are Democrat
Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney. If
the election was today, who would you vote
for?
Barack Obama………………………………………… 51%
Mitt Romney……………………………………………. 45%
Undecided………………………………………………. 4%

Q4 Do you trust Barack Obama or Mitt Romney
more on the issue of the economy?
Barack Obama………………………………………… 49%
Mitt Romney……………………………………………. 46%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 5%

Q5 Do you trust Barack Obama or Mitt Romney
more on the issue of foreign policy?
Barack Obama………………………………………… 53%
Mitt Romney……………………………………………. 45%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 2%

Q6 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Gary Johnson?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 9%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 15%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 76%

Q7 If the candidates for President this year were
Democrat Barack Obama, Republican Mitt
Romney, and Libertarian Gary Johnson, who
would you vote for?
Barack Obama………………………………………… 49%
Mitt Romney……………………………………………. 43%
Gary Johnson …………………………………………. 4%
Undecided………………………………………………. 3%

Q8 Are you very excited, somewhat excited, or not
at all excited about voting in the 2012
elections?
Very excited ……….. .62%
Somewhat excited . .25%
Not at all excited …. .14%

Q9 Are you familiar with comments Mitt Romney
has made about the ‘47%’, or not?
Familiar ………………………………………………….. 90%
Not familiar……………………………………………… 10%

Q10 Mitt Romney recently said, “There are 47
percent of the people who will vote for the
president no matter what. All right? There are
47 percent who are with him, who are
dependent upon government, who believe that
they are victims, who believe the government
has a responsibility to care for them, who
believe that they are entitled to health care, to
food, to housing, to you-name-it, that that’s an
entitlement. And the government should give it
to them. And they will vote for this president no
matter what…. These are people who pay no
income tax.” Do you think Romney’s comments
were appropriate or inappropriate?
Appropriate …………………………………………….. 44%
Inappropriate…………………………………………… 51%
Not sure ………………………………………………… 5%

Q11 Do these comments make you more or less
likely to vote for Mitt Romney, or do they not
make a difference?
More likely………………………………………………. 27%
Less likely ………………………………………………. 38%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 35%

Q12 Do you think Mitt Romney should release his
tax returns for the last 12 years, or not?
He should……………………………………………….. 52%
He should not………………………………………….. 41%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 8%

Q13 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 10%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 20%
Moderate………………………………………………… 29%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 24%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 16%

Q14 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 51%
Man……………………………………………………….. 49%

Q15 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican,
press 2. If you are an independent or identify
with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 34%
Republican……………………………………………… 34%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 31%

Q16 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If other, press 3.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 11%
White …………………………………………………….. 83%
Other……………………………………………………… 7%

Q17 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to
45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are
older than 65, press 4.
18 to 29………………………………………………….. 12%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 30%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 38%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%

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