Polls

Colorado voters support gay marriage

| Tom Jensen


Header-poll-results
Raleigh, N.C. –

Colorado voters like the civil unions bill the legislature passed earlier this
year, supporting it by a 50/38 margin. But they’d also like to take it a step
further, supporting full marriage rights for same sex couples by a 51/43
spread. Voters under 30 favor it by a 74/17 margin.

Although he is a strong favorite for reelection as Governor next year,
there’s not a lot of enthusiasm in Colorado for a 2016 John Hickenlooper
Presidential bid. Only 21% of voters in the state think he should run to 65%
who think he should not, and even among Democrats just 30% would like to see
him run with 48% dissenting. Hickenlooper does hold a narrow 47/45 advantage over
Rand Paul and Marco Rubio in hypothetical match ups. But even without the
benefit of home state advantage Hillary Clinton does slightly better than
Hickenlooper in the state, leading Paul 48/45 and Rubio 48/44.

Barack Obama’s standing in Colorado has declined since the election, just as
we’re finding in most states. After winning it by 5 points in November he’s now
fallen back down to a 48% approval rating, with 50% of voters disapproving of
him. Voters are closely divided on Michael Bennet- 34/35 approval- and narrowly
support incumbent Republican Secretary of State Scott Gessler for reelection
over Democratic challenger Ken Gordon 42/38.

Coloradans support stronger gun laws in general (49/44) and an assault
weapons ban in particular (49/45). Latinos, who Republicans need to be more
competitive with if they’re going to win key statewide races in Colorado,
support stronger gun laws by a 59/32 margin. We didn’t bother testing support
for background checks in the state given the overwhelming support for them everywhere.

“Republicans are looking for a path forward after losing 6 elections in a
row for President, Governor, and the Senate in Colorado,” said Dean Debnam,
President of Public Policy Polling. “But being on the wrong side of public
opinion about hot button issues like gun control and gay marriage isn’t going
to get them out of the wilderness.”

PPP surveyed 500 Colorado
voters from April 11th to 14th. The margin of error is +/-4.4%. This poll was not
paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys
are conducted through automated telephone interviews.

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 …………………………………………………. 48%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 50%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 3%

Q2 If the candidates for Secretary of State next
year were Republican Scott Gessler and
Democrat Ken Gordon, who would you vote
for?
Scott Gessler ………………………………………….. 42%
Ken Gordon ……………………………………………. 38%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 19%

Q3 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator
Michael Bennet’s job performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 34%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 35%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 31%

Q4 If the candidates for President in 2016 were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Rand
Paul, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 48%
Rand Paul ………………………………………………. 45%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 7%

Q5 If the candidates for President in 2016 were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican
Marco Rubio, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 48%
Marco Rubio …………………………………………… 44%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 8%

Q6 If the candidates for President in 2016 were
Democrat John Hickenlooper and Republican
Rand Paul, who would you vote for?
John Hickenlooper …………………………………… 47%
Rand Paul ………………………………………………. 45%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 8%

Q7 If the candidates for President in 2016 were
Democrat John Hickenlooper and Republican
Marco Rubio, who would you vote for?
John Hickenlooper …………………………………… 47%
Marco Rubio …………………………………………… 45%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 8%

Q8 Do you think John Hickenlooper should run for
President in 2016, or not?
He should……………………………………………….. 21%
He should not………………………………………….. 65%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 14%

Q9 Would you support or oppose banning assault
weapons?
Support ………………………………………………….. 49%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 45%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 6%

Q10 Would you support or oppose Congress
passing stricter gun laws?
Support ………………………………………………….. 49%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 44%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 7%

Q11 Do you support or oppose the civil unions bill
the state legislature passed recently?
Support ………………………………………………….. 50%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 38%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 12%

Q12 Do you think same-sex marriage should be
allowed, or not?
It should be allowed …………………………………. 51%
It should not ……………………………………………. 43%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 6%

Q13 Which of the following best describes your
opinion on gay marriage: gay couples should
be allowed to legally marry, or gay couples
should be allowed to form civil unions but not
legally marry, or there should be no legal
recognition of a gay couple’s relationship?
Gay couples should be allowed to legally
marry ……………………………………………………..45%
Gay couples should be allowed to form civil
unions but not marry …………………………………31%
There should be no legal recognition of a gay
couple’s relationship …………………………………23%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 1%

Q14 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 15%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 19%
Moderate………………………………………………… 26%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 25%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 15%

Q15 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 54%
Man……………………………………………………….. 46%

Q16 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…………………………………… 32%

Q17 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If other, press 3.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 13%
White …………………………………………………….. 81%
Other……………………………………………………… 7%

Q18 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………………………………………………….. 18%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 32%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 33%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 17%

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