Polls

CO leaning GOP for legislature, supports gay marriage and marijuana

| Tom Jensen

Header-poll-results
Raleigh, N.C. –
The recalls of two Democratic State Senators in September weren’t an anomaly when it comes to how Colorado voters are feeling about the state legislature. Republicans lead the statewide generic legislative ballot by a 47/42 margin, including a 41/30 advantage with independents. Those numbers are perhaps also indicative of how much trouble Democrats would be in at the top of the ticket next year if the GOP candidate fields were a little bit stronger.

Colorado legalized civil unions earlier this year but voters in the state are ready to take the next step and make gay marriage legal too. 53% think it should be allowed to just 39% that think it should continue to be illegal. Among voters under the age of 45 it’s a 60/32 spread in support of legalizing it. 80% of voters in the state at least support civil unions, compared to only 18% who think there shouldn’t be any legal recognition at all for same sex couples. Even with Republicans there’s 66% support for civil unions.

A little over a year after Colorado voters decided to legalize marijuana it doesn’t look like they’re having any second thoughts about that choice. 53% continue to think marijuana usage should be legal, compared to only 38% who believe it should be illegal.

As we’re finding most places there’s strong support in Colorado for raising the minimum wage to $10 an hour. 56% favor it to only 33% who are opposed. It has overwhelming support from Democrats (84/9), strong support from independents (53/33), and even wins favor from about a third of Republicans (30/56).

Democrats did well in the Presidential election in Colorado in both 2008 and 2012, but very early indications are that 2016 could be a lot dicier. Hillary Clinton trails Chris Christie 46/39 and Rand Paul 47/45 in hypothetical match ups, although she does lead Ted Cruz 48/45 and Jeb Bush 47/43. Cruz (18%), Christie (17%), and Paul (16%) are all clustered at the top of the GOP field followed by Marco Rubio at 10%, Paul Ryan at 9%, Bush at 8%, Scott Walker at 6%, Bobby Jindal at 3%, and Rick Santorum at 2%. Cruz leads Christie 30/6 among voters who identify themselves as ‘very conservative,’ but Christie leads Cruz 32/10 with moderate GOP voters.

PPP surveyed 928 Colorado voters, including 355 usual Republican primary voters, from December 3rd to 4th. The margin of error for the overall survey is +/- 3.2% and +/-5.2% for the GOP sample. PPP’s surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews.

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

General Election Toplines

Q1 Generally speaking, if there was an election for
the state legislature today, would you vote for
the Democratic or Republican candidate from
your district?
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 42%
Republican……………………………………………… 47%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 12%

Q2 If the candidates for President next time were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Jeb
Bush, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 47%
Jeb Bush………………………………………………… 43%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 11%

Q3 If the candidates for President next time were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Chris
Christie, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 39%
Chris Christie ………………………………………….. 46%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 15%

Q4 If the candidates for President next time were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Ted
Cruz, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 48%
Ted Cruz ………………………………………………… 45%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 7%

Q5 If the candidates for President next time were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Rand
Paul, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 45%
Rand Paul ………………………………………………. 47%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 8%

Q6 Would you support or oppose raising the
minimum wage to $10 an hour?
Support ………………………………………………….. 56%
Oppose ………………………………………………….. 33%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 12%

Q7 In general, do you think marijuana usage
should be legal or illegal?
Legal……………………………………………………… 53%
Illegal …………………………………………………….. 38%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 9%

Q8 Do you think same-sex marriage should be
allowed, or not?
It should be allowed …………………………………. 53%
It should not ……………………………………………. 39%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 8%

Q9 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 ……………………………………………………..48%
Gay couples should be allowed to form civil
unions but not marry …………………………………32%
There should be no legal recognition of a gay
couple’s relationship …………………………………18%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 2%

Q10 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Peyton Manning?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 73%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 5%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 22%

Q11 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Tim Tebow?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 59%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 21%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 21%

Q12 Who would you rather have as the Broncos
quarterback: Peyton Manning or Tim Tebow?
Peyton Manning………………………………………. 76%
Tim Tebow ……………………………………………… 10%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 14%

Q13 Do you consider yourself to be a Denver
Broncos fan, or not?
Are ………………………………………………………… 76%
Are not …………………………………………………… 24%

Q14 (Asked only of Broncos fans:) Do you approve
or disapprove of the job Coach John Fox is
doing?
Approve …………………………………………………. 86%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 4%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 11%

Q15 Given the choices Air Force, Colorado, and
Colorado State, what is your favorite college
football team in the state?
Air Force ………………………………………………… 21%
Colorado ………………………………………………… 25%
Colorado State………………………………………… 26%
Someone else/Don’t have a favorite …………… 29%

Q16 (Asked only of Air Force fans:) Do you approve
or disapprove of the job Coach Troy Calhoun is
doing?
Approve …………………………………………………. 36%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 12%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 52%

Q17 (Asked only of Colorado fans:) Do you approve
or disapprove of the job Coach Mike MacIntyre
is doing?
Approve …………………………………………………. 42%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 8%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 50%

Q18 (Asked only of Colorado fans:) Do you approve
or disapprove of the job Coach Jim McElwain is
doing?
Approve …………………………………………………. 46%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 6%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 48%

Q19 In the last presidential election, did you vote for
Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?
Barack Obama………………………………………… 47%
Mitt Romney……………………………………………. 46%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 7%

Q20 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 14%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 16%
Moderate………………………………………………… 29%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 27%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 14%

Q21 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 53%
Man……………………………………………………….. 47%

Q22 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……………………………………………… 35%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 31%

Q23 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If other, press 3.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 14%
White …………………………………………………….. 78%
Other……………………………………………………… 8%

Q24 If you are 18 to 45 years old, press 1. If 46 to
65, press 2. If you are older than 65, press3.
18 to 45………………………………………………….. 40%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 40%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%

Republican Primary Toplines

Q1 Given the choices of Jeb Bush, Chris Christie,
Ted Cruz, Bobby Jindal, Rand Paul, Marco
Rubio, Paul Ryan, Rick Santorum, and Scott
Walker, who would you most like to see as the
GOP candidate for President in 2016?
Jeb Bush………………………………………………… 8%
Chris Christie ………………………………………….. 17%
Ted Cruz ………………………………………………… 18%
Bobby Jindal …………………………………………… 3%
Rand Paul ………………………………………………. 16%
Marco Rubio …………………………………………… 10%
Paul Ryan ………………………………………………. 9%
Rick Santorum………………………………………… 2%
Scott Walker …………………………………………… 6%
Someone else/Not sure ……………………………. 11%

Q2 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 2%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 6%
Moderate………………………………………………… 17%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 40%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 35%

Q3 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 47%
Man……………………………………………………….. 53%

Q4 If you are 18 to 45 years old, press 1. If 46 to
65, press 2. If you are older than 65, press3.
18 to 45………………………………………………….. 34%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 37%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 29%

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