Raleigh, N.C. – Two months after legal marijuana sales began in Colorado, its legalization has become more popular in the state. 57% of Colorado voters now say they think marijuana usage should be legal to only 35% who think it should be illegal. That 22 point margin in support represents an increase since the November 2012 legalization ballot measure that passed by 10 points with voters in the state.
Voters are pretty closely divided three ways when it comes to whether marijuana being legal has made the state better (31%), worse (33%), or not made much of a difference (30%). Still that puts 61% of voters into the better or no change column to just the 33% who think it’s had a negative impact.
“Colorado voters are generally having a positive reaction to marijuana being legal in the state,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “There’s even more support for it now than there was when voters passed it at the ballot box 16 months ago.”
Support for gay marriage has hit a new record high in Colorado. 56% of voters support it to only 36% who are opposed. There’s been a 20 point net increase in support for it since August of 2011 when we found voters in the state evenly divided on the issue. Among voters under 45, 71% think gay marriage should be legal with just 21% thinking it should continue to be illegal. When you expand the discussion to civil unions, 79% of Colorado voters support some form of legal recognition for same sex couples to only 18% who think there shouldn’t be any at all. Even 66% of Republican voters at least support civil unions.
Hillary Clinton leads all of her potential Republican opponents in Colorado on our newest poll. Rand Paul comes the closest at 47/44, followed by 7 point deficits for Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee at 45/38 and 48/41 respectively, and 9 point deficits for Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz at 48/39 and 49/40 respectively. Clinton’s doing 5 or 6 points better than in December against most of the Republicans, but she’s doing 14 points better when it comes to Christie.
PPP surveyed 568 registered voters from March 13th to 16th, including 255 Republican primary voters. The margin of error for the overall survey is +/- 4.1%, and for the Republicans it’s +/-6.1%. 80% of interviews for the poll were conducted over the phone with 20% interviewed over the internet to reach respondents who don’t have landline telephones.
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 ……………………………………………….. 43%
Republican……………………………………………… 43%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 14%
Q2 Do you approve or disapprove of Senator
Michael Bennet’s job performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 36%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 32%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 32%
Q3 If the candidates for President next time were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Jeb
Bush, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 48%
Jeb Bush………………………………………………… 39%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 13%
Q4 If the candidates for President next time were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Chris
Christie, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 45%
Chris Christie ………………………………………….. 38%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 17%
Q5 If the candidates for President next time were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Ted
Cruz, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 49%
Ted Cruz ………………………………………………… 40%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 11%
Q6 If the candidates for President next time were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Mike
Huckabee, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 48%
Mike Huckabee ……………………………………….. 41%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 11%
Q7 If the candidates for President next time were
Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Rand
Paul, who would you vote for?
Hillary Clinton………………………………………….. 47%
Rand Paul ………………………………………………. 44%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 9%
Q8 Do you think marijuana being legal in Colorado
has made the state better or worse, or do you
think it hasn’t made a difference either way?
Better …………………………………………………….. 31%
Worse ……………………………………………………. 33%
Hasn’t made a difference ………………………….. 30%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 6%
Q9 In general, do you think marijuana usage
should be legal or illegal?
Legal……………………………………………………… 57%
Illegal …………………………………………………….. 35%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 8%
Q10 Have you smoked or consumed marijuana
since it became legal in Colorado, or not?
Have ……………………………………………………… 8%
Have not ………………………………………………… 89%
Don’t care to say……………………………………… 3%
Q11 Do you think same-sex marriage should be
allowed, or not?
Think it should be allowed…………………………. 56%
Think it should not……………………………………. 36%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 8%
Q12 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 ……………………………………………………..49%
Gay couples should be allowed to form civil
unions but not marry …………………………………30%
There should be no legal recognition of a gay
couple’s relationship …………………………………18%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 3%
Q13 Is your favorite Major League Baseball team
the Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves,
Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Colorado
Rockies, Kansas City Royals, New York
Yankees, or some other team?
Diamondbacks ………………………………………… 1%
Braves …………………………………………………… 1%
Red Sox…………………………………………………. 4%
Cubs ……………………………………………………… 3%
Rockies………………………………………………….. 59%
Royals……………………………………………………. 2%
Yankees …………………………………………………. 3%
Some other team…………………………………….. 9%
Not sure / Not a baseball fan …………………….. 18%
Q14 (Asked only of Rockies fans:) What do you
think the outcome of the 2014 season will be
for the Rockies? Do you think they will win the
World Series, win the National League pennant
but not the World Series, make the playoffs but
not win the pennant, or not make the playoffs
at all?
Win the World Series ……………………………….. 7%
Win the pennant but not the Series…………….. 9%
Make the playoffs but not win the pennant…… 33%
Not make the playoffs at all……………………….. 33%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 17%
Q15 In the last presidential election, did you vote for
Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?
Barack Obama………………………………………… 47%
Mitt Romney……………………………………………. 45%
Someone else / Don’t remember ……………….. 8%
Q16 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 15%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 20%
Moderate………………………………………………… 27%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 23%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 16%
Q17 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 53%
Man……………………………………………………….. 47%
Q18 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 ……………………………………………….. 33%
Republican……………………………………………… 34%
Independent / Other…………………………………. 33%
Q19 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If other, press 3.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 14%
White …………………………………………………….. 78%
Other……………………………………………………… 8%
Q20 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………………………………………………….. 15%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 26%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 40%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 19%
Q21 Mode
Phone ……………………………………………………. 80%
Internet ………………………………………………….. 20%
Republican Primary Toplines
Q1 Given the choices of Jeb Bush, Chris Christie,
Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, Rand
Paul, Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, and Scott
Walker, who would you most like to see as the
GOP candidate for President in 2016?
Jeb Bush………………………………………………… 8%
Chris Christie ………………………………………….. 14%
Ted Cruz ………………………………………………… 17%
Mike Huckabee ……………………………………….. 15%
Bobby Jindal …………………………………………… 2%
Rand Paul ………………………………………………. 10%
Marco Rubio …………………………………………… 8%
Paul Ryan ………………………………………………. 10%
Scott Walker …………………………………………… 5%
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………………………………………………… 18%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 36%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 38%
Q3 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 46%
Man……………………………………………………….. 54%
Q4 If you are 18 to 45 years old, press 1. If 46 to
65, press 2. If you are older than 65, press 3.
18 to 45………………………………………………….. 38%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 35%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 27%
