Gov. John Hickenlooper beats all four Republican rivals in a new poll that shows he’s favored by women voters and has a slight advantage with crucial unaffiliated voters.
Of the four GOP candidates on the primary ballot, former Congressman Tom Tancredo presents the stiffest challenge to Hickenlooper but loses to the Democratic governor by 7 percentage points, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday morning.
Since Quinnipiac began polling Colorado voters in June, Hickenlooper’s favorability ratings have increased from 45 percent to 51 percent, while his unfavorability ratings have decreased from 42 percent to 37 percent.
“Strong support from women and an edge among independent voters give Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper a solid foothold in his re-election effort,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University poll. “Meanwhile, the top four Republican contenders are looking for a handhold to pull themselves up in the Rocky Mountain state.”
Hickenlooper beats Tancredo 47 percent to 40 percent, Secretary of State Scott Gessler 48 percent to 38 percent, former Sen. Mike Kopp 47 percent to 38 percent and former Congressman Bob Beauprez, who entered the race last month, 48 percent to 39 percent.
Quinnipiac did not ask Republicans which candidate they favored in the June 24 primary.
Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,298 registered voters in Colorado with landlines and cellphones from April 15 through Monday.
The poll has a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points.
Among Democrats, the governor’s favorability rate is 87 percent; among Republicans, 22 percent; and among unaffiliated voters, 48 percent
, Quinnipiac reported.
Unaffiliated voters represent the largest voting group in Colorado, at 35 percent, with Republicans at 33 percent and Democrats at 31 percent, according to the Colorado secretary of state.
Women give the governor a 58 percent favorability rating, while men give him a 44 percent favorability rating.
The poll shows that Tancredo’s favorability is split, 31 percent to 30 percent, with 37 percent who say they don’t know enough about him to form an opinion, even through he served 10 years in Congress and ran for governor against Hickenlooper in 2010.
Sixty-five percent don’t know enough about Gessler to form an opinion; 52 percent don’t know enough about Beauprez, although he ran for governor in 2006; and 77 percent don’t know enough about Kopp, Quinnipiac found.
Hickenlooper, once deemed nearly invincible, riled voters last year when he signed off on gun-control measures and gave an indefinite reprieve to death row inmate Nathan Dunlap.
Colorado voters oppose 56 percent to 39 percent the state’s stricter new gun-control laws, according to the latest poll. They support background checks for all gun buyers 85 percent to 14 percent but oppose the statewide ban on ammunition magazines that hold more than 15 rounds 51 percent to 45 percent. Those numbers have changed only slightly since Quinnipiac’s last poll, which was in November.
Asked “How satisfied are you with the way things are going in Colorado today,” 54 percent responded they were satisfied, down 3 percentage points from Quinnipiac’s February poll.
Only 34 percent of Coloradans approve of the way the Democratic-controlled legislature is doing its job, the lowest since Quinnipiac began polling in Colorado.
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327, lbartels@denverpost.com or twitter.com/lynn_bartels
