Gov. John Hickenlooper delivers his fifth State of the State address in January to Colorado lawmakers. (Photo By Brent Lewis/The Denver Post)
show voters approve of the job Gov. John Hickenlooper is doing, are lukewarm about their two U.S. senators and are OK with legalizing marijuana, although most of them don’t light up.
Colorado voters approve 53 percent to 37 percent the job Hickenlooper is doing, compared to a 48-46 percent approval rating in a July 16, 2014, Quinnipiac poll. And voters say 58 percent to 31 percent that they are optimistic about the next four years with Hickenlooper as governor. The by 3 percentage points in November.
“Colorado voters are as happy with ‘Hick’ as they were before an ugly reelection campaign,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Poll.
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet gets a 39–28 percent approval rating, but Colorado voters are divided on whether the Democrat deserves reelection in 2016, with 32 percent saying he deserves reelection and 34 percent saying no. Democrats favor reelection by 53 to 19 percent. Republicans oppose reelection 46-26 percent and independent voters 35–25 percent.
U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, in November, gets a 35-26 percent job approval rating. In contrast, another Republican elected last year, Iowa Sen. Jodi Ernst, has a a 42–6 percent job approval rating, the pollster found.
From Feb. 5-15, Quinnipiac surveyed voters in the swing states of Colorado, Iowa and Virginia. The poll of 1,049 Colorado voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
“As for pot, they remain neither cold nor hot. Voters still think it was a good move to legalize recreational marijuana, but few admit to joining the ranks of new ‘imbibers,'” Malloy said.
While 53 percent of Colorado voters say they have tried marijuana, only 19 percent say they’ve tried it since it became legal last year.
“With noticeable gender and age gaps, voters support legalized recreational marijuana 58–38 percent. Men support legalization 63–33 percent, with women in favor 53-44 percent,” Quinnipiac found. “Voters 18 to 34 years old support it 82–16 percent. Support drops to 58–38 percent among voters 35 to 54 years old. Among voters over 55 years old, 46 percent support legalization, with 50 percent opposed.”
