Colorado voters approve of the job Gov. John Hickenlooper is doing but are lukewarm about their two U.S. senators, according to a new poll from Quinnipiac University.
Hickenlooper’s approval rating was 53 percent, and 37 percent disapprove of the job he is doing, according to a poll released Tuesday. A Quinnipiac poll from July 2014 showed the governor with a 48-46 percent approval-disapproval rating.
In addition, 58 percent of voters are optimistic about the next four years with Hickenlooper as governor, while 31 percent are not. The by 3 percentage points in November for a second term.
“Colorado voters are as happy with ‘Hick’ as they were before an ugly re-election campaign,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll.
U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, , gets a 35 percent to 26 percent job approval-disapproval rating. The remainder either didn’t answer or didn’t know.
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet gets a 39 percent approval rating, while 28 disapprove of the job he is doing. But a lower percentage of Colorado voters think the Democrat deserves re-election in 2016, with 32 percent saying saying yes and 34 percent saying no. Democrats favor re-election 53-19 percent, Republicans oppose it 46-26 percent and independent voters support another term 35-25 percent.
Quinnipiac called Bennet’s and Gardner’s numbers “lackluster,” but Republican Dick Wadhams, who has run several Senate campaigns, said the results aren’t surprising.
“U.S. senators in Colorado have always had a harder time penetrating the consciousness of the Colorado electorate,” Wadhams said, adding voters for the most part like their governors, who are much more “immersed in the public eye.”
As for pot, Malloy said, “Voters still think it was a good move to , but few admit to joining the ranks of new ‘imbibers.’ ”
While 53 percent of Colorado voters say they have tried marijuana, only 19 percent say they’ve tried it since it it became legal after voters approved Amendment 64 in 2012. Quinnipiac found voters still support legalization 58-38 percent.
The poll found “noticeable” gender and age gaps. Men support legalization 63-33 percent, with women in favor 53-44 percent.
Voters 18 to 34 years old back legalization 82 percent to 6 percent. Support drops to 58-38 percent among voters 35 to 54 years old. Among voters 55 and older, 46 percent support legalization, with half opposed.
Quinnipiac surveyed voters in the swing states of Colorado, Iowa and Virginia from Feb. 5-15, The poll of 1,049 Colorado voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327, lbartels@denverpost.com or twitter.com/lynn_bartels
