So yesterday NBC/Marsist's poll showed Governor John Hickelooper with a good leader over former Rep. Bob "47%" Beauprez (R. CO). Well today's Quinnipac poll paints a different picture:
http://denver.cbslocal.com/...
The race for governor in Colorado is in a statistical tie, with Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper in a dead heat with Republican challenger Bob Beauprez.
Four months before the election, a poll released by Quinnipiac University showed Hickenlooper trailing Beauprez among registered voters 43 to 44 percent, which is within the margin of error. It is the first Quinnipiac poll since Republicans picked Beauprez as the gubernatorial nominee last month.
In 2006, Beauprez lost the governor’s race by a wide margin to Democrat Bill Ritter. Beauprez served two terms in the U.S. House, representing Denver’s western suburbs.
The poll indicated Hickenlooper may face his toughest contest yet. The former geologist was easily elected Denver mayor twice, and he cruised to the governor’s office four years ago against a fractured GOP. Dan Maes, the Republican nominee in 2010, was a political newcomer and tea party favorite who only got 11 percent of the vote in the race. Meanwhile, former Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, best known for his tough stance against illegal immigration, also got into the race that year, but as a third-party candidate because he said Maes couldn’t win. - CBS Denver, 7/16/14
Here's a little more info:
http://kdvr.com/...
But the bigger concern for Hickenlooper is his job approval rating, which plunged since the last Quinnipiac poll in April. Voters give the governor a 48 percent approval with 46 percent disapproving. But in April, Hickenlooper’s job approval was at 51 percent, and that poll had him beating Beauprez 48 percent to 39 percent.
The drop may have to do with Hickenlooper’s June 13 comments to a group of Colorado sheriffs, in which he seemed to apologize for signing the ban on high-capacity gun magazines and the legislative process in 2013 when the bill was passed while also denying speaking with New York City Mayor Bloomberg, despite phone records showing he had.
Hickenlooper later explained to FOX31 that he would sign the magazine ban again and that he’d simply meant that Bloomberg wasn’t a factor in his decision, but the comments generated a week of negative media coverage, reawakening last year’s contentious battle over gun laws that the governor’s office had worked hard to put in the rear view mirror.
A poll Tuesday by NBC News/Marist College had Hickenlooper leading Beauprez 49 percent to 43 percent.
The Quinnipiac poll shows 64 percent of voters say the economy in the state is “excellent” or good,” while 49 percent said it’s getting better. Twelve percent said it’s getting worse.
“Coloradans seem generally optimistic about the future and confidant in the state’s economy, but that is certainly not enough to open the way for a smooth ride to reelection for Gov. John Hickenlooper,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll. “Is former U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez enjoying a bounce after his Republican primary win or is he a real challenge to the Democratic incumbent?”
Twenty percent of voters said the economy/jobs was the most important issue in deciding who they will cast their ballot for, with 9 percent saying gun issues and 6 percent saying education or education funding.
Women favored Hickenlooper 48 percent to 40 percent, men favored Beauprez 48 percent to 37 percent, and independents were split, with 41 percent favoring Beauprez and 40 percent for the governor.
Like the NBC/Marist poll Tuesday, Quinnipiac’s survey polled registered Colorado voters, not likely voters. - KDVR, 7/16/14
Now here's the numbers when it comes to Beauprez:
http://www.denverpost.com/...
Asked their opinion of Beauprez, 31 percent had a favorable opinion, 25 percent had an unfavorable opinion and 43 percent said they hadn't heard enough. Beauprez also ran for governor in 2006, losing to Democrat Bill Ritter by 17 percentage points.
Almost 70 percent of Coloradans said they were unaware of a speech Beauprez gave in 2010, which recently was resurrected. Beauprez at the time said " 47 percent of all Americans pay no federal income tax."
"I submit to you that there is a political strategy to get slightly over half and have a permanent ruling majority by keeping over half of the population dependent on the largesse of government that somebody else is paying for," Beauprez said in the speech.
Among those who had heard about the remarks, 52 percent agreed and 40 percent disagreed, Quinnipiac found.
Lack of effort is the main reason a person is poor, 44 percent of voters said, while 41 percent cited circumstances beyond a person's control. Poor people have it easy because they can get government benefits without doing anything in return, 52 percent of voters said, while 37 percent say poor people have it hard because government benefits don't go far enough to help them live decently, Quinnipiac found. - Denver Post, 7/16/14
Quinnipac's polling in Colorado has been all over the place and I don't think we'll really get a great idea about what type of shape Hickenlooper is in until PPP releases their poll. But we can't take an extremist like Beauprez fro granted. Click here to donate and get involved with Hickenlooper's campaign:
http://www.hickenlooperforcolorado.com/