A new Quinnipiac University poll shows Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper has a comfortable lead over his potential Republican challengers.
The most recent results aren’t all that different from the last poll taken in February, but they do show that despite some setbacks for Hickenlooper in the November 2013 election, women and independent voters are continuing to buoy his bid for a second term.
The poll found 52 percent of Colorado voters approve of the job Hickenlooper is doing, while 39 percent disapprove. On the question of a second term, 47 percent of voters say he deserves reelection.
Hickenlooper’s closest Republican challenger is former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, where the Governor leads 47-40 percent. A similar gap exists for the other candidates, including Secretary of State Scott Gessler and former U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez.
The same poll shows voters still generally disapprove of the stricter gun laws Hickenlooper signed into law in 2013 – although they favor individual provisions of the law, such as background checks for all gun buyers, which 85 percent of voters support.
When it comes to guns and school safety, the poll found 50 percent approval for allowing teachers and school officials to carry guns on school grounds. Support for metal detectors at school entrances was much stronger, with 74 percent of voters in favor.
The poll was taken from April 15 to April 21, 2014, and surveyed nearly 1,300 registered voters [.pdf]. It has a margin of error of +/- 2.7 percentage points.
