Bill Ritter, the Democratic Party candidate for Governor in Colorado, has a 49% favorable, 28% unfavorable rating with likely primary voters who are Republican in Denver, according to a poll by Circuli Associates, an established Denver political pollster. Bob Beauprez, the Republican nominee, fares only slightly better among likely Republican voters in Denver, with only a 51% favorable rating, and a 27% unfavorable rating.
Denver Mayor Hickenlooper, a Democrat elected on a non-partisan ballot, gets a 75% favorability rating among likely Republican voters in Denver.The Republican subsample of the poll of likely primary voters in Denver was taken by telephone from June 23-28, 2006. The sample was small, only about 83 responses, implying a margin of error +/- 10.75%. But, a Republican candidate for Governor should poll much better among Republicans than anything within that margin of error. Ritter’s favorability rating among Democrats was 75% favorable and 7% unfavorable, while Beauprez’s rating with Democrats was 18% favorable and 65% unfavorable.
No one expects a Republican to win a majority in Denver in the 2006 Governor’s race. Democrats have a strong voter registration edge in Denver. But, in a statewide race for Governor every vote counts.
In 2004, President Bush got 69,903 votes in Denver. This is more Republican votes than Bush received from the Republican strongholds of Baca, Bent, Cheyenne, Crowley, Custer, Delta, Dolores, Elbert, Jackson, Kiowa, Lincoln, Logan, Moffat, Montezuma, Morgan, Otero, Phillips, Prowers, Rio Blanco, Sedgwick, and Yuma counties combined.
A poor showing by Bob Beauprez in Denver would put intense pressure on Beauprez to perform in traditional Republican strongholds.
