Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Hickenlooper Recovers With Colorado’s Economy

Governor John Hickenlooper now has a 53 percent approval rating – not spectacular, but above 50 percent and a recent high for him. He was consistently below 50 percent in a series of 2013 Quinnipiac surveys and survived a tough 2014 re-election by only three points, or 60,000 votes (49%).

Hickenlooper is now 10 points above President Obama and 14 points ahead of his fellow Democratic U.S. Senator Michael Bennet. Both Bennet and new U.S. Senator Cory Gardner had more than 30 percent of the electorate unable to rate them.

Some of Hickenlooper’s recover in approval stems from his victory in November and from a new divided legislature, which is less likely to produce controversial liberal legislation or conflict with conservative proposals. But mostly the Governor is benefitting from his association with an economy that the public appears finally upbeat about.

The poll showed 69 percent of voters now claim to be satisfied with the way things are going in the state (only 32% of Americans believe the country is moving in the right direction). And 76 percent claim the state’s economy is “good” or “excellent.” Also, more than half (54%) say “it’s getting better.”

See 9News: Brandon Rittiman and I review Colorado politics

Photo: 9News Balance of Power

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