Colorado’s Democratic primary for governor just got a lot more interesting. Attorney General Phil Weiser has edged ahead of U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet in a new internal poll released days before ballots are due, and a big block of undecided voters now holds the keys to the race. The survey shows Weiser with a single-digit lead, while roughly one in five likely Democratic primary voters is still on the fence. With ballots already out and the deadline looming at the end of the month, late returns and unaffiliated voters could decide who comes out on top.
The poll was conducted on Wednesday and Thursday by Public Policy Polling and surveyed 600 likely Democratic primary voters through a mix of landline calls and text messages. The margin of error is about four percentage points, according to Colorado Sun. The results put Weiser at 45%, Bennet at 36%, and 19% undecided, a snapshot that suggests movement but hardly a lock for either candidate.
Poll Commissioned By Weiser Backers, Pollster Says
The survey was paid for by Fighting for Colorado, a super PAC backing Weiser, and carried out by Democratic firm Public Policy Polling, the Denver Gazette reports. Pollsters included Democrats and unaffiliated voters who said they planned to cast a Democratic ballot, a design the super PAC argues matches who will actually decide the June 30 primary. Bennet has served in the U.S. Senate since 2009, while Weiser was first elected Colorado attorney general in 2018, giving both men long résumés but different profiles with voters.
Ballots Are In Voters’ Hands
County clerks began mailing ballots in early June, and state rules require that mail ballots arrive at county clerks’ offices by 7 p.m. on Election Day, June 30, according to the election calendar from the Colorado Secretary of State. That same calendar lays out the mailing windows and deadlines for registering by mail to receive a ballot, creating a tight timeline that leaves little room for procrastinators and makes late-arriving votes especially important.
Where Weiser’s Support Is Growing
While Bennet still posts higher name recognition overall, the poll’s internal numbers suggest Weiser is gaining ground among voters who know him and holds a solid edge with younger voters, the Denver Gazette reports. “It takes 50 percent (plus) 1 to win,” Fighting for Colorado spokesman Curtis Hubbard said, arguing that Weiser’s potential to grow his support in the final stretch is greater than Bennet’s.
Money and Momentum
The contest is also being reshaped by big money and late momentum. National donors and outside groups have flooded the race with last-minute ad spending, and Bennet personally loaned or contributed nearly $950,000 to his campaign in late May to power up TV ads, according to reporting by Axios. All that outside cash helps explain how name recognition and ad saturation do not always line up neatly with the topline numbers in a single internal poll.
With ballots due June 30 and tens of thousands of votes still outstanding, the new survey underscores just how crucial undecided voters remain and how quickly the dynamics could flip in the homestretch. As the Colorado Sun noted, the outcome may ultimately hinge on late-breaking ballots from unaffiliated voters who received both major-party ballots and are now weighing which contest to help decide.
