Colorado February Issues Voter Opinion Survey, Public Release 2 of 2

Survey Overview:

Magellan Strategies are pleased to present the topline results of an online survey of 769 Colorado registered voters. The interviews were conducted from February 9th to 17th, 2021. This survey has a margin of error of +/- 3.53% at the 95 percent confidence interval. The survey data were weighted to be representative of the demographics of the registered voter population in Colorado as of February 1, 2021. This survey is a Magellan Strategies project and was not funded by any individual, company, or organization.  

Survey Objectives:

The objectives of this survey were to measure and understand Colorado voter opinion regarding the seven topics listed below. This survey release covers the final three points. The findings on the first four points are available here

  • The most critical issues and problems voters want to be addressed.
  • Intentions to take the coronavirus vaccine.
  • The impacts of coronavirus on Coloradan’s mental health.
  • Job approval of government’s handling of the coronavirus.
  • Trust in government to address America’s most important issues.
  • Favorability ratings of democracy, socialism, capitalism, and stock markets.
  • Government regulation and oversight of social media companies.

Key Findings:

  • Voter trust in the federal, state and local governments is extremely low. Only 13% of respondents said they had a great deal of trust (3%) or a lot of trust (10%) in the federal government to solve problems and address America’s most important issues. Trust levels we slightly better for state government, (20% a great deal or a lot of trust) and local government (15% a great deal or a lot of trust).

  • Only 15% of Colorado voters have a great deal or lot of trust in the national media to report news and information in an unbiased and objective manner. Voter trust levels for state and local media to report news and information in an unbiased manner is only slightly better, at 20%.

  • Democracy’s image rating is strong among all Coloradans, with 82% having a favorable opinion of it and 61% a very favorable opinion. Only 14% of respondents had an unfavorable opinion of democracy.  

  • Thirty seven percent of respondents had a favorable opinion of socialism and 57% an unfavorable opinion. However, socialism,  – and what socialism represents – is likely different among different subgroups of voters. Socialism is very popular among Democratic female and mostly younger voter subgroups.

  • Capitalism’s image rating is positive among all voters, with 58% having a favorable opinion and 35% and unfavorable opinion. There are strong differences in opinion by gender – male voters (67% favorable) vs. female voters (50% favorable) – and by party affiliation – Democratic voters (54% unfavorable) Unaffilliated voters (61% favorable) and Republican voters (77% favorable).

  • Voter opinion of stock markets varies significantly by gender, income and education levels. A slight majority of voters, 52%, have a favorable opinion of stock markets and 37% have an unfavorable opinion. Favorability ratings are highest among married men (67%), Hispanic men (65%), all Republican voters (64%) and households with incomes of $150K or higher (74%). 

  • Voter subgroups wither higher unfavorable levels for stock markets include millennial women (48%), individuals with household incomes of $30K or less (53%), Democratic voters (50%), Democratic women (52%), Hispanic women (49%), and Generation X Dems (56%).

  • Social media companies have very few friends in Colorado at this time. Among all respondents, 70% agree with the viewpoint they need more government regulation and oversight. For Democratic voters, it’s about stopping the spread of misinformation and hate groups. From Republican voters, it’s more about freedom of speech.

Conclusion

We encourage interested parties to go deeper into the data and download the survey deliverables which are linked at the top of this page.

Recent Blog Posts

Image of elementary school children.
David Flaherty

Colorado 2023 Public Education Opinion Survey

The issue of public education nationally and in Colorado continues to be at the top of voter’s minds, regardless of having a student in school. This survey attempts to measure and understand the opinions of Coloradan student parents and non-parents regarding a wide range of public education issues and their local school district.

Read More »
David Flaherty

Colorado 2023 Education Survey Results by Region

In order to generate relevant insights and opinion data at a local level, we oversampled (additional interviews) in seven regions. These seven regions (see our region map in this post) were created by combining some of the twelve Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB) regions.

Read More »
David Flaherty

Colorado Housing and Land Use Opinion Survey

The issue of affordable housing and land use policies has remained at the forefront of Colorado state and local government policymakers, the state legislature, housing advocates, and a large majority of residents. This survey measures the opinions of several state and local housing and land use polices and proposals.

Read More »

Sign up for our newsletter to be notified of future Magellan Strategies public opinion surveys.