Field Still Murky: No Dominant GOP Choices Emerge

Frazier Beats Out Rivals; Penry Ties for Support, But McInnis Seen as Stronger

Below are the candidate results from the July 2009 online survey of Colorado’s political
temperature, including 597 participants (* = announced candidate):

If the GOP primary for US Senate were held today, _____ is the candidate I would vote for to
best represent the Republican Party. (select one)
Ryan Frazier* (167) … 28.0%
Bob Beauprez (96) … 16.1%
Dan Caplis (74) … 12.4%
Ken Buck* (69) … 11.6%
Cleve Tidwell* (41) … 6.9%
Tom Wiens (17) … 2.8%
Other / None of the Above (133) … 22.3%

Right now, I believe the strongest (most likely to win) GOP candidate for US Senate in the
general election in November 2010 is _____.
Ryan Frazier* (172) … 28.8%
Bob Beauprez (108) … 18.1%
Ken Buck* (76) … 12.7%
Dan Caplis (66) … 11.1%
Cleve Tidwell* (31) … 5.2%
Tom Wiens (14) … 2.3%
Other / None of the Above (130) … 21.8%

If the GOP primary for Governor were held today, _____ is the candidate I would vote for to best
represent the Republican Party. (select one)
Josh Penry* (216) … 36.2%
Scott McInnis* (214) … 35.8%
Dan Maes* (57) … 9.5%
Other / None of the Above (110) … 18.4%

Right now, I believe the strongest (most likely to win) GOP candidate for Governor in the
general election in November 2010 is _____.
Scott McInnis* (260) … 43.6%
Josh Penry* (199) … 33.3%
Dan Maes* (44) … 7.4%
Other / None of the Above (94) … 15.7%

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 Stapleton, Ament Even in Treasurer Support; Gessler, Gardner Lead Races

If the GOP primary for Treasurer were held today, _____ is the candidate I would vote for to
best represent the Republican Party. (select one)
Walker Stapleton* (116) … 19.4%
J.J. Ament* (114) … 19.1%
Muhammad Ali Hasan (41) … 6.9%
Other / None of the Above (326) … 54.6%

If the GOP primary for Secretary of State were held today, _____ is the candidate I would vote
for to best represent the Republican Party. (select one)
Scott Gessler* (185) … 31.0%
Nancy Doty (164) … 27.5%
Other / None of the Above (248) … 41.5%

If the GOP primary for CD 4 were held today, _____ is the candidate I would vote for to best
represent the Republican Party. (select one)
Cory Gardner* (203) … 34.0%
Tom Lucero* (124) … 20.8%
Diggs Brown (33) … 5.5%
Other / None of the Above (237) … 39.7%

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 Bloggers Take Colorado’s Political Temperature
July 2009 Survey

Results and Summary Analysis

Michael Sandoval, Slapstick Politics (http://slapstickpolitics.blogspot.com), tabascoii@gmail.com
Ben DeGrow, Mount Virtus (http://bendegrow.com), bendegrow@gmail.com
Anthony Surace, Rocky Mountain Right (http://rockymountainright.com), anthony.surace@gmail.com
With assistance from Mary Ila Macfarlane

Content Overview
Open online from Thursday, July 9, 8:00 AM MDT, to Friday, July 17, 5:00 PM MDT, the survey
gauged opinion on prominent policy issues, philosophy, and political dynamics;
as well as candidate preference and assessment questions for five 2010 Colorado Republican
primary races.

Participant Demographics
The survey was not intended to measure a representative cross-section of Colorado voters and
thus has no direct predictive power on upcoming primary elections. It was however intended
primarily for Right-leaning Colorado political activists to express their beliefs and preferences.
The survey was controlled to prevent multiple responses from a single IP address.

The survey included 619 participants, self-identified as follows (results may not add up to
100.0%, due to rounding), not all of whom completed the entire survey:
Political Party: Republican (78.2%); Unaffiliated (13.3%); Libertarian (5.0%); Democrat (1.8%);
Other (1.6%).
Gender: Male (64.3%); Female (35.7%).
Age: 18-29 (18.5%); 30-39 (19.5%); 40-49 (23.2%); 50-59 (21.3%); 60-69 (15.4%); 70 or older (2.2%)
Race: Non-Hispanic White (85.6%); Other/Multiple Race (8.6%); Hispanic or Latino (3.5%);
African American (1.0%); American Indian (0.8%); Asian American (0.5%).
Marital Status: Married (65.4%); Single—Never Married (22.5%); Divorced (10.7%); Widowed
(1.3%).
Highest Education: Less than high school (1.0%); High school/GED (2.9%); Some college
(20.1%); 2-year college (6.5%); 4-year college (31.7%); Some graduate school (11.6%); Master’s
degree (18.3%); Doctoral degree (7.9%).
Political Affiliation (1=Liberal; 7=Conservative): Strong Conservative (36.7%); Conservative
(35.6%); Moderate Conservative (16.9%); Centrist (7.0%); Strong Liberal (1.8%); Moderate
Liberal (1.5%); Liberal (0.3%).
Total Conservative: 89.2% Total Liberal: 3.6%

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Opinion Questions
Participants were asked to rate their relative agreement with a series of 40 statements on
prominent policy issues, philosophy, and political dynamics, based on a 7-point Likert scale
(1 = Strongly disagree; 2 = Disagree; 3 = Somewhat Disagree; 4 = Neither Agree nor Disagree;
5 = Somewhat agree; 6 = Agree; 7 = Strongly agree).

The 10 statements that received the strongest agreement on the 7-point scale:

1. I would describe myself, on balance, as a “fiscal” or “free market” conservative, focusing more on
issues of taxation, government spending, or the economy. 6.25
2. Hate crimes legislation is a bad idea. The government shouldn't be creating special classes of victims.

6.04
3. I am concerned about Michael Bennet's indecision on the union card check bill and other important
pieces of legislation. 5.94
4. Bill Ritter's management of the state has contributed to worsening our current economic situation.

5.75
5. Regardless of whom the Democrats nominate, Mike Coffman will win reelection to CD 6 in 2010.

5.35
6. Colorado's Supreme Court is, on balance, too partisan. 5.32
7. The TEA Parties are an effective method of voicing opinions on the size of government and taxation.`

5.32
8. President Barack Obama’s policies will hurt Democrats in Colorado in the 2010 midterm election.

5.28
9. Votes in the US House will hurt Democrats in Colorado in the 2010 midterm election. 5.11
10. Votes in the US Senate will hurt Democrats in Colorado in the 2010 midterm election. 5.09

The 10 statements that received the strongest disagreement on the 7-point scale:

1. The Cap and Trade bill is necessary to help reduce the United States environmental impact. 1.48
2. The Stimulus Bill was necessary to help grow the economy. 1.48
3. The Stimulus Bill has helped to grow the economy. 1.50
4. The Cap and Trade bill is, on balance, a good idea. 1.52
5. My overall opinion of Democrats is positive. 1.65
6. Bill Ritter and Colorado Democrats needed to pass the FASTER car tax increase to help fix the state
budget crisis. 1.69
7. Health Care reform, also known as “single payer” program, is on balance a good idea. 1.76
8. Congress needs to pass hate crimes legislation to address social injustices. 1.82
9. Michael Bennet has shown decisive leadership as Colorado's junior U.S. Senator. 2.04
10. Regardless of whom the GOP nominates, Bill Ritter will win reelection as Colorado’s governor in
2010. 2.48

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