Moderate and liberal Denver Post readers agree: the nation’s democracy and good government are the most important issues in this year’s elections.
But among conservative readers, far fewer are inclined to make those related issues their top priority heading into the 2024 election — even as they largely cast a skeptical eye toward elections themselves. Instead, conservatives put the economy and immigration as their top priorities.
Those distinctions and more have emerged from an ongoing survey of voters by The Post and dozens of other newsrooms across the state through the Colorado News Collaborative, as part of an effort to improve campaign coverage. The Voter Voices survey has captured the opinions of more than 4,500 Coloradans so far, including about 500 people who responded through The Post.
Most of the Post respondents identified as political moderates or liberals — a reflection of metro Denver’s blue streak. The results nonetheless broadly mirror the preferences collected statewide, with some variations along the more urban Front Range corridor.
The survey asked respondents to identify their top three issues from among 13 choices, and it also asked them an open-ended question about what they want candidates to talk about as they compete for votes. Though the survey is non-scientific, it provides insight into what motivates respondents — with plenty of political polarization evident.
“I listed ‘democracy and good government’ because it was the closest thing you seem to offer to ‘PROTECTING OUR VOTING RIGHTS’ from those who are trying to take them away,” wrote one respondent from Littleton who’s a self-identified liberal.
Another, a conservative who’s also from Denver’s south suburbs, wrote that he wanted candidates to explain “what they will do to make our state and country safe and secure and how they will get inflation under control.”
“I do not want to hear how bad the other guys (are),” he wrote. “Just tell me what you will do to make my life better.”
Here’s a look at what Post respondents most commonly identified as their top election issue, grouped by how they self-identified politically:
Moderates (47% of respondents)
No. 1 issue: Democracy and good government (51%), economy/cost of living (11%), and immigration (10%).
Other common issues: Environment/climate change/natural resources, national security/America’s role in the world, and social justice and equity.
Liberals (41% of respondents)
No. 1 issue: Democracy and good government (48%), environment/climate change/natural resources (20%), and abortion (7%).
Other common issues: Social justice and equity, gun policy, and economy/cost of living.
Conservatives (12% of respondents)
No. 1 issue: Economy/cost of living (31%), immigration (28%), and democracy and good government (12%).
Other common issues: Taxes, crime, and national security/America’s role in the world.
In addition to different priorities for the election, the ideological groups also expressed starkly different thoughts on the validity of national and local elections.
Half of The Post’s conservative respondents said they had no confidence at all in national elections, and more than a third said they were neutral. Meanwhile, fewer than 15% of conservatives said they were “fully confident” in national elections.
It was the inverse for political liberals and moderates — with 58% and 52%, respectively, saying they were “fully confident” in national elections, with 30% and 34% saying they were neutral. In both cases, fewer than 15% said they were not confident in national elections.
The results improved for local elections, though conservative respondents still showed substantial doubt compared to the other groups.
Among respondents, 40% of conservatives were fully confident in local elections, while 94% of liberals and 83% of moderates reported the same. Fewer than 2% of liberals and 4% of moderates who responded said they weren’t confident in local elections, while 22% of conservatives said they lacked confidence at the local level.
How will The Post use survey responses?
Like other participating outlets, The Post will continue collecting survey responses in coming months and incorporating feedback about readers’ top issues into its coverage — as well as their suggestions for what they want candidates to talk about.
If you don’t see your perspective reflected in our results so far, you can fill out the survey online.
