June 2024: Denver Poll
You can view the full questionnaire here, the crosstabs here, and the full analysis deck here.
Denver voters slightly more optimistic about direction of city compared to 11 months ago
Nearly half of voters have favorable views of Denver Mayor Johnston, though share with unfavorable views has grown since he took office
DENVER — Denverites are split in their views on the direction of the city, with 50% saying it’s headed in the right direction, compared to 46% who say it’s on the wrong track, according to results from the latest Colorado Polling Institute (CPI) survey of Denver voters released today.
That is a slight improvement over our August 2023 poll (44% right direction/ 44% wrong track), and is one of a handful of signs that show slightly more positive views among Denver voters this year. Notably, voters are largely satisfied with both Denver as a place to live (65% satisfied vs. 34% dissatisfied), and with the services provided by the city (65% satisfied vs. 35% dissatisfied).
When asked about their tax burden, 35% said Denver taxes were “way too high,” while 35% said “about right” or “lower than one would expect.” Another 29% described taxes as "high but acceptable."
Nearly three-fourths (73%) of voters feel “very” or “somewhat” safe in the city, which is up slightly from last year (68% in August 2023);
And Denver is not worse off than other big cities in the eyes of voters, as seven-in-ten say it is doing “better” (33%) or “about the same” (39%).
The bipartisan team of Aspect Strategic (D) and New Bridge Strategy (R) conducted the poll of 409 registered Denver voters June 13-18, 2024, via live telephone interviews (both cell phones and landlines) and online. The margin of error is +4.85% for the overall sample.
“On the one hand, most voters believe Denver is a good, safe place to live with an acceptable level of taxation and decent city services. Yet, despite largely positive personal experiences, many also see ongoing challenges, which aren’t seen as unique to Denver but nonetheless drive some worries about the direction of the city,” said Kevin Ingham, of Aspect Strategic.
The view that the city is on the wrong track is more apt to be held by residents who find it difficult to make ends meet (79% wrong track), who’ve lived in Denver 11-19 years (70% wrong track), or for 20+ years (51% wrong track).
Nearly half of voters (48%) have favorable views of Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, who has been in office for almost a year. However, the share of voters who hold unfavorable views of the Mayor (38%) has grown since our August 2023 poll (46% favorable/22% unfavorable) as fewer now say they have “no opinion.”
A majority (57%) in our most recent poll believe Mayor Johnston has made progress addressing the city’s challenges in the last year, though less than one-in-ten (6%) say he has made significant progress.
“Mayor Johnston took office amid high voter concern on homelessness, crime, and the cost of living in the city and his first year was further complicated by the influx of migrants from Central and South America. Against that backdrop, his favorability has improved slightly and voters do sense — albeit slightly — that progress is being made,” said Lori Weigel of New Bridge Strategy.
Not surprisingly, voters say homelessness/encampments is the top issue for the city to address (54%), followed by affordable housing (31%) and crime and safety (30%).
The survey also asked voters to rate the Mayor’s progress on several key issues:
a bare majority (51%) say he has made progress addressing homelessness;
but a majority of voters believe he has made no progress (25%) or made things worse (28%) in addressing the influx of new migrants to Denver;
nearly three-quarters of votes believe that on housing affordability, he has made no progress (54%) or made things worse (19%);
and 58% believe he has made no progress or needs to do more on crime and public safety.
Voters’ views of the City Council have declined (34% favorable/42% unfavorable) compared to last August (38% favorable/34% unfavorable).
Other notable findings in the survey include:
the cost of housing is placing a financial strain on residents, with 39% saying it’s “significant,” and 25% saying they feel “some;”
less than half (44%) say revitalizing down should be a top or high priority for the city;
views of the Denver School Board have improved slightly, as they are viewed unfavorably by nearly half of voters (27% favorable/47% unfavorable, ) — compared to 22% favorable/55% unfavorable in August of last year.
a plurality of voters say that Denver's investments in bicycle mobility are “more of a good thing” (42%) than “a bad thing” (23%), with 34% saying it’s “too early to tell.” Notably, 64% of voters who road a bike to work, school, or for errands in the last 12 months said “more of a good thing.”;
a solid majority (58%) say they would vote yes on a potential ballot measure to allow city employees to collectively bargain -- though it should be noted that no ballot language was tested.
