Most of Colorado’s independent voters distrust both major political parties and want Republicans and Democrats to be more moderate. They are most concerned about the cost of living and housing, followed by taxes and budget, and politics and polarization.
The new poll from Keating Research, backed by groups that support ranked choice voting and fully open primaries, showed opportunities and challenges for both major parties.
The statewide poll of 1,210 active voters included 600 Independents, 300 Democrats, 300 Republicans, and 10 others and was conducted Nov. 9-17. The numbers roughly reflect the current percentage makeup of the state’s electorate.
Half of the state’s active voters are now independent, or unaffiliated. For younger voters, that figure is even higher, 66 percent. According to the poll, the number one reason cited was dislike or distrust of the two parties or dislike of the two-party system and the ability to vote for individuals and not political parties.
“The biggest thing that stood out for me is that independent voters are more proactive than I think people ever really thought about being independent, and distrusting or not wanting to join the parties,” said pollster Chris Keating.
He said some political observers thought automatic voter registration pushed more voters to become independent by default.
“But this is an active action by these independents,” Keating said.
The independent voters trusted Democrats more than Republicans on the environment and conservation, healthcare, democracy and voting, and education. For affordability and immigration, they trusted both parties fairly equally, and trusted Republicans more on fighting crime.
Sixty-two percent of active independent voters held a negative view of President Donald Trump, and 69% of likely 2026 independent Colorado voters viewed Trump unfavorably.
“We see that a majority are interested in politics, not nearly as much as Democrats or Republicans, but they are interested,” said Keating. “They are going to vote, and they're going to pick someone, and they tend to lean a little bit more to the left.”
But the poll has some warning signs for Democrats who are in charge of the state’s government. By a 2-to-1 margin, independent voters backed the Taxpayers Bill of Rights for keeping government spending in check and giving voters the final say on tax increases. Democrats have long criticized TABOR. Independent voters also wanted both parties to work together to solve problems and be more moderate. Two-thirds want the Colorado legislature to be more moderate.
“For the Democratic Party, what this means is they need to avoid, stop, and begin to reverse their march to the far left. It's already the statistics on the drop off in new businesses, big or small, moving to Colorado is dramatic,” said Kent Thiry, the Let Colorado Vote Founder who led the successful ballot campaign to let unaffiliated voters participate in primary elections.
