DENVER, CO – Today, Healthier Colorado released the results of a new poll on public health policy and presidential preferences among Democratic and Republican primary voters. The poll was conducted by Change Research from May 16 to May 22, 2026.
Primary voters from both parties agree that addressing youth mental health should be a top priority for the state’s next governor and state legislators. 85% of Democratic primary voters and 70% of Republican primary voters say it should be a high or the highest priority. Very few in either group say it should not be a priority at all (2% and 4%, respectively).
One proposed solution to the youth mental health crisis – banning cell phones during the school day – has strong bipartisan support. 78% of Democratic primary voters and 84% of Republican primary voters support a ban, including 49% and 65% respectively who strongly support it.
On the topic of health care, 83% of Democratic primary voters support a public option for health insurance, with 61% strongly supporting it. Only 25% of Republican primary voters support a public option, while 49% strongly oppose it.
About a quarter of primary voters from both parties say they have skipped needed health care because the costs are so high. Only 15% of Democratic primary voters and 22% of Republican primary voters are satisfied with what they are paying for health care.
“As voters start tuning in to Colorado’s 2026 election, they are expressing a clear bipartisan mandate for our state’s elected officials to make youth mental health a top priority,” said Joshua Ewing, Executive Director of Healthier Colorado. “We’re proud to have released a Policy Playbook on Youth Mental Health in partnership with Children’s Hospital Colorado, and we hope Colorado’s next governor will heed this call to take action on day one. While there is less consensus between parties on how to address health care affordability, voters from both sides are unhappy with the high cost of health insurance, and far too many Coloradans are forgoing needed health care altogether because it is unaffordable. Our leaders must continue working to find solutions that make quality health care affordable and accessible to everyone in our state.”
Overall, top concerns among Democratic primary voters are water supply and drought and inflation. For Republican primary voters, top concerns are cost of energy and inflation.
Respondents were also asked about the 2028 presidential primary for their party:
Q: Thinking about the 2028 Democratic presidential primary, how do you feel about each of the following candidates?
Q: Thinking about the 2028 Republican presidential primary, how do you feel about each of the following candidates
The crosstabs of the survey are available here.
Survey Methodology:
Polling was conducted by Change Research online from May 16-22, 2026. Using Dynamic Online Sampling to attain representative samples, Change Research polled 656 likely Democratic Primary Voters and 661 likely Republican Primary Voters in Colorado. Post-stratification was performed on age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, region, party registration, and 2024 presidential vote. The modeled margin of error is 4.0% for Democratic Primary Voters and 4.2% for Republican Primary Voters.