DENVER, CO – Healthier Colorado has released the results of its annual voter opinion survey, conducted by the nonpartisan polling team of Magellan Strategies and Keating Research. The survey was designed to capture information on how Coloradans feel about public health issues at both the national and state level, along with the approval ratings of various public officials.

According to the survey, a majority of Colorado voters have a favorable view of Governor Jared Polis, while a majority have unfavorable views of President-Elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk. A plurality of voters have an unfavorable view of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

In response to the results of the November election, Healthier Colorado surveyed Coloradans on their views related to the public health proposals being discussed by the incoming Trump administration. The results show areas of both alignment and disagreement with the views of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Trump’s nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary:

• A majority of voters (54%) believe that fluoride should continue to be added to our local water supply.
• Nearly 3 out of 4 voters (72%) believe that parents should be required to have their children vaccinated for contagious diseases before sending them to school or childcare.
• Asked about the influence of various industries on public health, 72% believe the pharmaceutical industry has too much influence and 66% believe the processed food industry has too much influence. Alternatively, 35% of voters think doctors and scientists have too little influence and only 20% believe they have too much influence.

“Public health issues have been elevated in the national discourse with President-Elect Trump’s selection of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services. This offers an opportunity to find areas in which we can work together to improve the wellbeing of Coloradans, and it has presented the need to identify the proposals that Coloradans oppose, and sound science warns against,” said Jake Williams, CEO of Healthier Colorado. “Coloradans of all political stripes clearly do not share Kennedy’s views on vaccines and do not want to go back to spreading the diseases of yesteryear. Our polling also shows that a strong majority of Coloradans are generally aligned with Kennedy’s stated concerns regarding the influence of the pharmaceutical and processed food industries on public health policy. Colorado can benefit from a working relationship with the incoming Trump administration on public health policy in selected areas, and we hope this polling sheds light on where collaboration could occur.”

At the state level, the survey results show a strong bipartisan consensus on a variety of public health issues facing Coloradans:

• 87% of voters support requiring private health insurance companies to cover mental health care deemed medically necessary by a patient’s doctor.
• More than 75% of voters support continued funding for two state programs promoting early childhood health and well-being – one that provides access to behavioral health care teams to families with a baby or toddler (78% approval) and one that provides licensed childcare centers with access to healthcare consultants (77% approval).
• 67% of voters believe 10 and 11-year-olds who commit crimes other than sexual assault or murder should be placed in counseling and therapeutic programs rather than being prosecuted.
• 78% of voters believe the state should prioritize investing in solutions to streamline Medicaid access to ensure eligible residents can receive the health care they need.

Healthier Colorado hosted a briefing yesterday with the polling team to review the results of the survey. The slides from the briefing can be found here, and the Zoom recording can be found here. The full crosstabs of the survey are available here.

Survey Methodology:

The interviews for this survey were completed by sending an MMS text message to Colorado voters inviting them to participate and conducting interviews through an online panel. The survey data were weighted to be representative of Colorado voter registration demographics. The interviews were conducted from December 4th – 9th, 2024. This survey has a margin of error of +/- 3.46% at the 95 percent confidence interval.