Colorado’s 2026 election season is shaping up to be less of a contest and more of a group therapy session. According to the latest Magellan poll, Gov. Jared Polis is tanking with a 41% approval rating, Bennet is circling the drain at 38%, and Hickenlooper is at a “please clap” level of 36%. In short, Democrats are about as popular as a pothole on I-25.
And Republicans? Don’t start celebrating. Sixty-eight percent of voters dislike Democrats, but the exact same 68% hate Republicans too. Colorado’s unaffiliated voters – our beloved suburban swing set – aren’t impressed with anyone. But when push comes to shove, they still lean blue like it’s a reflex. It’s political muscle memory: hate the Dems, but vote for them anyway.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Democrats are drowning. Polis, Bennet, and Hickenlooper are underwater – proof you can’t central-plan your way into popularity.
- Republicans ain’t winning either. Sixty-eight percent of voters say “no thanks” to the GOP brand. Congratulations, you’re both hated equally.
- Unaffiliated voters: cranky and confused. They hate everyone but keep rewarding the very people making life unaffordable. Stockholm syndrome, but with craft beer.
- Trump’s kryptonite in Colorado. Voters here recoil at Trump like Boulderites at a Chick-fil-A. Republicans can’t ride his coattails – those coattails are lead.
- Despite the rage, Dems still lead. Voters hate what’s happening but keep pulling the blue lever like they’re addicted to bad decisions. It’s like Stockholm Syndrome.
My Bottom Line
Colorado isn’t “better off” than when Polis took office. Anyone saying otherwise is lying, drunk, or both. Housing is unaffordable, energy costs are up, crime is up, roads are crumbling, and government keeps getting fatter while families get squeezed thinner. Polis promised “bold solutions.” What we got was a bureaucratic Costco – lots of central planning, little value, and you still pay more every year for the privilege.
Republicans, don’t get smug. Voters aren’t flocking to you either, because too many GOP candidates look like Trump reruns in a state that’s already turned that channel off. Coloradans aren’t begging for more grievance politics – they’re begging for someone to make groceries, gas, and housing affordable again.
Here’s the good news: there is a path out of this. The Great Suburban Normie – the swing vote in Douglas, Arapahoe, Jefferson, Larimer, and Southwest Weld – isn’t looking for culture war cosplay. They’re looking for competence. They want:
- Affordability back on track. Lower taxes, cut fees, stop using government as a piggy bank for activist pet projects.
- Local control restored. Let school boards and city councils make decisions, not a central-planning Politburo in Denver.
- Smaller, leaner government. Trim the fat, cut the bureaucracy, and let families keep more of their own money.
- Smarter investments. Fix transportation so I-25 isn’t a permanent parking lot. Fund schools without micromanaging them.
- Deregulation that helps people. Make it easier to build homes, start businesses, and live without government riding shotgun.
Those fundamentals aren’t sexy. They won’t trend on TikTok. But they’re exactly what suburban families are desperate for – and what Democrats haven’t delivered after years of unchecked power.
Colorado doesn’t need more Polis-style “bold leadership.” We need boring competence. We need leaders who don’t think government is the solution to every problem – but who understand it is often the problem.
The Great Suburban Normie doesn’t care about Polis’s brand of progressive cosplay. They care about their mortgage, their commute, and their kid’s classroom. Deliver on that, and watch them swing red. Ignore it, and they’ll keep grumbling, keep voting blue, and keep wondering why life keeps getting worse.
