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DENVER (KDVR) — Voters in Colorado say they are leaning toward re-electing leaders who currently hold office in the state, according to a new poll.

FOX31/Channel 2/Emerson College/The Hill polled 1,000 people who are very likely to vote in the upcoming midterms in Colorado. This took place between Sept. 18-19, capturing the current feelings of voters here in the state.

Democrats, Republicans and experts alike say the poll highlights that many Coloradans are now unaffiliated, with 42.7% of respondents saying they are independent, 30.6% saying they are registered Democrats and 26.7% saying they are registered as Republicans. Still, they know exactly where they stand on candidates and issues on the ballot.

“We haven’t seen a lot of public polls on either of these statewide races, the governor’s race or the senate race, but most of them have suggested a pretty comfortable lead for both Polis and Bennet. These were a little bit larger,” said Seth Masket, director of the Center on American Politics at the University of Denver.

The poll shows nearly 53% of respondents said they would re-elect Jared Polis for governor, while around 36% said they would elect Republican candidate Heidi Ganahl. Only 9% of the voters say they are still undecided in this race.

“The difference between the governor’s race and the Senate race is that the Senate race has a lot more undecided voters in it. That was kind of surprising to me,” Masket said.

The poll painted a tighter picture in the race for U.S. Senate, but not as tight as many thought it would be.

Nearly 46% of people surveyed said they would re-elect Michael Bennet, about 36% said they would elect Republican Joe O’Dea, 14% said they are undecided and 4% said they would go for someone else.

“Polls were pretty accurate in Colorado in 2020. The numbers came back very similar to where most pollsters had them. So, you never really know if polls are going to be accurate until the election actually happens, but you know there are a lot of reasons to be confident in these results just going into it. And it suggests a pretty tough road for the Republican challengers right now,” Masket said.

Republicans, Democrats react to poll results

The Colorado GOP reacted to the poll, saying:

“This poll shows numbers well outside other polls being done in Colorado — both by Democrats and Republicans — in the statewide races. However, what is clear in every single poll, including this one, is that voters who are concerned about the economy and the cost of living are choosing Republican candidates. Election Day is the only poll that truly matters.”

Colorado GOP Chairwoman Kristi Burton Brown

Colorado Democrats are reacting too, saying:

“Democrats have been laser-focused on economic recovery, saving people money and strongly defending our personal freedoms. As voters get to know more about the violence and conspiracies embraced by the GOP, and the quality of the Democratic candidates running, we are confident that Democrats, Unaffiliated Voters and Pro-Normal Republican voters will want to move this state forward under Democratic leadership.”

Morgan Carroll, Colorado Democratic Party chair

The poll shows voters are most concerned about the economy, followed by abortion, heading into the final 47 days before the election.