McInnis, Beauprez have early primary leads

In poll numbers that likely reflect early name recognition more than anything else, Scott McInnis and Bob Beauprez start out with the leads in the Republican primaries for Governor and Senator in Colorado.

Beauprez's initial advantage is particularly unsurprising given that he's run statewide and both of his current opponents are local officials. He's at 41% to 23% for Ryan Frazier and 15% for Ken Buck.

76% of respondents said they didn't know enough about Frazier to have an opinion about him, and 65% said the same about Buck. Beauprez, on the other hand, is a blank slate to only 33% of likely primary voters.

All three have positive favorability ratings. Beauprez is at 50/17, Buck at 29/6, and Frazier at 16/7.

In the contest for Governor, McInnis leads Josh Penry 36-15. There is a lot of ambivalence toward both candidates in that race at this point as well. 54% of primary voters have no opinion about Penry and 38% say the same about McInnis. Among those who do the former Congressman is viewed favorably by a 53/9 spread and the Senate Minority Leader has a 40/7 ratio.

There are not any significant ideological divides in support between the candidates at this early stage. McInnis leads by 21 points with moderates and by 24 with conservatives. Beauprez has an 18 point lead with moderates and a 20 point advantage with conservatives.

These numbers will doubtless change a lot in the coming months as voters become more familiar with the candidates.

Full results here