April 18, 2013 03:01 PM UTC

"Not a single one of the Republicans we tested has a positive statewide favorability rating."

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• by: Colorado Pols

Stunning numbers today from a new Public Policy Polling report show that Colorado Republicans would have a lot of digging to do just to get in a hole by 2014:

With no serious Republicans running for either of these offices yet we basically tested every major GOP figure in the state against both Hickenlooper and Udall: former Congressman Bob Beauprez, Congressman Cory Gardner, Secretary of State Scott Gessler, 2010 Senate candidate Jane Norton, State Treasurer Walker Stapleton, Attorney General John Suthers, former Congressman Tom Tancredo, and Congressman Scott Tipton.

Not a single one of the Republicans we tested has a positive statewide favorability rating. [Pols emphasis] The one who comes closest is Suthers, who still has a -6 favorability rating. In addition to being unliked the GOP bench is also largely unknown- the only one with higher than 52% name recognition is Tancredo.

Only one of the Republicans comes within single digits of Hickenlooper or Udall in any of the match ups. That's Beauprez who trails each of them by 7- 50/43 against Hickenlooper and 48/41 against Udall.

Hickenlooper leads everyone else we tested by either 10 or 11 points- 50/40 over Gessler, 49/39 over Suthers, 50/40 over Tipton, 51/40 over Gardner, 50/39 over Norton, 49/38 over Stapleton, and 52/41 over Tancredo.

Udall leads everyone else we tested by margins ranging from 10-13 points. It's 49/39 over Gardner, 49/38 over Norton, 50/38 over Suthers, 51/39 over Tancredo, and 50/37 over Gessler, Stapleton, and Tipton.

Holy crap is right. Even Rep. Cory Gardner, the GOP's de-facto "rising star," doesn't come within 10 points of either Gov. John Hickenlooper or Sen. Mark Udall. Forget not being in the same room–he's barely in the same state. This is so dismal we don't even know what to say.

Gov. John Hickenlooper's uptick in disapproval makes sense for a number of reasons: in addition to factors cited by PPP hurting him with Republicans and conservative-leaning independents like gun safety and civil unions, Hickenlooper faces growing discontent on his left from conservation-minded Democrats upset with his positions on oil and gas drilling. Even with all of that counting against him two and a half years into his term, there's absolutely nothing here to indicate Hickenlooper will be seriously threatened in 2014.

Likewise with Sen. Mark Udall, who handily bests any of the Republican challengers PPP matched him up with–beating Rep. Cory Gardner by ten points, twelve points over Attorney General John Suthers, and former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton, the GOP's 2010 primary loser by nine.

The fact that former Rep. "Both Ways" Bob Beauprez polls best of any of these prospective challengers underscores just how bleak a situation Republicans find themselves in today.