A new poll is showing widespread voter displeasure with U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, in the wake of the government shutdown.
Conducted by Public Policy Polling for MoveOn.org, a liberal advocacy group, the poll, released this week, found that 51 percent of respondents disapprove of the job Tipton is doing, and only 28 percent approve.
The Public Policy Polling asked respondents, “Do you support or oppose Congress shutting down major activities of the federal government as a way to stop the health-care law from being put into place?”
Thirty-four percent said they supported it; 62 percent opposed it; only 4 percent weren’t sure.
The poll asked, “If the election for Congress were held today, would you vote to re-elect Republican Scott Tipton, or would you vote for his Democratic opponent?”
Forty-two percent said they would vote for Tipton, and 48 percent said they would vote for his opponent.
Tipton was one of the House Republicans who refused to fund the government unless Obamacare was repealed, leading to all parts of the federal government not deemed “essential” shutting down for 16 days, including national parks such as Mesa Verde.
Asked about the poll numbers, Josh Green, Tipton’s press officer, issued a statement saying, “Congressman Tipton is not worried about polls paid for by extreme liberal interest groups. He is focused on reducing the risk of wildfires in Colorado, ensuring that Colorado’s water is protected from federal takings, and working to encourage job creation and access to affordable energy for his constituents.”
The Public Policy Polling is one of several released this week showing public chagrin with the Republican Party at an all-time high – so bad that on a generic ballot, Democrats would win the House if the election were held now.
Rick Palacio, chairman of the Colorado Democratic Party, said he wasn’t surprised by the poll’s findings.
“There’s no doubt that Scott Tipton is vulnerable,” Pilacio said. “Tipton’s done nothing to separate himself from the tea party. He’s continued to vote with the Republican Party for the government shutdown, and he is one of the individuals who really did nothing to stand up to his own party’s leadership over the course of those two weeks.
“As someone from the 3rd (Congressional District), that’s not going to work. It’s a very independent district,” he said.
Tipton, however, was among a minority of Republicans who voted to reopen the federal government and raise the country’s debt limit Oct. 16. While 87 House Republicans, including Tipton, voted for the deal, 144 voted against it.
Owen Loftus, spokesman for the Colorado Republican Party, questioned the integrity of the Public Policy Polling and said Democrats’ salivating after Tipton’s seat was more show than real.
“If the Democrats were really that excited about this, they would have a line out the door with people trying to take on Scott Tipton – I’m sure John Salazar would love to be in Congress again – but they don’t. That’s because he’s a good congressman, and he’s going to be re-elected in 2014,” Loftus said.
No Democrat has yet come forward to announce a candidacy in the 3rd Congressional District.
Palacio said it still is early in the election cycle, and the major advantage to declaring this far in advance – getting a head start at fundraising – was moot in Tipton’s case because he is a “terrible fundraiser.”
Veteran political operative Mike Stratton, who was the Democrats’ get-out-the-vote coordinator for the 3rd district in 2012, said Tipton was tarnished by his role in the shutdown, saying he and other congressional Republicans are seen “as being obstructionist and using the government shutdown as political leverage to stop health care.’
“Those things weigh heavily on members of the public, and they have significantly greater disdain for Republicans than Democrats,” Stratton said. “It’s a pall on both our houses. But Tipton’s in a swing district that has higher disdain for politics and politicians than most.”
Stratton said he fully expects a Democrat to beat Tipton come November 2014.
“The worst case is someone runs against him and gets 42 or 44 just for showing up.”
cmcallister@durangoherald.com
An earlier version of this story misidentified the polling company and misspelled Rick Palacio’s name in one reference.
