Over three-quarters of Colorado voters believe a third major political party is needed, according to a new survey released Thursday by the Colorado Polling Institute. What exactly they think that party should look like is more complicated.
The poll, which was conducted from Nov. 1-5, asked registered voters in Colorado whether they thought the two major parties adequately represent the American people, or if they “do such a poor job that a third major party is needed.”
77% of Coloradans said they thought a third party was needed, compared to 62% nationally, according to a Gallup poll conducted Sept. 2-16.
“Both national parties face a skeptical Colorado electorate, but the challenges facing the parties look quite different when you look under the hood,” said Kevin Ingham, principal of Aspect Strategic and one of the pollsters involved in the survey. “Negative views of the Democratic Party are driven in significant part by dissatisfaction from the party’s own base. Meanwhile, the GOP’s image is suffering more among Colorado’s middle-of-the-road voters due to the unpopularity of Donald Trump.”
Broken down by affiliation, 39% of Republicans are satisfied with the current parties, while only 25% of Democrats and 14% of independents feel the same.
When asked about where a theoretical third party should fall on the political spectrum, 27% of Democrats and 17% of independents believe it should be more liberal, while a resounding 43% and 59%, respectively, say it should be more moderate. Among Republicans, 40% believe it should be more moderate, while 20% say it should be more conservative.
For political activists already working outside the political binary, results like these represent an opportunity, but don’t necessarily give the whole picture.
“I think those labels [liberal, moderate, and conservative] have essentially become meaningless, and the real question is, where people stand on the issues,” said Wynn Howell, state director of the Working Families Party (WFP). “In particular, issues around affordability and corporate dominance over politics. I don’t think that’s a traditional left-right divide — in fact, I think we see some of that even informing the MAGA movement.”
The WFP, a progressive minor political group active nationwide, has been attempting to appeal to voters dissatisfied with the political establishment since its founding in 1998. While the party has run several candidates solely affiliated with the WFP throughout its existence, it primarily functions as a faction within the Democratic Party by endorsing primary candidates. It is not currently registered as a minor party in the state.
“It feels increasingly like people are looking for something different in politics,” said Howell. “I think what we’ve seen nationally is people responding to the fact that the Democratic Party used to be the party of the working class. Now, both major parties have become completely captured by big money interests.”
The Libertarian Party of Colorado (LPCO) is the largest of the state’s minor parties, with around 37,000 registered voters across the state. It has historically defined itself through principled defense of personal liberties. In recent years, however, internal debates about the party’s recent partnership with Republicans via a pledge to not run spoiler candidates caused intense divisions among its leadership, resulting in the ousting of former chair Hannah Goodman.
Keith Laube, the recently elected chair of the LPCO, hopes that the interest in a more moderate alternative could prompt a surge in support for Libertarian candidates ahead of the 2026 midterm election.
“Both parties have gone to the extreme edges of their platform and left Americans in the middle with nobody. So I think it’s a great opportunity for the Libertarian or other minor parties to field some candidates,” said Laube. “The last couple of years, our party sort of went a little bit too far to the right … I’m definitely going back to personal freedoms, rights, the LGBTQ community.”
While Colorado has had few high-profile third-party candidates in recent decades, the 2010 gubernatorial race saw former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo receive 36% of the vote while running as a member of the American Constitution Party, making him the most successful third-party candidate by the numbers.
He has a different theory as to why so many voters are looking for a middle-of-the-road alternative:
“Maybe they’re not hoping for a third party, they’re just hoping that their own party, both Republicans and Democrats, becomes more moderate,” said Tancredo. “But anyway, I’m all for it. If there’s anything that can moderate the radical left-wing aspect of the Democratic Party in Colorado, I’m all for it.”
“I don’t want a more moderate Republican Party. I want a Republican Party that actually stands for something and can win in Colorado,” said Tancredo, making it clear he hopes the whole political spectrum shifts to the right.
Despite the widespread interest in a third party indicated by the survey, it remains unlikely that it will be reflected in future election results.
“There have also been surveys that have said, ‘If there was a third party, would you vote for it?’ And voters have been much more hesitant to say that they would,” said Ingham during a briefing on Thursday. “Oftentimes, what they have told pollsters nationally is that they are concerned that it is a wasted vote, or that if they voted for a third party, that would actually help the candidate they liked the least to be elected.”
