New polling released today highlighted climate change as the top issue in Colorado’s upcoming presidential primary, 10 points higher than health care and 15 points higher than preventing gun violence.

The survey of likely Democratic presidential primary voters conducted by Global Strategies Group found that nearly all likely primary voters think climate change is already impacting or will impact their families (91%), view climate change as a very serious problem or a crisis (84%), and want to see their leaders take action within the next year (85%). And by a nearly three-to-one margin, likely primary voters prefer a candidate with a plan to take action on climate change starting on Day One of their term over a candidate who has not pledged to act starting on Day One (74% – 26%).

“As presidential candidates head up to the Rocky Mountains, they should step up their emphasis on climate action,” said Kelly Nordini, executive director of Conservation Colorado. “In the past year, Colorado has made historic strides in battling climate change, setting science-based targets to reduce pollution. Candidates who want to win here should follow our example by making climate action their top priority.”

Additionally, the survey found that among likely primary voters:

• 85% would be more likely to support a candidate who will move the U.S. to a 100 percent clean energy economy;
• 95% would be more likely to support a candidate who will combat climate change by protecting and restoring forests; and,
• 76% would be more likely to support a candidate who will phase out extraction of oil, gas, and goal on public lands by 2030.

These responses are unsurprising given that respondents believed that a plan to move the U.S. to a 100 percent clean energy economy will have a positive impact on future generations of their family (81%), the quality of the air we breathe (93%), and the health of families like theirs (88%).

Finally, likely primary voters heard a description of Colorado’s climate action plan to reduce pollution and the state’s next steps to achieve reductions of at least 50 percent by 2030 and at least 90 percent by 2050. Based on that statement, 91% of respondents agreed that the Air Quality Control Commission should take timely action to create rules that guarantee that the state will meet its carbon reduction targets.

Full survey results can be found here.