Are you looking for a nonpartisan voter guide to the Bob Beauprez vs. John Hickenlooper Governor's race? One that will give you an unbiased, no-spin comparison of candidate positions on key issues? That's what our Campus Election Engagement Project guide will give you! We are a national nonpartisan initiative working with college and university administrators, faculty, and student leaders to increase student participation in America's elections. For the 2014 elections we have created and distributed voter guides to campuses in more than 20 states so they can provide their communities with accurate information for informed voting. Because these guides have been so well received and are useful for all voting citizens who want to be better informed, we are also posting them here.
We developed our guides by analyzing information from trusted resources such as www.votesmart.org, www.ontheissues.org, www.ballotpedia.com, www.politifact.com, www.factcheck.org, www.vote411.org and from candidate websites, public debates and interviews, and statements in major media outlets. We also showed them to groups like campus Young Republicans and Young Democrats at the schools we work with to verify their fairness and lack of bias.
So here are the issue-by-issue stands for Bob Beauprez and John Hickenlooper, with additional links at the bottom for each candidate if you'd like to dig deeper. (You can also find Colorado's Senate and House of Representative guides here.)
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Education: Do you support increasing funding for K-12 education?
Beauprez: Unknown
Hickenlooper: Yes
Education: Do you support the effort to standardize and increase school standards under the Common Core initiative?
Beauprez: No
Hickenlooper: Yes
Education: Do you support providing vouchers to parents to send their children to private schools with public money?
Beauprez: Yes
Hickenlooper: No
Education: Do you support increasing funding for higher education?
Beauprez: No
Hickenlooper: Yes
Elections: Do you support requiring registered voters to present a photo-ID in order to vote?
Beauprez: Yes
Hickenlooper: No
Elections: Do you support increasing restrictions on campaign donations?
Beauprez: No
Hickenlooper: Yes
Environment: Do you believe that human activity is a major factor contributing to climate change?
Beauprez: No
Hickenlooper: Yes
Environment: Do you support taking government action to limit the levels of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere?
Beauprez: No
Hickenlooper: Yes
Environment: Do you support government mandates and/or subsidies for renewable energy?
Beauprez: No
Hickenlooper: Yes
Gay Marriage: Do you support gay marriage?
Beauprez: No
Hickenlooper: Yes
Gun Control: Do you support enacting more restrictive gun control legislation?
Beauprez: No
Hickenlooper: Yes
Healthcare: Do you support the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare?
Beauprez: No
Hickenlooper: Yes
Healthcare: Should your state accept federal funds so Medicaid will cover people earning up to 138% of the federal poverty line?
Beauprez: No
Hickenlooper: Yes
Immigration: Do you support colleges and universities awarding in-state tuition rates to state residents who are not citizens?
Beauprez: No
Hickenlooper: Yes
Marijuana: Do you support efforts to decriminalize and/or legalize marijuana?
Beauprez: Did not support Colorado's marijuana legislation but would focus on implementing it responsibly
Hickenlooper: Did not support Colorado's marijuana legalization but has implemented law
Minimum Wage: Do you support raising the minimum wage?
Beauprez: No
Hickenlooper: Not currently seeking hike in CO minimum wage
Social Issues: Should abortion be highly restricted?
Beauprez: Yes
Hickenlooper: No
Taxes: Have you signed the Americans for Tax Reform Pledge to oppose any tax increases to raise revenue? (The answer to this question is taken from the database of signatories of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, created by Americans for Tax Reform. Signers to the pledge promise to oppose "any and all tax increases" meant to generate additional revenue.)
Beauprez: No
Hickenlooper: No
Taxes: Would you increase taxes on corporations and/or high-income individuals to pay for public services?
Beauprez: No (voted for 2003 tax bill to reduce them)
Hickenlooper: Yes
Learn more about the candidates:
Beauprez: Bob Beauprez Vote Smart pages and Bob Beauprez On the Issues pages
Hickenlooper: John Hickenlooper Vote Smart pages and John Hickenlooper On the Issues pages
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Other gubernatorial candidates include Matt Hess (Libertarian), Harry Hempy (Green Party), Mike Dunafon (Independent), Paul Fiorino (Independent), and Jim Rundberg (Independent). Due to limited space, we can't include their positions, but invite you to check out their websites.