U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet holds a 31-point lead over Attorney General Phil Weiser in Colorado’s Democratic gubernatorial primary more than a year before votes will be counted, according to an internal poll released Monday by Bennet’s campaign.

With the support of 53% of likely primary voters surveyed by Democratic firm Global Strategy Group, Bennet has more than twice the backing of Weiser, who stood at 22% in the poll. Another 25% of respondents said they are undecided.

Bennet, a three-term senator and former presidential candidate, has higher name identification and stronger net favorability scores than Weiser, the poll found, though Weiser told Colorado Politics he’s in the race for the long haul and intends to give voters a clear choice.

It’s turned into a two-candidate race on the Democratic side to take over two-term Gov. Jared Polis, who faces term limits after next year’s election. Nearly a dozen Republicans are also running for the office, including state lawmakers and a former congressman making his third run for governor.

“While voters like both Sen. Bennet and AG Weiser, this is not a close race at the moment,” said Bennet pollster Andrew Baumann, a partner at Global Strategy Group, in a statement. “Bennet has stronger standing and converts more of his name ID into votes, which is why he is above 50% and leads by a better than two-to-one margin.”

Bennet’s campaign manager said the poll results show that the primary is solidifying in his boss’s favor.

“This poll confirms what we’ve been hearing from voters across Colorado: Michael Bennet is the right leader for this moment, and he’s building a broad, winning coalition to prove it,” Ben Waldon said in a statement. “Coloradans know what’s at stake, and they’re getting behind Michael because he delivers results and brings people together. We’ll keep showing up in every corner of the state to earn every vote.”

It’s too early for his primary rival to count his chickens, said Weiser, who raised $1.9 million in the first quarter, before Bennet’s surprise entry upended the race.

“We have the fundraising and grassroots support we need to contest this race all the way to election day,” Weiser said in an emailed statement. “Coloradans deserve a competitive primary among candidates who show up across our state to ask for their vote and have a rigorous debate. We’re going to give them one.”

Weiser launched his campaign in early January, kicking off what was expected to be a crowded primary, but after Bennet jumped in three months later, other potential candidates — including Secretary of State Jena Griswold and U.S. Reps. Joe Neguse and Jason Crow — said they weren’t running. Griswold switched to the attorney general primary, where she faces four Democratic opponents, while Neguse and Crow both endorsed Bennet.

GSG polled 600 likely primary voters from June 9-11, with roughly half in live caller telephone interviews and the remainder using a text-to-web questionnaire. It has a margin of error of 4%.

The poll also asked the same voters to express a preference in the attorney general primary and found Griswold leading the field with 42% support, more than all the other Democrats combined.

The new poll found that Bennet is viewed favorably by 74% of primary voters and unfavorably by 13%, making for an 87% name ID. That compares to 45% who hold favorable views of Weiser and just 7% with unfavorable views, adding up to 52% familiar enough to form an opinion.

For Weiser, that marks a big jump in both familiarity and favorability in the last six months, compared to the only other publicly released Democratic primary poll for the office. A Healthier Colorado survey conducted in December — before Bennet indicated he was considering the race — had Weiser with 32% favorability and 11% unfavorability, totaling just 43% name recognition.

Colorado parties nominate candidates to the primary ballot next spring. Ballots are due back by June 30, 2026.