Just 21 percent of Colorado voters want Congress to decrease Medicaid spending, according to a poll released Tuesday. Concerns about gutted health care access come as U.S. Senate Republican leaders work to push through a tax and spending bill that would cut Medicaid by an estimated $625 billion over the next decade.

The poll zeroed in on the 8th Congressional District, which includes the northern Denver metro area and parts of Weld County. In the district, where 1 in 4 residents receive Medicaid benefits, 63 percent of voters said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who voted to cut Medicaid.

The 8th District is represented by Republican Gabe Evans, who voted in favor of the plan that would reduce federal Medicaid spending when it was brought to the U.S. House of Representatives in May.

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A spokesperson for Evans defended the vote, saying a proposed provision to institute part-time work requirements for some people to retain Medicaid eligibility would make “the program more efficient by cutting out fraud, waste, and abuse.”

“Congressman Gabe Evans has been steadfast in his support of protecting Medicaid for the vulnerable populations it was created to serve — pregnant women, kids, and disabled people,” said spokesperson Delanie Bomar in a statement Tuesday.

Evans, who was elected to the House last year, represents one of the country’s few congressional swing districts. According to the poll, 42 percent of voters in the district want to see increased federal Medicaid spending, 20 percent want it to stay about the same and 28 percent want it to decrease.

Medicaid, the state-federal health care program for lower-income people and some with disabilities, serves more than 70 million U.S. residents.

The poll of 675 registered Colorado voters was conducted by Broomfield-based firm Magellan Strategies on behalf of the nonprofit Healthier Colorado. It has a margin of error of 3.7 percent.

“Politicians are saying that they want to cut Medicaid to make it better, but the poll shows clearly that voters aren’t buying what they’re selling,” said Jake Williams, CEO of Healthier Colorado. “It shows that there’s real political peril for any candidate who votes to cut Medicaid.”

Bomar pointed to the poll’s findings that many respondents, especially those who are Republicans or unaffiliated, said Medicaid “should only be for U.S. citizens or legal residents, with some calling for stricter eligibility enforcement.”

Immigrants who are in the U.S. unlawfully are not eligible for federal Medicaid benefits, but Colorado and 13 other states provide some state-funded coverage to immigrants lacking permanent legal status. Under the proposed federal cuts, an estimated 7.8 million people, most of them citizens or lawful residents, would lose access to Medicaid, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Some of the main reasons cited in the poll by respondents who said they have favorable opinions of Medicaid are the benefits it provides to low-income Coloradans, seniors, children, people with disabilities and single parents.

“The poll shows that Medicaid cuts would have devastating effects for both our health and economy here in Colorado,” Williams said. “I also think it shows that Colorado voters aren’t dummies.”