Colorado Democrat Drops Out Of Senate Race To Make Room For Hickenlooper

Former Colorado state Sen. Mike Johnston (D).
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Former Colorado state Sen. Mike Johnston (D) suspended his Senate campaign against Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) on Tuesday to avoid running against ex-Gov. John Hickenlooper (D), a former 2020 presidential candidate who’s now gunning for Gardner’s seat as well.

“I think [Hickenlooper’s] entrance required this to be a very different kind of race and required a negative race that’s not one that matches my values and how I would want to lead,” Johnston told the Denver Post.

The Colorado Democrat said that an ugly Democratic primary process would “break a lot of long-standing relationships in the state” and help Gardner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) maintain Republican control of the chamber.

After consistently polling at less than 1 percent, Hickenlooper dropped out the presidential race in August and announced his bid for Senate.

“I’m not done fighting for the people of Colorado,” he said in his announcement video.

According to the Denver Post, Hickenlooper is the highest polling candidate out of the 11 Democratic candidates aiming to unseat Gardner.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. This shouldnt be a headline, but instead an email to Beto.

  2. Avatar for tpr tpr says:

    Country before career. Good man.

  3. “I think [Hickenlooper’s] entrance required this to be a very different kind of race and required a negative race

    Not sure why Hickenlooper’s entry into the race would force Johnston to go negative. Sounds more like Johnston doesn’t think his positive campaign message is enough to compete with Hickenlooper so he would have to negative.

  4. Avatar for outis outis says:

    How was Johnston polling? Is this noble, or merely realistic?

  5. Johnston was generally considered to be running second behind Romanoff.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

55 more replies

Participants

Avatar for discobot Avatar for heart Avatar for dr_coyote Avatar for xpurg8d Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for mattinpa Avatar for msaroff Avatar for george_spiggott Avatar for squirreltown Avatar for rollinnolan Avatar for becca656 Avatar for borisjimbo Avatar for jonney_5 Avatar for castor_troy Avatar for tpr Avatar for coimmigrant Avatar for ktpinnacle Avatar for katscherger Avatar for sxp151 Avatar for maximus Avatar for pike_bishop Avatar for demosthenes59 Avatar for outis Avatar for faydout

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: