Sen. John Hickenlooper easily won Colorado's Democratic primary on Tuesday, fending off a spirited challenge from state Sen. Julie Gonzales and clearing a path to what he has indicated will be his final run for elected office.
The 74-year-old incumbent, who flipped the seat for Democrats six years ago, dominated the race through superior fundraising and name recognition built across two decades in elected office. Hickenlooper served as Denver mayor and Colorado governor before winning his Senate seat in 2020.
Gonzales, a former member of the Democratic Socialists of America, mounted an aggressive campaign from the left, hammering Hickenlooper over his votes to confirm ten of President Donald Trump's cabinet nominees and his opposition to Medicare for All. "John Hickenlooper has been in office for over 20 years," Gonzales said in her launch video. "I know we're not fooled by his so-called commonsense approach."
Hickenlooper countered by emphasizing his record of bipartisan dealmaking and spotlighting efforts to block ICE funding and prevent public land sales. His campaign also centered on healthcare affordability and standing up to the Trump administration. The candidate vastly outspent Gonzales, who leaned heavily on digital outreach and appeared on commentator Hasan Piker's livestream to energize younger voters.
This matchup echoed Hickenlooper's 2020 primary battle against Andrew Romanoff, a former state House Speaker whom he also defeated before winning the general election that year.
Hickenlooper, who will be 80 by the end of another full term, now faces Republican state Sen. Mark Baisley in November. Baisley ran unopposed in the GOP primary after initially pursuing a gubernatorial bid. Democrats have zeroed in on controversial remarks Baisley made last year describing LGBTQ members in the state Legislature as being "in rebellion against the nature of God."
Colorado has shifted decidedly Democratic in recent cycles, and neither party views the state as a battleground for control of the Senate in 2026. The primary result represents a clear signal that the state's Democratic establishment favors Hickenlooper's pragmatic, centrist approach over Gonzales' further-left platform on healthcare, immigration, and social services.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Hickenlooper's decisive victory suggests Colorado Democrats aren't ready to abandon their senator for a more ideological alternative, even as the national party wrestles with how far left to go."
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