Will he or won’t he?
It’s a question that’s been dogging Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Colorado Democrats for months. But Hickenlooper continues to avoid telling anyone whether he will run for governor this year. And his place in political limbo is starting to wear on those close to him, as well as on members of the state Democratic Party.
All that leads to yet another question: When must Hickenlooper go from contemplating a run for governor to making a decision?
“He’s quickly approaching that line,” said Jennifer Duffy, editor of the Cook Political Report, who keeps tabs on Colorado gubernatorial races. “He’s not sounding like a guy who’s into it. You have to ask yourself, if you’re that uncertain, then maybe you have your answer.”
Hickenlooper is in Washington, D.C., all week for the U.S. Conference of Mayors. His spokeswoman, Lindy Eichenbaum Lent, said he is still mulling over his potential candidacy.
“While the public may have been buzzing about this issue for the past year, the mayor only began considering the possibility very recently,” she said. “He certainly understands the urgency for a decision, but there are a number of factors to consider.”
Last fall, Hickenlooper said he was not running for the seat being vacated by term-limited Republican Gov. Bill Owens. Hickenlooper started backtracking in December and since then has dodged questions about what – and when – he will decide.
Some close to him admit their frustration as questions about his potential candidacy increasingly dominate conversations.
Meanwhile, the prospect of his candidacy has Republican power brokers, whom Hickenlooper told he wouldn’t run, simultaneously fuming and planning attack ads. Many in the business community sit on the sidelines, wanting to back Hickenlooper, but poised to support Republican candidate Bob Beauprez if he doesn’t run.
Democratic candidate Bill Ritter is lagging in support from some traditional party elements while liberals and Democratic pragmatists urge Hickenlooper to run – and hold off on making early contributions.
“He is harming Bill Ritter’s candidacy … and really owes it to the Democrats and Ritter to put himself in or out of the race by the precinct caucuses” at the end of March, said Bob Loevy, a political science professor at Colorado College.
Lent said that Hickenlooper has had a “number of conservations with Ritter,” which has led to his sense of urgency in making a decision.
Ritter, on the other hand, has alienated some Democrats by refusing to alter his stance against abortion rights and by what some perceive as his refusal to aggressively prosecute bad cops when he was Denver district attorney.
Though his stance on abortion could help him win moderate Republican votes in a statewide election, many Democrats still believe Hickenlooper is their strongest candidate.
“The reason why the mayor is still involved in this debate is that Ritter remains a hope, but not a certainty,” said Denver pollster Floyd Ciruli. “Democrats want to win and think Hickenlooper is the one to do it.”
State party chair Pat Waak said she wanted anyone who was going to get into the governor’s race to do it “earlier rather than later.”
Hickenlooper does have much to think about, political observers say. Still in his first term as mayor, he has to deliver on promises he made during his campaign. Some in his Cabinet left the private sector, taking significant pay cuts, to work on his team.
The governor’s race is expected to be grueling and brutal as a shower of national money pours in. And if Hickenlooper does run, he opens himself up to criticism about being absent from the helm of the city.
“He becomes a mayor in name only, but will get blamed if anything goes wrong,” the Cook Political Report’s Duffy said.
On the other hand, observers say, he would enter the race as a front-runner and the Democrats’ great hope.
“He’s in a unique position because he can get money and campaign staffers together at a moment’s notice,” said Seth Masket, a political science professor at the University of Denver.
In the meantime, he continues to be wooed, encouraged and pressured by state and national Democrats.
“Seduction can be fun, and there are a whole lot of people treating him as the object of their seduction,” said consultant Eric Sondermann. “But ultimately, you owe it to them to say whether you are interested or not.”
Staff writer Karen Crummy can be reached at 303-820-1594 or kcrummy@denverpost.com.
