As he pursues a second term in the U.S. Senate, John Hickenlooper is fending off a challenge in Tuesday’s primary from state Sen. Julie Gonzales and the Democratic Party’s rising progressive wing.
Hickenlooper, long a pro-business centrist, has pivoted to the left, at least in his campaign messaging, highlighting his work to expand healthcare access, boost housing affordability, cut environmental emissions and overhaul ICE.
Gonzales, who has declined corporate campaign contributions, has labeled herself as part of a new generation of Democrats looking to oust what she describes as "do-nothing" incumbents backed by billionaires.
This story will be updated with initial results after polls close in Colorado’s primary elections at 7 p.m.
A community organizer and immigrant advocate, Gonzales graduated from Yale University in 2005 and was elected to the Colorado State Senate in 2018, where she currently serves as Majority Whip.
Among her key issues are reforming the immigration system and eliminating ICE; providing universal childcare, elder care and Medicare coverage; and protecting voter rights.
Progressives and democratic socialists are coming off a strong showing in New York's primaries on June 23, where they swept deeper-pocketed rivals with a fraction of the financial support.
Gonzales has raised only a tenth of the campaign finances that Hickenlooper has, according to public records.
Named after New York mayor Zohran Mamdani, a social democrat, the Mamdani movement has found success mobilizing younger voters and tapping into working-class economic anxieties.
Registered Democrats who vote in primaries tend to lean left, which favors Gonzales, and she has a strong grassroots base behind her.
Colorado, however, allows unaffiliated voters to participate in either the Republican or Democratic primaries, and historically, they have favored centrist candidates.
Unaffiliated voters, at 2.3 million in Colorado, outnumber both those registered as Democrats, 1.1 million, and Republicans, just shy of 1 million.
By highlighting his progressive accomplishments while at the same time staying true to his centrist leanings, Hickenlooper has tried to thread the needle.
Throughout his political career as Denver mayor and Colorado governor, Hickenlooper has run as a business-friendly, pro-growth centrist who favors consensus-building and market-based solutions.
In his 2020 presidential run, he opposed "Medicare for All" and a national fracking ban, causes that Gonzales champions.
Among the groups endorsing Hickenlooper are End Citizens United, League of Conservation Voters, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and the Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance.
Gonzales received endorsements from Oil Change Action, the Jane Fonda Climate PAC, GenZ for Change and Faith in Colorado.
The labor movement and unions have split their support among the two candidates, who call Denver home.
The winner of Tuesday's primary will face Mark Baisley, the de facto Republican nominee after the GOP failed to field any competitors.
A Colorado Republican has not held a Senate seat since Hickenlooper defeated Cory Gardner in the 2020 election.
