THURSDAY UPDATE: Watch Gov. John Hickenlooper’s gracious presidential race exit video, in which he pledges to seriously consider a run for the U.S. Senate:
I’ve heard from so many Coloradans who want me to run for the US Senate. They remind me how much is at stake for our country. And our state. I intend to give that some serious thought.
And this from Sen. Kamala Harris’ press secretary:
The @KamalaHarris + @Hickenlooper campaign friendship has been a fun thing to watch. Genuine affection between the two. If reports are true that he’s leaving the race, will certainly miss their on-the-trail encounters. pic.twitter.com/DSXP6aZet1
— Ian Sams (@IanSams) August 15, 2019
And for good measure, Sen. Elizabeth Warren:
It was inspiring to see @Hickenlooper’s commitment to bettering our country during his campaign. I’m looking forward to fighting alongside him as we work to elect Democrats up and down the ballot in 2020. https://t.co/gBXikfXaWh
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) August 15, 2019
—–
As the Associated Press reports, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Thursday will end his bid for the 2020 Democratic Presidential nomination:
John Hickenlooper is expected to drop out of the Democratic presidential primary on Thursday.
That’s according to a person close to the former Colorado governor who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly before the announcement and who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday night on condition of anonymity.
It is not expected that Hickenlooper will immediately announce his next steps — only that he is dropping out of the race for President. It has been looking increasingly likely in recent weeks that Hickenlooper is moving toward a run for U.S. Senate in Colorado.
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Voters will not hold a failed presidential bid against him.
Get in the senate race asap Hick.
If Hickenlooper enters the senate race, it will be primarily for one reason…to protect the interests of his powerful friends.
If he runs, he will lose the primary to someone who actually wants to do the job…
Not sure Hick's "powerful friends" will let him lose, Duke, but pretty darned sure Hick for Senate will tear at the soul of the CDP much in the same way Clinton/Sanders tore the DNC in 2016. Things gets uglier for Hick, and likely the party, long before they get better.
Truth.
I realize my comment will be seen by many as wishful thinking…it probably is. I am so sick of the cynicism that makes it OK to break everything down to political machinations.
We LWNJs are often accused of seeking only "purity". That is horse shit. The only "purity" I seek is…wait for it…HONESTY.
The powerful friends Hick cares about don't give a fuck about the well being of Democrats or their political party.
I wonder if Hick even knows what he'll do next. We'll know in about 2 1/2 hours, but I'm reminded of when he was torn between running for governor or re-election as Denver mayor. He said he had two speeches prepared in his pockets. That was the year he decided to run for re-election.
What if he decided to endorse Romanoff or Madden for Senate?
“but pretty darned sure Hick for Senate will tear at the soul of the CDP much in the same way Clinton/Sanders tore the DNC.”
The guy is polling 50% above his closest competitor. If the party is pulled apart, it is going to be pretty one-sided.
By the way, the Clinton/Sanders fight didn't prevent HRC from carrying Colorado comfortably in November.
Agreed. Hick getting in disappoints some people who have already picked a candidate, but that's a tiny number of Dems. He and the party will be fine, and the other candidates only hurt themselves by going negative against the presumptive nominee.
That may be true, Meiner. But it was the far left that made it ugly in 2016. Andrew Romanoff is no Bernie Bro, nor is Alice Madden. Yes, there will be far left types like Joe Salazar barking at the moon, but the 51 point lead in the poll for Hick speaks for itself. We'll be unified against Gardner.
Vote Blue…no matter who.
"The far left made it ugly in 2016". I think that is an exaggeration. There were certainly some "never Hillary" types on the far left that made trouble, but there were not nearly as many as are asserted by centrists. And I'm personally aware of a small number of pro-Hillary people who also were very ugly toward Sanders supporters during the primary – but again, a tiny minority of the overall party. And the ugliness of both sides of the Democratic party is dwarfed by the unspeakably unholy ugliness that is the Trumpista faction.
Remember, though, that the Russians were amplifying things an all sides, to sow chaos, so what people saw on social media regarding the Democratic primary and the fallout into the general election was likely largely a result of Eastern European bot farms.
The narrative that the "Bernie Bros" cost Clinton the election is a false one, heavily pushed by foreign agitators. Be prepared for a rerun in 2020.
There is blame enough to go around, Corky. Hillary beat Stinky Boy by almost 3 million votes, but fascism had an 80,000 vote margin in three states that tipped the electoral college.
Do I think Bernie Bros made the difference: Yes.
Did Jilliots — many of whom were Bernie Bros — make the difference? Yes.
Did voter suppression make the difference? Yes.
Did an overpaid and inept campaign make the difference? Yes.
Like a basketball game decided 99-98 on a last second shot, every hit and miss, not just the last one, made the difference.
In Colorado, however, Hillary won comfortably. Trump will almost certainly lose here again. But if Trump wins a second term, he will lock in two generations of fascist rule in the courts. That's why sending a Democrat to replace Gardner in the Senate is so vital.
"But if Trump wins a second term, he will lock in two generations of fascist rule in the courts."
Judges can be impeached and removed from office.
Dave, it takes two thirds of the Senate to convict. No judge has ever been removed because of a principled decision, nor should she be. Impeachment is reserved for bribery, etc.
I am OK with only impeaching The Dumpster's male judges. I don't care about reasons. This is war.
Yeah, and the Senate can pass bills… Your point?
Yup, because this comment isn’t ugly at all.
if the primary winner foes on to win – yay!
Ok, madco, I'll bite. How does one "foe on"?
I agree. Romanoff would be excellent, and I loved Alice Madden on Craig Silverman's show last week, Hick would be awesome. It would add an extra thrill to showing Gardner the door, knowing how the GOP has tried desperately to sneer and jeer at Hick's Presidential race. I don't think it will hurt him one bit. Sorry Dan-o.
Herman Melville would understand…..
We all need our Great White Whales against which to rant. Zappy has Michael Bennet. Duke has John Hickenlooper. I myself have the 2016 Green Party presidential candidate.
Herman Melville: born 200 years ago on August 1, 1819. Died 1891.
Fun family fact: the whaling ship that informed Melville's writing of Moby Dick – the Acushnet – was built at my ancestral family's shipyard.
Cool!
There's a great article on Melville a couple of weeks ago in the New Yorker.
Nice attempt at deflection…or dilution…or whatever you want to call it.
Hick is not a "white whale". He is not an obsession of mine.But he is guilty of the things WE all know. He is, in my personal opinion, a politician first, a Coloradan second. Gov. Hickenlooper is all about John " giddyup" Hickenlooper.
He has a record. It is there for all to see. Your insinuation that my criticism is unwarranted and should be ignored because I bear some resemblance to Captain Ahab (or yourself, I reckon) is pretty weak sauce.
I get it, though. It is hard to defend the indefensible. My sympathies.
Maybe you're not obsessed with Hick, Duke. But you have a mighty strange way of ignoring him
I did not, to my recollection, ever indicate an intention to ignore Gov. Frackenlooper. On the contrary, I have made it a chore of mine to frequently remind the voters of Colorado, through this forum, of his record and my impression of what that means to them. And to help another Democrat defeat him, should he enter the primary.
Voters will be able to sense his insincerity. He will be running against several capable, impassioned, candidates. I have no intention of ignoring him…I intend to help another Democrat defeat him.
On the contrary, I have made it a chore of mine to frequently remind the voters of Colorado, through this forum, of his record and my impression of what that means to them
Much as I view Jill Stein. And Ralph Nader.
Fair enough.
Vote Blue! No Matter Who!
You are correct on this and Hick.
But being right correct always enough – which I know you know.
Don't let us get to you – we just want to win.
I just got pinged with this notice:
As long has Corey Boy is shown the door, I don't care who is the Democratic nominee. We need that Senate seat back!!!!
Amen
Yup. That's where it ends with me.
Me, too. I'm pretty much a yellow dog Democrat on the Senate race.
In 2014, incumbent Governor Hickenlooper won with a bit over a million votes, beating Beauprez, who split the Republican primary with 3 others and won 30% of the vote, by about 3%. Meanwhile, Gardner was able to clear the primary field, got 983,891 votes, and beat Udall by 2%.
I'm thinking incumbent Gardner is at least a good a candidate now as he was then. He's clearly a better politician than Beauprez. He'll have a unified party again. He'll have more resources and help from the national level.
Meanwhile, little from 2014 OR 2019 convinces me that Hickenlooper improved his campaign skills. He won't clear the field and I don't foresee a fully unified, enthusiastic party for him. He'll have resources — but I'm not certain he would have more national support than any other winner going up against Gardner.
Vote blue — Cory's gotta go —
I'm confident the unaffiliated vote will break 60/40 for Hick (and for any half-decent campaign by 3 or 4 of the other Democratic candidates). Gardner can't scrub off enough of the Trumpstink to win in this state.