I’m glad State Sen. Julie Gonzales, a self-styled “insurgent progressive,” is going to take on U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper in the Democratic primary next June.
I wish she’d have entered the race earlier, which would have given her more time to raise the money and build the infrastructure needed to potentially take down a Colorado powerhouse like Hickenlooper. As you might know, Hickenlooper has never lost a race in the state since he ran for mayor, his first bid for elective office, in 2002.
Of course, there was Hick’s disastrous presidential bid in 2020, which you can put down to hubris as much as anything else, not to mention a serious lack of debating skills. Nobody was asking Hick to run, just as no one was asking Michael Bennet to run that same year. I’m going to assume both learned their lesson.
But being glad Gonzales is in the Senate race doesn’t mean I think she will beat Hickenlooper. I don’t. It’s a long shot, but it could be an interesting shot if Gonzales can build enough momentum.
In an off-year election — one that may be even more critical than all the other off-year elections we had been told were existentially critical — Gonzales would have to convince voters she’d be a sure shot against whichever objectionable underdog Republicans would nominate. That’s asking for a lot of trust from someone with little statewide recognition.
Whatever your politics, it’s a huge — and relatively rare — step up from state legislator to a U.S. senator. But Bennet, of course, went from school superintendent to senator, which has to be far more rare. Of course, he was appointed to the job by then-Gov. Bill Ritter.
I have no idea how effective a senator Gonzales would be — and I’m not sure who does know — but what we can easily deduce is that she would be a consistent voice for progressive issues. And she would consistently bring up progressive issues to which Hickenlooper would have to respond. Anyone who is paying attention to the race so far has seen that Hick has gone out of his way of late to address progressive issues on social media.
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And I’m especially glad she’s in the race because — despite our 4-4 congressional alignment — Colorado has become basically a one-party state. With the exception of Cory Gardner’s single term in the Senate in 2014, Republicans have not won a race for governor or senator in more than 20 years. As of now, Dems hold every statewide office.
It’s no secret that the Dems’ formula for success in Colorado has been to run basically moderate candidates who appeal strongly to independents, who now make up half of Colorado’s electorate. Even though Jared Polis was called a radical by Republicans in his first run for governor, he has actually been a consistent restraint on what is a largely progressive legislature, with its progressive ideas, including some from Gonzales. You may have heard that many Dem legislators are not exactly Polis fans.
But if we are to have a one-party system in Colorado — as most states seem to do these days — there needs to be real competition within the Democratic Party, which is named, after all, for democracy, for the whole thing to work.
It will be interesting to see, in the other big statewide race, what the political differences are between Bennet and AG Phil Weiser in the Dem primary for governor. I want to see the direct contrasts, if any, on TABOR, on Trump, on jackbooted ICE thugs, on income taxes, etc. From my perspective as a political columnist, the more contrast the better.
There’s a lot about Colorado politics that needs changing.
As of now, Colorado is one of only four states that has never had a female senator or governor. That’s not a factoid. It’s an embarrassment. Virginia dropped from the list this year when Democrat Abigail Spanberger won the governor’s seat in a landslide. If Gonzales won a senator’s seat, she’d knock the shameful list of states down to three.
And I don’t know how long it’s been — but definitely more than a minute — since the last liberal was elected governor in the state.
There are questions. How progressive is blue Colorado? What percentage of Colorado Democrats consider themselves liberal or progressive? These things are fluid, but they need to be tested, and perhaps repeatedly.
We know that Bernie Sanders won the last two competitive presidential contests in Colorado — beating Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020. Which suggests something.
We also know that the big money in Colorado, as in most other Democratic-leaning states for that matter, is not usually deeply progressive money. Although if a progressive were to win a Senate seat, Republicans would surely put the, uh, blame on George Soros or Pat Stryker, instead of the real culprit, which would be the less-than-competent, MAGA-friendly Colorado GOP.
Interestingly, of the young brightest lights in the Democratic Party in Colorado — U.S. Reps. Brittany Pettersen, Joe Neguse and Jason Crow — all are liberals, but none is particularly progressive in their voting. The people who do report cards on such things have each of them on the more moderate end of Democrats in the House. Their placement, in fact, is not all that different from Hickenlooper’s Senate score.
But each would bring something different to the higher end of Colorado politics. Pettersen, the first female governor or senator. Neguse, the first Black governor or senator. And Crow, a potential governor or senator who has been one of the most effective members of Congress in standing up against Trump’s authoritarian reign.
I could definitely see any — or maybe all of them — taking higher office some day. It’s about more than being a moderate liberal or a progressive liberal. They’ve all shown their bonafides as leaders.
Gonzales would also break some glass ceilings, as the first Latina governor or senator in Colorado and only the second Latina in U.S. Senate history.
Which brings us to her race against Hickenlooper, which, if nothing else, would raise her name recognition throughout the state.
Gonzales, as she should, is coming out strongly against Hick.
“Go-along-to-get-along, poll-tested incrementalist politics have not made Coloradans’ lives better,” Gonzales said in an interview with The Colorado Sun ahead of her campaign launch. “Those politics have not delivered affordability, accountability or just, like, everyday, concrete policy change for Coloradans.”
It’s not an entirely fair shot at Hick. I don’t think he’s particularly a poll-tested politician, although I wouldn’t argue with “incrementalism.” And individual senators — especially those in their first term — rarely have much influence over affordability or policy changes in their home state. That’s not how the Senate works.
She did hit Hick — and correctly — for having voted for 10 of Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees, which puts him in the upper end of Senate Democrats. She called it “disqualifying.” I’d call it a terrible mistake.
Hickenlooper apparently didn’t understand the overwhelming devastation — and lack of respect for any kind of compromise — that the Trump Restoration would bring. He thought you could play the normal political game with Trump, assuming that Trump was something like normal. Given how much heat he’s taken, I’d bet he wouldn’t make that mistake again.
Look, I’m not sure why Hickenlooper ran for the Senate after his tenure as mayor and governor. He said he never wanted the job, but he apparently gave in to the allure of Washington politics, which — ask Bennet — could hardly be less alluring these days. But for the most part, he was a pretty constant vote for Biden policies and probably would be for any Democrat who becomes president.
Gonzales, on the other hand, would almost certainly be a leader on immigration, which she has been for years in Colorado, well before she got directly involved in elective politics. In Colorado, that would be a particularly strong issue.
I’m here for the issues. I think we all should be, as a test of where Colorado Democrats actually stand. At minimum, a Hickenlooper-Gonzales race should give us that much.
Mike Littwin has been a columnist for too many years to count. He has covered Dr. J, four presidential inaugurations, six national conventions and countless brain-numbing speeches in the New Hampshire and Iowa snow. Sign up for Mike’s newsletter.
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