{"id":137755,"date":"2026-06-30T22:26:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T04:26:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/john-hickenlooper-wins-democratic-primary-for-u-s-senate-over-julie-gonzales\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T22:26:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T04:26:25","slug":"john-hickenlooper-wins-democratic-primary-for-u-s-senate-over-julie-gonzales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/john-hickenlooper-wins-democratic-primary-for-u-s-senate-over-julie-gonzales\/","title":{"rendered":"John Hickenlooper wins Democratic primary for U.S. Senate over Julie Gonzales"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"U.S.
U.S. Sen John Hickenlooper, center, greets his son Jack as former U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar watches on at Hickenlooper\u2019s primary Election Night watch party in Denver\u2019s Uptown neighborhood, on Tuesday. (John Ingold\/The Colorado Sun)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Incumbent John Hickenlooper on June 30 fended off a primary challenge from a progressive state lawmaker to win the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.<\/p>\n

The Associated Press called the race for Hickenlooper at 7:36 p.m. June 30, when he was leading state Sen. Julie Gonzales by nearly 15 percentage points.<\/p>\n

Hickenlooper is expected to face Republican state Sen. Mark Baisley in the general election. Baisley was unopposed for the Republican nomination.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, a couple of those polls made it look a little bit challenging there for a while, but I never lost faith in all of you,\u201d Hickenlooper told supporters assembled at his watch party June 30 in Denver.<\/p>\n

In a statement posted to her Instagram account, Gonzales said she will continue fighting for \u201can economy that works for us, a democracy that includes us, and a future that belongs to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy heart is full, knowing that we\u2019ve put the Democratic establishment on notice: keep taking folks like us for granted at your own peril,\u201d Gonzales wrote. \u201cThat has never been more true, despite tonight\u2019s outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hickenlooper, 74, is finishing up his first term in the U.S. Senate, after he ousted Republican Sen. Cory Gardner in the 2020 election. Hickenlooper previously served two terms as governor of Colorado and a little less than eight years as the mayor of Denver. Prior to that, he was a geologist in the oil and gas industry and a bar and restaurant owner.<\/p>\n

Gonzales, 43, has been a state senator since 2019. Before that, she worked as a community organizer and at an immigration law firm.<\/p>\n

Her challenge to Hickenlooper was among a wave this year of younger, progressive candidates taking on more established Democratic politicians. The new candidates tapped into anti-incumbent sentiment among Democratic voters that focused on the ambition of the party\u2019s ideas and the strength of its fight against President Donald Trump and his allies.<\/p>\n

But Gonzales\u2019 campaign never really built momentum. She struggled to fundraise \u2013 her campaign brought in $869,000 through June 10, compared with the $10 million Hickenlooper has raised so far this cycle \u2013 and reach voters across the state as a result.<\/p>\n

\"State
State Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate, speaks at a forum on food justice in Denver on June 23. (Jesse Paul\/The Colorado Sun file)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Hickenlooper laid low throughout the campaign, refusing to appear at forums and debates with Gonzales, instead riding voters\u2019 familiarity with him through the primary race.<\/p>\n

Hickenlooper has often positioned himself as a bipartisan dealmaker, talking about his friendship with Republican politicians and the work it takes to quietly win their support against Trump\u2019s wishes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re in a tough spot,\u201d Hickenlooper said of his Republican colleagues in May as he visited Denver Health to hear about how Republican-backed policies would impact healthcare. \u201cThey\u2019re being threatened with these frontal assaults and attack ads in their reelections if they don\u2019t support the president 100%. And yet, many of them realize these are people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gonzales, who called herself an \u201cinsurgent progressive\u201d when launching her campaign, criticized Hickenlooper as too timid in his approach and too willing to sign off on Trump appointees to important positions in government.<\/p>\n

\"U.S.
U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, left, speaks to the crowd as former U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar watches on at Hickenlooper's primary election night watch party in Denver's Uptown neighborhood on Tuesday. (John Ingold\/The Colorado Sun)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cGo-along-to-get-along, poll-tested incrementalist politics have not made Coloradans\u2019 lives better,\u201d Gonzales said in an interview with The Colorado Sun ahead of her campaign launch. \u201cThose politics have not delivered affordability, accountability or just, like, everyday, concrete policy change for Coloradans.\u201d<\/p>\n

After his win June 30, Hickenlooper pushed back at that characterization \u2013 and at the dismissal of bipartisan collaboration. He specifically mentioned a bill he has introduced that would increase transparency in healthcare pricing with the goal of reducing healthcare costs and making coverage more affordable. The bill has attracted bipartisan support, including, he said, from both Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy and progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that go-along-to-get-along, or is it building relationships with Republicans and Democrats and activists and saying, \u2018How do we get to universal coverage?\u2019\u201d Hickenlooper said. \u201cBecause that\u2019s the issue, right? We all agree that we want universal coverage.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the issues, the two candidates shared much in common. Both said they support dismantling U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, raising the minimum wage and capping prescription drug prices.<\/p>\n

Gonzales, though, said she supports a Medicare for All single-payer healthcare system, while Hickenlooper favored more modest reforms like a public health insurance option that competes in the market with private plans.<\/p>\n

Gonzales said she supports a ban on fracking for oil and gas, while Hickenlooper said, \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s the solution. I think the solution we need is more wind and solar.\u201d<\/p>\n

At polling places June 30, the anti-incumbent sentiment and support for more progressive candidates that fueled Gonzales\u2019 campaign was evident.<\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of feel like we need to swing the other way to sort of balance out the extremes that are going on in the federal government,\u201d Leslie Stollman, of Fort Collins, said after casting her vote for Gonzales. \u201cI don\u2019t believe that fighting for people that need help and are less fortunate is going to turn us into a socialist country.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, at Hickenlooper\u2019s party, the support from the broader Democratic Party shined through, with a bevy of former elected officials and party leaders in attendance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s a marquee brand that typifies John Hickenlooper,\u201d former U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar told the crowd, \u201cit\u2019s about bringing people together and solving problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hickenlooper, in his victory speech, downplayed suggestions of a divided Democratic Party heading into this fall\u2019s general election.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know there\u2019s a lot of questions out there about, well, what about this demographic feels this way, this demographic feels that way,\u201d Hickenlooper said. \u201cLet me tell everybody that Democrats are united. We\u2019re going to take back the U.S. Senate, we\u2019re going to take back the House, and then we\u2019re going to stop President Trump in his tracks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Afterward, Hickenlooper acknowledged the restless mood among voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think people are really unhappy and angry,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen the state so angry like that. They\u2019re mostly angry at Trump more than anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hickenlooper cited frustration over the rising cost of living due to Trump\u2019s tariff policies and the war with Iran, which sent fuel and fertilizer prices higher.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to address the anger, the anger of people who can\u2019t balance the budget at the end of the month,\u201d he said later. \u201cThey\u2019re pissed at Republicans. They\u2019re pissed at Democrats. There\u2019s a real anti-incumbent streak going on, which I don\u2019t blame them. Look at what\u2019s happened to their budgets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jesse Paul of The Colorado Sun and Kyle McKinnon of KUNC contributed to this report<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to covering Colorado issues. To learn more, go to coloradosun.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hickenlooper, who is finishing his first term in the Senate, will face state Sen. Mark Baisley in the general election<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":137756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6401],"tags":[266,28,299,1126,1651,1509],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-137755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regional-news","tag-election","tag-headlines","tag-national-elections","tag-politics-general","tag-sen-john-hickenlooper","tag-state-elections"],"acf":[],"author_name":"Website Administrator","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137755"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=137755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}