March 12, 2018 12:19 PM UTC

Yes, Hick Might Someday Maybe Wannabe President

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• by: Colorado Pols

The Denver Post’s politics page reports, and no it’s not the first time you’ve heard it, and no it’s not the last time you’ll hear it either before in the event that it becomes a thing:

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is taking steps toward a presidential run in 2020, holding meetings with veteran political players, ahead of a visit to Iowa next month for an official trip that is sure to draw attention.

The Democrat’s actions in recent months signal to his closest associates and top party strategists that the former Denver mayor and two-term governor is more serious than ever about mounting a White House bid against President Donald Trump.

“John’s sense of timing in politics is his lucky star. It served him well when he ran for mayor and then governor. It may do the same for a run in 2020,” said Alan Salazar, Hickenlooper’s former chief political strategist.

Because we have addressed this possibility for as long as it’s been an item of speculation–in fact long before anybody seriously imagined Donald Trump becoming President of the United States besides Donald Trump–we’ll spare readers another long-winded rundown of the pros and cons of Gov. John Hickenlooper running for President in 2020. The short version is that Hickenlooper has led a relatively charmed political life in Colorado politics as an unconventional and sometimes lovable oddball whose record is fairly moderate but generally pro-Democratic–with a few well-known blind spots.

With that said, whether Hickenlooper has what it takes to become the next Bill Clinton–and we mean that in all the good ways–or is more like the next Martin O’Malley in what we can expect to be a large field of Democratic presidential candidates for 2020, is not at all something we feel comfortable predicting at this point. There is a sense of wide-open opportunity for Democrats after Trump’s chaotic likely-only term in office, but how Hickenlooper’s sometimes clunky “post-partisan” brand fits into this emerging new matrix is anybody’s guess. We’re not ready to buy proverbial stock, but we surely wouldn’t rule him out.

If Hick does pull it off, we’ll be excited to host the first Oval Office edition of The Get More Smarter Show.