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July 02, 2019 09:43 AM UTC

Hick Purges Staff In Bid To Stay In Prez Race

  • 10 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: Politico:

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper’s senior team urged him last month to withdraw from the presidential race gracefully and run for Colorado’s Senate seat or pursue other opportunities, a source familiar with the situation told POLITICO…

“We thought it was time to make a change,” he told MSNBC’s Craig Melvin. “You know, these campaigns are long, hard campaigns and you don’t always get it right with the first team.”

But a source familiar with the situation disputed the governor’s characterization, saying he is lashing out at the political professionals around him and surrounding himself with Colorado loyalists rather than confronting reality.

—–

As the Denver Post’s Nic Garcia reports, the presidential campaign of former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is entering the staff-shakeup phase, which though not in itself terminal is certainly a sign that Hick is not pleased with his standing after last week’s introductory presidential debates:

John Hickenlooper, struggling to gain traction in a crowded Democratic presidential primary field, announced a new campaign manager late Monday following the news that his national finance director was leaving…

The shuffling comes days after the former Colorado governor failed to have a breakout moment at the first Democratic debate and a day after a key fundraising deadline.

Politico first reported that Dan Sorenson, Hickenlooper’s finance director, was leaving to join former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s presidential campaign.

On Hickenlooper losing his finance director to the only somewhat less underperforming campaign of Beto O’Rourke, 9NEWS’ Kyle Clark had an amusing if painful Twitter rejoinder:

The consensus view is that of Colorado’s two presidential candidates, Sen. Michael Bennet acquitted himself better on last week’s debate stage. Though neither candidate managed what one could call a breakout moment, there’s speculation that Bennet’s face time in opposition to Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders could give him renewed legs as those candidates drop in support–speculation we’ll believe if and when we see it in poll numbers measurably improving for Bennet.

As for Gov. Hickenlooper, he’s almost sure to stay in this race through the next round of debates at the end of this month. That’s how long he’s got to turn his presidential campaign around with the qualifications for future debates set to tighten. It’s not unreasonable to suggest that how Hickenlooper manages the next month could matter more to Colorado politics than the presidential race.

Like the decision to run for president itself, it’s up to Hickenlooper to decide what comes next.

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10 thoughts on “Hick Purges Staff In Bid To Stay In Prez Race”

  2. Being from the food and bev industry, I'm having a hard time believing he doesn't better understand that it's time to stick a fork in this dish, because it's done. Staff shakeups can work sometimes, but this game's over like we're in the 4th quarter of Broncos Super Bowls from the 1980s and changing the defensive coordinator isn't going to change anything. But I do believe he's got things to offer at other levels, so I hope he protects his credibility and I fear he's walking that edge right now. He's talking too much about socialism when he took office shortly after the gigantic government ARRA program kept money circulating in the economy post-recession, and the ginormous government ACA and availability of big government Medicaid expansion and large government CHIP made closer-to-universal health care in CO possible. He can and should take credit for growing CO's economy because he truly made it a focus, but when metrics are based on growth, growth percentages favor states that have room to grow, and he can't take credit for CO being an attractive state in which to live. If new management can get him out of this socialism frame, and have him put some nuance into what might be a worthy conversation about cost realities and overpromising, he'll still peak out at 1.2% maybe but someone will find him attractive for something worthwhile with the next step.

    1. Interesting … Hick used that analogy in the Politico piece.  Except he sees this as tweaking the concept.

      My guess — he won't be one shoved off the stage for the July debate, so he'll have one more chance to make a splash.

      He's likely to have enough money to travel New Hampshire and Iowa, and weather won't be too bad in either of those places.  I'd guess he can look at state polling in September and see if something has changed in his favor.  If so, it could be enough to fund raise on.  If not … start scouting "what's next."

  3. I'd rather see any of the top-tier candidates for Senate (which doesn't include Neguse who isn't, and won't be, running, despite the "Big Line") win the nomination than Hickenlooper.

    Perhaps Hick could travel the country drinking fracking fluid as part of his act in a traveling methane circus.

  4. I hear the Republican primary field is much smaller??? . . .

    . . .

    Why beat yourself up tryin’ not to be that little ‘Hick in a really big pond (when that’s not really your kind of ideological pond, anyway)?

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