August 02, 2019 11:06 AM UTC

Hick4Senate: New Domains Signal Big Moves In Senate Race?

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: Ernest Luning of the Colorado Springs Gazette’s politics page fills in the details:

Curtis Hubbard, a principle at OnSight Public Affairs — a Colorado firm that has played key roles in Hickenlooper’s two successful runs for governor — told Colorado Politics he secured the domain names after Hickenlooper failed to make a splash on the first night of the second round of the debates.

Hubbard stresses that although he wants Hickenlooper to switch races, he took the step without any encouragement from Hickenlooper or his presidential campaign…

“I did it entirely of my own accord, but I continue to believe that the best thing John can do for Colorado and the country is to turn his attention to defeating Trump-enabling Cory Gardner and ‘Moscow’ Mitch McConnell,” he said, referring to the GOP Senate Majority leader who could lose his position if Democrats take control of the Senate in 2020.

We take longtime local political fixture Curtis Hubbard at his word, of course–but we’ll also be waiting, and at this point probably expecting, for the other shoe to drop.

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Eagle-eyed California political data guy Rob Pyers spotted new domains registered this week of great interest to Colorado politics:

A public affairs company that has previously done work for @Hickenlooper recently registered some new internet domains… pic.twitter.com/hx1qIBt3OU

— Rob Pyers (@rpyers) August 2, 2019

A look at the WHOIS registry information reveals that purchase of “Hickenlooper4Senate.com” and several related domains were not random purchases, but registered by Curtis Hubbard of leading local political consultant group OnSight Public Affairs. Now before anybody gets carried away, there’s always the possibility that these were contingency purchases for a decision that hasn’t been finalized yet.

Or, former Gov. John Hickenlooper may be about to take the advice of a large number of local and national Democrats and take on Cory Gardner in 2020. If Hickenlooper does make the jump, he’ll be the instant frontrunner in the Democratic Senate primary–perhaps not enough to clear the field outright but certainly the favorite. Hickenlooper’s positive brand and long record of high approval in this state, as we’ve noted previously, gives him perhaps unique advantages in terms of overcoming Gardner’s sunny but deceptive public image.

If it happens, it’s the marquee matchup of 2020 in Colorado.