November 15, 2025 08:10 AM UTC

Julie Gonzales Can't Beat John Hickenlooper, So Let's Keep This Civil

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• by: Colorado Pols

Buried at the bottom of yesterday’s Unaffiliated newsletter from the Colorado Sun is an item Democratic insiders have been anticipating for some weeks, rumblings of an impending primary campaign challenging incumbent Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper:

Annie Orloff, managing partner at the Democratic political consulting firm the MAC Group, posted job descriptions on LinkedIn over the weekend for positions on a “progressive campaign” in 2026 for statewide office in Colorado — more specifically, U.S. Senate.

The only Senate seat up for grabs in Colorado next year belongs to Democratic U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, who is seeking a second and final term in Washington…

Liberal activists have long been hinting at a looming challenge to Hickenlooper from his left. The candidate’s identity has been kept under wraps, but it’s widely expected to be state Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat.

A primary challenge against Hickenlooper would take place against the backdrop of perceived base anger at incumbent Democrats for their lack of vigor in fighting back against the excesses of the second Trump administration–anger that grew in intensity after a faction of Senate Democrats caved in to Republicans and allowed the government to re-open without the primary objective sought by Democrats, restoration of vital health insurance premium subsidies that allow millions of Americans to afford their coverage.

The problem is that, as readers know, Sen. Hickenlooper did not join with the eight defectors to re-open the government, and voted against doing so. This was consistent with Hickenlooper’s refusal to go along with a Republican continuing resolution in the spring that Minority Leader Chuck Schumer caved on to widespread internal party criticism. Since he sent Sen. Cory Gardner into early retirement in the 2020 elections, Hickenlooper has overall been a reliable progressive vote in the Senate, not standing in the way of any Democratic policy priority of the Biden administration.

Especially considering the bright delineation between good and evil that the second Trump administration has afforded Democrats, there’s just no good policy reason to go after Sen. Hickenlooper from the left. And on the practical side, Hickenlooper has amassed a war chest approaching $4 million, with surpassing name ID thanks to his long record and memorable surname. Back in September, we talked about the importance of Colorado’s U.S. Senate race as part of Democrats’ larger plan to retake the Senate–more to the point, how it’s important that Colorado not become a race Democrats need to worry about:

Winning back the U.S. Senate is a tall order for Democrats next year, but it’s not impossible. Prospects for doing so dim, however, if a state like Colorado requires attention and resources to defend. A cut-throat primary that leaves the eventual nominee compromised is one of the few scenarios in which that could become necessary. Every dollar that would be spent in Colorado instead of, say, North Carolina, is a strategic waste. For these reasons, a primary challenge in the U.S. Senate race won’t get much interest from anyone looking at the proverbial big picture.

This remains true. While a younger generation launching primary bids against the “old guard” is a fashionable storyline today, it just doesn’t fit the reality on the ground here in Colorado. Sen. Hickenlooper has proven his viability in races for governor and U.S. Senate, and Colorado voters like his brand of center-left politics delivered with folksy charm.

As for Sen. Julie Gonzales? She’s an energetic young progressive, and if she chooses to run an above-board primary race focused on ideas and not cheap shots at Hickenlooper personally, her likely losing bid doesn’t have to be a negative for her career in the long term. This comes with a warning that if Gonzales goes “scorched earth” against Hickenlooper the mold of Hickenlooper’s 2020 primary opponent Andrew Romanoff, much like Romanoff that will end badly for her prospects beyond losing the primary.

It’s not our intention to step on anybody’s dreams. Readers come here because they expect us to be honest. To the extent Democrats have an image problem right now, Hickenlooper is not part of it–and the resources that would spent challenging him are in every sense better directed elsewhere. That we expect will be the conclusion of primary voters next June, assuming Gonzales makes it that far.