December 08, 2025 09:01 AM UTC

Sen. Gonzales Launches Long-Awaited Hickenlooper Primary Challenge

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• by: Colorado Pols

As Chase Woodruff reports for Colorado Newsline, the wait is over as a long-rumored Democratic primary challenge from state Sen. Julie Gonzales against incumbent Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper steps out from behind a weekend press embargo:

Democratic state Sen. Julie Gonzales on Monday announced she is running to unseat U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper in 2026, aiming to ride a wave of liberal and progressive dissatisfaction with Democratic leadership to an upset primary victory.

Gonzales’ announcement, rumored for weeks, sets up a clash in Colorado between a leading progressive voice at the state Legislature and a business-friendly moderate who has been a fixture in Colorado politics for roughly three decades.

In an interview, Gonzales called the 2026 midterm elections “a defining moment for the future of the Democratic Party.”

“What sort of party do we want to be?” Gonzales said. “Do we want to send back John Hickenlooper, a go-along-to-get-along incrementalist, or do we want to send a proven legislator, with a track record of taking on big fights against a well-funded corporate lobby, who’s gotten s*** done?”

Rumors of Sen. Gonzales’ imminent announcement circulated at the end of last week, but her entry was a foregone conclusion after the Colorado Sun reported last month that Gonzales was hiring top-level staff for the campaign. Notably, Gonzales did not include with her launch announcement a list of endorsements, but we assume that’s coming and will say a lot about where Gonzales’ support lies.

We’ve been clear in our assessment that Gonzales faces an uphill battle against one of the state’s longest-serving and most popular Democratic lawmakers, and how Sen. Hickenlooper doesn’t fit the profile of the “old school” Democrats it is presently fashionable in some progressive circles to disparage. Hickenlooper will have national Democratic support in this primary in addition to his own deep resources, and can be expected to dominate fundraising in the race. From the point of view of Democratic strategists eyeing the long odds the party faces of retaking the U.S. Senate next year, this primary will be considered more of a costly distraction than a help.

With that said, Sen. Gonzales personally has a good reputation as a state lawmaker who has effectively championed abortion and workers’ rights legislation during her tenure. There’s an argument to be made that even if her challenge fails to become competitive, a spirited primary from the left would be good for Hickenlooper’s relationship with the Democratic base by incentivizing him to reaffirm his progressive credentials.

And of course, there is always the possibility that Gonzales will upend conventional wisdom and outperform against one of Colorado’s most well-established political icons. Our expectation that Hickenlooper will weather this primary is based on metrics that both sides acknowledge, or at least should acknowledge, but we are obligated to allow for the possibility of being wrong with everyone else. In that event, Gonzales will most certainly have earned it. If in the more likely event that Hickenlooper prevails, smart Democrats will prefer it to have been as mutually courteous a primary as possible.

We’ve been through enough of these to know how they usually end. If this time is different, over the next few months the evidence will present itself.