Senator John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) won the Democratic primary in Colorado, according to projections by Decision Desk HQ, securing his bid for a second term in the U.S. Senate. Hickenlooper defeated Julie Gonzales, a labor organizer and state senator who mounted a strong progressive challenge.
Gonzales criticized Hickenlooper as “a do-nothing Dem in the US Senate who voted for ten (!) Trump cabinet nominees.” Despite a series of progressive wins in other states earlier in the month, this momentum was insufficient to overcome Hickenlooper’s lead in Colorado.
A Colorado Community Research poll released earlier in July showed Hickenlooper leading by seven percentage points, though a sizable 25% of voters remained undecided. While his polling lead narrowed as the primary approached, Hickenlooper maintained a significant name recognition advantage, with 56% of respondents indicating they had not heard enough about Gonzales to form an opinion.
Hickenlooper will face Republican Mark Baisley, a state senator who ran unopposed in the GOP primary, in the general election this fall. The Colorado Senate seat is considered solidly Democratic, making Hickenlooper the favorite to retain his seat for another six-year term.
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