The US Senate seat that was at stake in Colorado was given to Democrat John Hickenlooper during the 2020 election, defeating Republican incumbent Cory Gardner while receiving 54% of the vote.
Throughout the night, many rural counties, such as Kiowa county on the eastern plains of Colorado, saw huge support for Colorado Senator Cory Gardner with an 88% vote for him, while bigger cities such as Denver more support for Hickenlooper, with him receiving 81% of the votes there. This high support for Hickenlooper in big cities, along with Gardener’s concession, is what led the Associated Press to call for Hickenlooper’s official win earlier in the night.
Hickenlooper, the former mayor of Denver and governor of Colorado, campaigned by promising to focus on health care for all, tighter gun restrictions, actions towards addressing climate change, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ issues, racial equity, immigration and education. Gardner, the Republican who was elected to the Senate in 2014, wanted to prioritize providing better health care towards more rural areas, serving rural Colorado in general, advocating for commonsense energy and climate policies, immigration reform and workforce development.
Gardner had been behind in the polls for the majority of the race. Many observers believe his downfall was his attempt to straddle two sides of many issues, for example supporting bills proposing renewable energy while opposing Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan. All of this has been amidst president Donald Trump’s hard-set policies in a state that is shifting more blue.
Colorado has seen an influx of people coming with more Democratic ideals along a new wave of young people able to vote this year. That helped Hickenlooper quickly steal the majority in Colorado. Chaffee County, Garfield County, Grand County and Pueblo County all flipped from Republican to Democratic in regards to their voting demographics. Alamosa County flipped from Democratic to Republican this election. Overall, 25 counties voted for Hickenlooper and 39 voted for Gardner.
During Gardner’s concession speech, he stated, “I spoke to Senator-elect John Hickenlooper to congratulate him on his victory tonight, to welcome him to the United States Senate and to make sure he knows I will support him in any way I can to make sure it is as smooth as possible and we will assist him with any questions he might have. Please understand, to all the people that supported our efforts tonight, that his success is Colorado’s success and our nation and our state need him to succeed. We need to be united together.”
Hickenlooper shortly thereafter gave his victory speech. “More Coloradans have voted in any election than any election in our state’s history. As it looks now, Colorado is going to have the highest voter turnout of any state in any election in our nation’s history. Clearly, people are saying it’s time to turn the page … We’ve got to get Washington working for everyone. Regardless of which party ends up controlling the Senate, I want you to know that I will work with anyone and everyone to help Coloradans.”
What Hickenlooper said about the high voter turnout this year is true. As of 11pm Mountain Time on Election Day, there were 3.1 million ballots that had been returned, and votes were still being counted. According to The Denver Post, “that equates to nearly 75% of registered voters and would set a record for at least the last two decades – and likely much longer back. We know the final percentage will be higher.” This shows the stakes of these issues within this election and the engagement that the public is having with the future of the country.
Ultimately, Colorado is shifting more and more towards a blue state with the election of Hickenlooper, who will now join fellow Democrat Michael Bennet in the Senate. While Democratic Senate candidates have declared victory in Oregon and Arizona, Republican Senators were elected in Iowa, Texas and Montana as they hope to hold their majority. It is now up to the rest of the votes that are coming in that will determine which party will take control of the Senate. As we all continue to wait on the results, follow The Bold on social media to stay updated with more information as it comes in.
