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| Down but not out. John Hickenlooper decided to end his presidential bid. He might open up a senate bid. |
The former governor is thinking about taking on Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO).
The seat for Colorado is LEAN REPUBLICAN.
His former competitor and fellow Coloradan, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) is welcoming the idea of Hickenlooper deciding to run in a relatively competitive seat.
Gardner is distancing himself from Donald J. Trump and focusing his campaign on Colorado constituents in order to win reelection.
Hickenlooper dropping out this massive field of Democratic candidates from president makes the field appear to be weak. Many of them will be forced to drop their bids if they can't qualify for the third debate in late August.
Hickenlooper was being courted by Democrats as a potential senate candidate.
In a video statement announcing his departure from the presidential race, Hickenlooper said he has "heard from so many Coloradans" who want him to run for Senate. "They remind me how much is at stake ofr our country and our state. I intend to give that some serious thought," he said.
Hickenlooper was also a former mayor of Denver served two terms at the state's governor. He previously was skeptical about the senate race given that Democrats are disorganized but he decided that he may be "cut out to be a senator."
Last month, there were hints of Hickenlooper have trouble in this presidnetial campaign.
The source said that his campaign only has about 13,000 donors, making it almost impossible to qualify for the next round of presidential debates. The campaign also only raised just $1 million in the second quarter and that meant he would have ran out of money.
Five staffers have left the campaign. Hickenlooper's struggling operation, including his campaign manager, communication director, digital director and finance director bounced.
Hickenlooper's new campaign manager is considering helping him on the senate bid.
Now many Democrats are calling for Beto O'Rourke, Julian Castro, Steve Bullock and Tim Ryan to drop out and throw their chances at the senate.
So far none of the candidates took the offer.
Just in case you've haven't heard, former Alaskan senator Mike Gravel dropped out too. He is a perennial candidate who supports progressive and sometimes libertarian policies. He ended his bid a week earlier and threw endorsement to two presidential contenders. Gravel threw his support to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI).
Hickenlooper hasn't endorsed a candidate as of yet.
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