WASHINGTON — Democrat John Hickenlooper has won the Senate seat in Colorado, beating GOP Sen. Cory Gardner in a state where hostility to President Donald Trump is running high, according to projections by NBC News and Fox News.
The victory by Hickenlooper, the former Colorado governor who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, moved Democrats one step closer to winning a majority in the Senate, where Republicans now hold a 53-47 advantage.
The campaign drew national attention and was seen as a top prospect for Democrats because Gardner was one of just two Senate Republicans who were running for reelection in states Hillary Clinton won in 2016.
Democratic leaders had worked hard to recruit Hickenlooper as a Senate candidate after he abandoned his bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
