WASHINGTON _ After spending a week off the campaign trail, former presidential candidate John Hickenlooper announced Thursday that he will run for the Senate in Colorado.
The former two-term governor said he wants to challenge Republican Sen. Cory Gardner next year.
"I've always said Washington is a lousy place for a guy like me who likes to get things done," Hickenlooper said in an announcement video on his campaign website. "But this is no time to walk away from the table."
Hickenlooper announced his withdrawal from the presidential race one week ago. He sought to differentiate himself from the crowded field with centrist positions on health care and climate change, but his candidacy never gained traction.
In a video declaring he would step away from the presidential race, Hickenlooper said he heard "from so many Coloradans who want me to run for United States Senate."
Hickenlooper is not expected to clear the already crowded primary field.
Former state House speaker Andrew Romanoff, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2014 and Senate in 2010, told KOA News Radio last week that Hickenlooper's expected entry into the race would not change his approach to the race.
"What I heard Governor Hickenlooper tell everybody who asked is, he wasn't cut out to be a senator and didn't want the job," Romanoff said. "Look, I respect that. I respect him."
After Hickenlooper dropped out of the presidential race, former state Sen. Mike Johnston implied in a statement that he would not leave the Senate race should Hickenlooper jump in.
"I decided to run for U.S. Senate for two simple reasons: first, I think I'm the right candidate to relentlessly challenge and defeat Cory Gardner, and I know I can effectively work in the Senate to make progress on the issues that matter most like the climate crisis, gun safety and health care," Johnston said.
State Sen. Angela Williams said in an interview with CQ Roll Call in July that she would also stay in the race if Hickenlooper launched a Senate run.
"I would stay in the race," Williams said. "Females need to be represented in this race."
It's not clear whether two top candidates in the Democratic field, former U.S. Attorney John F. Walsh and Dan Baer, would remain in the race. Baer served as Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe during President Barack Obama's administration. He also served in Hickenlooper's administration as executive director of the state's higher education department.
Johnston, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2018, has raised the most of the Democratic field so far, raking in $3.4 million, which is more than the $3.1 million Hickenlooper raised for his presidential run. Baer and Romanoff have both raised over $1 million, while Walsh has raised $777,000.
