Two-term Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper defeated incumbent Republican Sen. Cory Gardner in Colorado’s closely watched Senate contest.
The race was critical to determining Senate control but didn’t receive the national attention of its counterparts because Hickenlooper, 68, routinely polled ahead by double digits.
Gardner, 46, was widely considered to be one of the most vulnerable Republican senators running for reelection in 2020.
Gardner and Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins were the only members of their caucus seeking another term this cycle in states that didn’t support President Trump in 2016. And while Collins retained her independence, Gardner embraced Trump.
But Hickenlooper was a flawed candidate. The former Denver mayor, brewpub owner, and geologist announced his Senate bid after launching an unsuccessful campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
Yet his primary was almost derailed by an ethics investigation and racially insensitive comments following George Floyd’s death.
Colorado’s independent ethics commission found Hickenlooper broke the state’s gift ban in 2017 when he accepted private jet and Maserati limousine rides as governor. The body fined him almost $3,000 and held him in contempt for defying a subpoena and not appearing on the first day of his remote hearing.
Gardner was first elected to the Senate in 2014, beating Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Udall by almost 2 percentage points.
