Hickenlooper wins Democratic primary, Baisley wins GOP nod

Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) won his Democratic primary in Colorado, Decision Desk HQ projects, besting a progressive challenger in his fight for a second term in the Senate.

Hickenlooper on Tuesday defeated Julie Gonzales, a labor organizer and state senator who mounted a surprisingly strong challenge from the left. She blasted the incumbent as “a do-nothing Dem in the US Senate who voted for ten (!) Trump cabinet nominees.”

A series of progressive wins in New York and elsewhere earlier this month put a spotlight on the primary, but it wasn’t enough to win the Centennial State’s primary.

A Colorado Community Research poll released earlier this month had shown Hickenlooper leading by 7 percentage points, with a sizable quarter of voters undecided. Though his edge appeared to slim in some polling as the primary approached, he boasted a significant name-ID advantage over his challenger, with 56 percent in that poll reporting they hadn’t heard enough about her to form an opinion.

Hickenlooper will face off this fall against Republican Mark Baisley, a state senator who was unopposed in the GOP primary. The Colorado Senate seat is considered solidly Democratic, all but assuring Hickenlooper stays in the upper chamber for another six-year term.

The 74-year-old moderate won the seat in a 2020 landslide. He’s a former Colorado governor and Denver mayor.