The 2020 United States Senate election in Colorado was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

to represent the

State of Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate,

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and various state and local elections. Under Colorado law, the filing deadline for U.S. Senate candidates was March 17, 2020, the third Tuesday in March of the election year; the primary election occurred on June 30. Incumbent Republican Senator

Cory Gardner Cory Scott Gardner (born August 22, 1974) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who served as a United States senator from Colorado from 2015 to 2021. A Republican, he was the U.S. representative for Colorado's 4th congressional dis ...

ran for reelection to a second term but was defeated by former Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper in the general election. Gardner was unopposed in the Republican primary, and Hickenlooper defeated former State House Speaker

Andrew Romanoff Harlan Andrew Romanoff (born August 24, 1966) is an American politician, attorney, and academic. A Democrat, he was a member of the Colorado House of Representatives from 2001 to 2009, serving as Speaker from 2005 to 2009. He was a candidate fo ...

in the Democratic primary. Gardner was one of two Republican U.S. senators facing reelection in 2020 in a state President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

lost in 2016, the other being Susan Collins of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

. Pollsters and pundits believed this to be one of the most likely, if not the most likely, seats to flip to the Democrats, and they were proven to be correct, as Hickenlooper defeated Gardner by a 9.3-point margin. However, Hickenlooper underperformed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in the concurrent presidential election by roughly four points. This became the first election Gardner had lost in his political career. This is also the second consecutive election in which the incumbent senator lost re-election to a second term for this particular seat.

Background

Gardner was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2014, narrowly defeating incumbent Democratic Senator

Mark Udall Mark Emery Udall ( ; born July 18, 1950) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Colorado from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, repre ...

in a very successful election year for Republicans. Gardner was widely considered vulnerable in 2020 due to Colorado's recent Democratic trend and his support for Trump. Gardner also faced a four year grassroots campaign across the state by progressive political activists to hold him accountable for his votes, featured a cardboard cutout dubbed "Cardboard Cory". The seat was expected to be highly competitive and the most likely Republican-held seat to flip Democratic. The Democratic nominee, former governor John Hickenlooper, had a double-digit lead over Gardner in the polls. Various minor scandals in the days leading up to the June 30 Democratic primary sparked speculation that Romanoff might win, but Hickenlooper had an advantage in name recognition, and harsh negative attacks by Romanoff reportedly led many state Democrats and voters to sour on him.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

, incumbent U.S. Senator

Withdrawn

* Margot Dupre, estate agent * Gail Prentice, veteran and business owner

Endorsements

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

* John Hickenlooper, former Governor of Colorado and former

candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * ...

for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

in 2020

Eliminated in primary

, former

Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives The Colorado House of Representatives is the lower house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Colorado. The House is composed of 65 members from an equal number of constituent districts, with each distr ...

, candidate for U.S. Senate in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, and nominee for

Colorado's 6th congressional district Colorado's 6th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in central Colorado, the district encompasses much of the eastern part of the Denver metropolitan area, including all of Aurora, as well as p ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

Withdrawn

Dan Baer Daniel Brooks Baer (born January 6, 1977) is an American politician and former diplomat from Colorado. Baer served in the Obama administration's State Department, first as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Democracy, Human R ...

, former executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education and former United States Ambassador to the

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

''(endorsed John Hickenlooper)'' *Derrick Blanton *Marcos Boyington, software engineer *Diana Bray, psychologist and climate activist''(endorsed Andrew Romanoff)'' *Denise Burgess, businesswoman and Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce board member *Ellen Burnes,

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado S ...

professor and former chair of the

Boulder County Boulder County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado of the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 330,758. The most populous municipality in the county and the county seat is Boulder. Boulder County comprises t ...

Democratic Party *Lorena Garcia, community organizer *David Goldfischer, associate professor at the Korbel School for International Studies at the University of Denver and national security advisor * Mike Johnston, former state senator and candidate for Governor of Colorado in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

*Danielle Kombo, medical recruiter and businesswoman''(endorsed Stephany Rose Spaulding)'' *Dustin Leitzel, pharmacist * Alice Madden, former majority leader of the

Colorado House of Representatives The Colorado House of Representatives is the lower house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Colorado. The House is composed of 65 members from an equal number of constituent districts, with each distr ...

*Christopher Hawkins Critter Milton, 2020 Unity Party nominee for Colorado's 3rd congressional district *Keith Pottratz, technician and veteran''(endorsed Lorena Garcia)'' *Stephany Rose Spaulding, professor at

University of Colorado Colorado Springs The University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) is a public research university in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is one of four campuses that make up the University of Colorado system. As of Fall 2017, UCCS had over 12,400 undergraduate an ...

and nominee for

Colorado's 5th congressional district Colorado's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. The district lies in the center of the state and comprises Colorado Springs and its suburbs including Cimarron Hills and Fort Carson. The distric ...

''(endorsed Lorena Garcia)'' *Erik Underwood, entrepreneur and candidate for Governor of Colorado in

* John F. Walsh, former U.S. Attorney for the

District of Colorado The United States District Court for the District of Colorado (in case citations, D. Colo. or D. Col.) is a federal court in the Tenth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are ...

''(endorsed John Hickenlooper)'' *Michelle Ferrigno Warren, nonprofit leader, immigration advocate, first time candidate * Angela Williams, state senator ''(ran for re-election)'' *Trish Zornio, biomedical scientist ''(endorsed John Hickenlooper)''

Declined

* Diana DeGette, incumbent U.S. Representative ''(ran for re-election)'' * Crisanta Duran, former speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives ''(ran for

Colorado's 1st congressional district Colorado's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado based primarily in the City and County of Denver in the central part of the state. The district includes all of the City and County of Denver, and ...

, then withdrew)'' *

Jena Griswold Jena Marie Griswold (born October 2, 1984) is an American attorney and politician from the state of Colorado. A Democrat, she is the 39th Colorado Secretary of State, serving since January 8, 2019. Early life and career Griswold was born in T ...

, Colorado Secretary of State *

Cary Kennedy Cary Kennedy is an American politician from Colorado. She is a former Colorado State Treasurer, as well as a former Deputy Mayor and Chief Financial Officer of Denver, Colorado. She was also a candidate for Governor of Colorado in the 2018 el ...

, former Colorado State Treasurer *

Joe Neguse Joseph D. Neguse ( ; born May 13, 1984) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Colorado's 2nd congressional district since 2019. The district is based in Boulder and includes many of Denver's northwestern su ...

, incumbent U.S. Representative for

Colorado's 2nd congressional district Colorado's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. The district is located in the north-central part of the state and encompasses the northwestern suburbs of Denver including Boulder and Fort Colli ...

''(ran for re-election)'' *

Ed Perlmutter Edwin George Perlmutter (born May 1, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for . A member of the Democratic Party, his district is located in the northern and western suburbs of the Denver metropolitan area ...

, incumbent U.S. Representative for Colorado's 7th congressional district ''(endorsed John Hickenlooper)'' *

Joe Salazar Joseph A. Salazar (born 1971/72) is a former Democratic member of the Colorado House of Representatives, serving from 2013 to early 2019. Salazar previously worked as an attorney with Smith, Shelton, Ragona and Salazar, LLC. He focused on employme ...

, former state representative * Kerry Donovan, state senator ''(endorsed John Hickenlooper)''

Endorsements

Polling

;with Dan Baer and John Hickenlooper ;with John Hickenlooper and Mike Johnston ;with John Hickenlooper and Alice Madden ;with John Hickenlooper and Angela Williams

Caucus

On March 7, 2020, the Colorado Democratic Party held a non-binding Senate primary preference poll at its caucus sites. Attendees could choose delegates to county and then state conventions. If a candidate received at least 30% of the delegates at the state convention they would be placed on the ballot. Some candidates were not listed because they instead chose to attempt to collect signatures to reach the ballot. Candidates needed 1,500 signatures from each

congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

. Hickenlooper and Underwood chose to do both. Romanoff collected the needed signatures as of March 8, 2020.

Caucus results

Romanoff was the only candidate to get more than 30% in the initial precinct caucuses. Hickenlooper withdrew from the assembly process soon afterward, choosing to qualify for the ballot exclusively by petition. Ballot access for assembly candidates will be decided at the state assembly. Caucus winners do not always receive the party's nomination; Romanoff won them in the

Democratic primary for Colorado's Senate race, but

Michael Bennet Michael Farrand Bennet (born November 28, 1964) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Colorado, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, he was appointed ...

won the party's nomination that year. The aggregate results of the various precinct caucuses on March 7, 2020, were:

Results

Other candidates

Libertarian primary

Nominee

*Raymon Doane, Libertarian nominee for

Eliminated in primary

*Gaylon Kent, author and perennial candidate

Results

Unity Party

Nominee

*Stephan "Chairman Seku" Evans, former candidate for Mayor of Denver

Eliminated at Unity Party convention

*Joshua Rodriguez

Withdrawn

*Gary Swing, perennial candidate

Write-in candidates

Declared

*Dan Doyle (

Approval Voting Party The Approval Voting Party (AVP) is a single-issue politics, single-issue American political party dedicated to implementing approval voting in the United States. In 2019, the party became recognized as a minor party in Colorado. History The ...

) *Michael Sanchez (Independent) *Danny Skelly, Small Business Owner (Independent) *Bruce Lohmiller (

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

) *Theodore Rockwell, Steamboat Springs, (Independent)

Withdrawn

*Veronique Bellamy, former candidate for RTD board (

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of ...

) *Joseph "Joey" Camp, performance artist (Independent) *Lisa Garcia (Independent) *Christopher K. Springer (Independent) *Donald George Willoughby (Independent) *Marti Wolf (Independent)

General election

Debate

Predictions

Endorsements

Polling

Graphical Summary

Poll Results

;with generic Democrat ;on whether Cory Gardner deserves to be re-elected ;with Generic Republican and Generic Democrat ;with Mike Johnston

Results

The election was not particularly close, with Hickenlooper winning by 9.32%. Hickenlooper's win was expected, as

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

has moved more toward being a blue state. Key to Hickenlooper's victory was Denver County and its surrounding suburban counties, Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, and Jefferson, the latter of which had been pivotal to Gardner's victory in 2014. Gardner did well in the typically red El Paso County, home of Colorado Springs. Gardner also did well in many rural areas of the state. However, Hickenlooper's strong performance in heavily populated counties proved too much for Gardner to overcome. Hickenlooper was also likely helped by Joe Biden, who won the state by 13.5%. Hickenlooper is the first senator from

who was also the Governor of Colorado since Senator Edwin Johnson was elected in 1936. Hickenlooper was sworn in as Senator on January 3, 2021, for a six-year term that expires on January 3, 2027. Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic * Chaffee (largest municipality: Salida) * Larimer (largest municipality: Fort Collins) Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican * Alamosa (largest municipality: Alamosa) * Huerfano (largest municipality:

Walsenburg The City of Walsenburg is the Statutory City that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Huerfano County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 3,049 at the 2020 census, down from 3,068 in 2010. History Walsenb ...

)

Notes

;Partisan clients ;Voter samples

References

External links

;Official campaign websites
Raymon Doane (L) for Senate

Stephan "Chairman Seku" Evans (U) for Senate

Cory Gardner (R) for Senate

John Hickenlooper (D) for Senate

Danny Skelly (I write-in) for Senate
{{Colorado elections 2020

John Hickenlooper

Background

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Withdrawn

Endorsements

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Withdrawn

Declined

Endorsements

Polling

Caucus

Caucus results

Results

Other candidates

Libertarian primary

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Results

Unity Party

Nominee

Eliminated at Unity Party convention

Withdrawn

Write-in candidates

Declared

Withdrawn

General election

Debate

Predictions

Endorsements

Polling

Graphical Summary

Poll Results

Results

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links