Romanoff touts endorsements ahead of primary against Hickenlooper

Democratic Colorado Senate candidate Andrew Romanoff touted his local endorsements in an interview with Hill.TV’s “Rising” ahead of his primary on June 30 against former Gov. John Hickenlooper.

Romanoff said the closer-than-expected primary race with Hickenlooper, who Washington Democrats embraced as their favored candidate for the fall, is due to a combination of voters responding to his “bold progressive call for climate action” and Hickenlooper’s own campaign woes, including a  $2,750 fine over two ethics violations.

“It’s true we don’t have endorsements from D.C., but we do have about 400 county commissioners, mayors and school board members and city council members and legislators who have endorsed my campaign,” Romanoff said. “So it’s turning into a contest between Colorado and Washington. But you can’t just buy this nomination.”

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) recently endorsed Hickenlooper, which Romanoff said indicated “Washington is trying to salvage” the former governor’s bid.

Warren has endorsed two progressive candidates in primaries in Kentucky and New York that will be decided on Tuesday. In one, Warren backed Jamaal Bowman, who is running against Rep. Elliot Engel (D-N.Y.). In the other, she backed Charles Booker, who is running in a Kentucky primary to take on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).