Campaign

Hickenlooper launches 2020 presidential campaign

by Kyle Balluck and Michael Burke - 03/04/19 6:50 AM ET

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) on Monday announced he is running for president in 2020.

“I’m running for president because we need dreamers in Washington but we also need to get things done,” Hickenlooper said in a campaign video.

{mosads}“I’ve proven again and again I can bring people together to produce the progressive change Washington has failed to deliver,” he added.

Hickenlooper also said in the video that he’s running because “we’re facing a crisis that threatens everything we stand for.” As he makes those remarks, video of President Trump is displayed.

“As a skinny kid with Coke-bottle glasses and a funny last name, I’ve stood up to my fair share of bullies,” he added.

Hickenlooper also touted his work in Colorado on several key issues, saying he expanded access to health care, fought climate change and enacted gun control reforms.

“We’ll repair the damage done to our country and be stronger than ever,” he said.

Hickenlooper in the video invited supporters to his first rally on Thursday at a park in Denver. He was previously the city’s mayor, serving from 2003 to 2011. He was then elected Colorado’s governor and served two terms, leaving office in January of this year.

Hickenlooper has been teasing a potential White House bid for months.

In December, he told reporters that he was “past 50-50” on the chances of him running for president, and attacked Trump’s record on economic issues for rural states.

“We’re seeing all kinds of evidence that the Trump presidency isn’t succeeding. It’s not taking America where it needs to go. It certainly isn’t fulfilling his promises to the rural parts of America,” he said on CNN.

Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Ahrens said in a statement that Hickenlooper “is the latest tax-and-spend liberal to join the race.”

“But according to Hickenlooper, he’s actually ‘a lot more progressive’ than his far-left opponents,” Ahrens added. “In a primary dominated by socialist policies like the $93 trillion ‘Green New Deal,’ that puts him way outside the mainstream.”

Hickenlooper joins a crowded Democratic primary field.

The former vice chairman of the Democratic Governors Association becomes only the second governor to announce a White House bid following Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s (D) entrance into the race.

The Democratic primary race also features several senators, including Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). Former Vice President Joe Biden and ex-Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) may also soon enter the field.

— This report was updated at 7:37 a.m.