Former Governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper announced he is dropping out of the presidential race, ahead of the third round of Democratic primary debates next month.

“Even though this campaign didn’t have the conclusion we were hoping for, every moment of it has been worthwhile,” Hickenlooper said in a statement on Thursday, Xinhua reported.

Hickenlooper signaled that he will consider running for the US Senate to unseat Republican incumbent Cory Gardner.

Opinion writer Jennifer Rubin applauded Hickenlooper’s exit, saying downsizing his party’s crowded candidate field can help Democratic voters decide on the best person to run against US President Donald Trump in the presidential race.

Hickenlooper announced his candidacy in March, striking a moderate tone among his Democratic opponents. He emphasized on his successful administrative record in Colorado on the campaign trail, but after two appearances on national debate stages, his campaign was lagging behind in securing the poll and donor numbers needed to put him through the third round of debate.

Hickenlooper, 67, previously served as the mayor of Denver and the governor of Colorado. </s> DENVER (AP) — AP source: Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper expected to end presidential bid on Thursday. </s> Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper announces campaign for 2020 Democratic presidential nomination

DENVER (AP) — Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper announces campaign for 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. </s> Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper is set to announce Thursday that he is ending his bid for the presidency, a person familiar with the decision tells CBS News.

Multiple people familiar with his plans have said in recent days that Hickenlooper is expected to drop out of the presidential race and spend time mulling a possible bid for the U.S. Senate, where he has faced pressure to take on Republican Sen. Cory Gardner. These people asked for anonymity to speak frankly about his deliberations.

Hickenlooper, 67, a onetime Denver mayor and businessman and geologist by training, served as Colorado governor from 2011 to 2019. He has repeatedly said along the campaign trail, "I'm the only candidate in this race who's actually achieved the big, progressive things politicians in Washington are talking about."

Colorado is one of the top targets in Democrats' efforts to flip the Senate in this next election. The party needs to pick up three seats if President Trump loses reelection and four if he wins. Republicans are defending 22 out of the 34 seats on the map for the cycle. Only two of the 22 seats are in states Hillary Clinton won in 2016: Colorado and Maine.

Hickenlooper launched his presidential campaign about five months ago, hoping to ride the wave of success he's had during his eight years as Colorado's governor. His presidential policy proposals included plans to expand women's reproductive care and enact gun control – measures largely based on progressive policies he oversaw in the Rocky Mountain State.

But Hickenlooper has struggled to have a breakout moment on the campaign trail and has instead been focused on challening Sen. Bernie Sanders on Medicare for all, the Green New Deal and Sanders' support for "democratic socialism."

In July, Hickenlooper finally got headlines but those headlines came when six senior staffers left the campaign. A source cited poor fundraising as an indicator of trouble in the water. The former governor raised at least $1.1 million in the second fundraising quarter, a little over half of what the governor raised in the first quarter of his presidential race.

Some of his senior staff had hoped he would explore a Senate run but the six individuals left when Hickenlooper confirmed he would not fold, according to the source familiar with the campaign.

"I don't think that's my calling card," said Hickenlooper, who answered reporters' questions on running for Senate during an Iowa campaign stop just a few days later.

The campaign continued to insist Hickenlooper was staying in the race. He launched a second Winnebago tour through Iowa and just this past weekend, addressed voters at the Iowa State Fair Political Soapbox. Afterwards, Hickenlooper again answered questions of a Senate-run, telling reporters if he was going run for president, he and his staff had to stay "laser-focused."

But just four days before then, The Gazette reported Hickenlooper as having said, "I've never ruled anything out," in a satellite radio interview.

Eleven Democrats have already have filed to run in the Colorado primary against Gardner and a few of them are raking-in cash. Former state Sen. Michael Johnston raised $1.6 million and former Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Dan Baer raised $1.1 million in the second quarter. Hickenlooper in his presidential bid only raised around $1.2 million, according to Federal Election Commission filings. </s> DENVER — John Hickenlooper has officially ended his presidential campaign.



News that was rumored through sources on Wednesday night was made official when Hickenlooper posted a video on his campaign website, Twitter and in an email.

"This morning, I'm announcing that I'm no longer running for President," Hickenlooper tweeted Thursday morning. "While this campaign didn't have the outcome we were hoping for, every moment has been worthwhile and I'm thankful to everyone who supported this campaign and our entire team."

RELATED: A political consultant reserved Hickenlooper for Senate domain names saved... just in case

In the video, Hickenlooper said he hasn’t made a decision on whether or not to enter the already crowded race for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Cory Gardner in 2020.

He repeatedly made comments on his presidential campaign trail that he indicated he wouldn’t run for Senate. While on the campaign trail in Iowa, he told reporters the Senate wasn’t his calling -- one of many comments he made distancing himself from leaving the presidential race for the Senate race.



Colorado’s former governor announced his candidacy for president with a rally and concert in Civic Center Park on Mar. 7.

RELATED: The first Democratic debate gave Bennet, Hickenlooper an opportunity to strategize



He campaigned repeatedly in Iowa and visited New Hampshire. He participated in the first two debates hosted by the Democratic National Committee, but failed to standout among the nine other candidates debating on the same night. He had to show that he had at least 1% support in three polls to qualify. To make the third debate next month in Houston, he would have had to show 2% support in four polls and receive 130,000 individual contributions.



Hickenlooper was not going to hold a news conference or make a public statement beyond his video. </s> AP source: Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper expected to end presidential bid on Thursday

DENVER (AP) — AP source: Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper expected to end presidential bid on Thursday. </s> John Hickenlooper, the beer entrepreneur turned politician who touted a talent for “bringing people together” to heal a divided country, will end his campaign for the White House on Thursday, The Denver Post has confirmed with two sources.

The former Colorado governor is expected to announce his decision in a taped video that is tentatively scheduled to be released at 11 a.m., an aide to Hickenlooper said.

Hickenlooper’s departure from the crowded 2020 Democratic field, first reported by CBS4, comes as national party faithful stepped up pressure for him to instead take on Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner. Hickenlooper has not yet decided whether he’ll mount a Senate campaign — an idea he had rejected repeatedly in recent months even though polling showed he would far outstrip the current Democratic field.

Hickenlooper’s presidential bid focused heavily on his track record as Denver mayor and Colorado governor. He led the state out of the Great Recession to become one of the strongest economies in the nation. Under his tenure, he also signed a number of progressive policies into law, including a suite of gun control bills and civil unions for same-sex couples.

However, Hickenlooper’s centrist image as a Western governor bent on cooperating with Republicans never caught traction with the Democratic base.

His exit will leave one Coloradan, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, in the Democratic primary field of about two dozen candidates. </s> Former Governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper becomes the 14th Democrat to announce a presidential bid, and the second governor after Jay Inslee to do so.

“I’m running for president because we’re facing a crisis that threatens everything we stand for,” Hickenlooper said over a picture of Donald Trump in a campaign video titled “As a skinny kid with Coke-bottle glasses and a funny last name, I’ve stood up to my fair share of bullies,” he said.

Hickenlooper has teased a run for months. Originally an oil industry geologist laid off in the 1980s, Hickenlooper opened a brew pub that he eventually grew turned into multiple restaurants and bars, giving him a background as a successful entrepreneur and executive. At 50, he became mayor of Denver and eventually Colorado governor for eight years when his term ended January 2019.

Hickenlooper is emphasizing his ability to work with a divided legislature, the state’s achievement of health care coverage for 95% of the population, high job growth, environmental laws, and universal background checks for gun purchases and bans on high-capacity gun magazines (more than 15 rounds) after the Aurora mass shooting. Under his watch, Colorado also legalized recreational marijuana.

“I’ve proven again and again that I can bring people together to produce the progressive change that Washington has failed to deliver,” Hickenlooper said.

Some Democratic strategists and consultants note that Hickenlooper has the executive experience the resumé of a governor offers, according to the . But he still lacks an overriding issue that could capture attention and let him pull away from the crowded field. </s> Updated at 9:55 a.m. ET

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has announced he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, becoming the second governor to join a crowded field of candidates.

In a short video released Monday morning, Hickenlooper pledged to fight what he referred to as a crisis that threatens everything America stands for, as a picture of President Trump flashed on the screen, "As a skinny kid with Coke bottle glasses and a funny last name. I've stood up to my fair share of bullies. Standing tall when it matters is one of the things that really drives me."

In an interview with Colorado Public Radio, Hickenlooper said he has his own tactic for dealing with Trump's aggressive tactics.

"You say back what they're saying, but you twist it just enough so the people they're trying to impress see the lunacy, the comedy in what they're trying to say," Hickenlooper said. "When their audience begins laughing at them, it drives most bullies nuts."

The 67-year-old former geologist, beer brewer and mayor of Denver has been considering a presidential bid for some time. He often touts his state's solid economic growth, especially in rural parts of Colorado. Hickenlooper also points to his accomplishments as governor, such as Medicaid expansion, increased infrastructure and public education spending and overhauling state campaign finance laws. He also led Colorado through major challenges, including historic wildfires and floods, and a mass shooting at a movie theater in a Denver suburb.

"I promised Colorado families that we would rebuild our communities better than before, and that just offering thoughts and prayers would never again be sufficient," said Hickenlooper, who served two terms as governor, in his launch video.

In 2013, Hickenlooper signed universal background checks into law and a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, but his pro-business centrist profile could be a turn-off for progressives in the party. He's also been a strong supporter of Colorado's oil and gas industry, which is sure to be a point of contention for some Democrats.

As governor, he was known to try to build consensus and compromise on tough issues tackling the state. He argues there's more Democrats agree on than disagree, and that he could be a draw for independent voters and disaffected Republicans.

In an interview with NPR last month, Hickenlooper warned Democrats that the party needed to stand for more than opposition to President Trump.

"I think there is so much frustration at the national level, and I think President Trump has created this, so that the one way that people can demonstrate quickly and firmly that they are against Trump is to show anger and really lash out — at either President Trump or someone — to demonstrate that they have the same values as the Democratic primary voters. And I understand, I feel that," Hickenlooper said. "But I think there might be a kind of a new silent majority of people that are also going to want to see achievement.

Hickenlooper joins a field that now has 14 declared major candidates. He said that what sets him apart from his opponents is that many of them have spent long careers in Washington engaged in a "debate of words" while he's been focused on making his state function.

"I understand we need debate, but we also need doers," Hickenlooper told Colorado Public Radio. "I'm someone who, pretty much my whole adult life, has been spent bringing together talented teams of people and then working with them to accomplish real progressive change."

While Hickenlooper isn't as well-known as some other potential challengers, he made that a clear lack of name recognition won't stop him. He formed a political action committee and began traveling for candidates during the midterm elections. This year, he's been making stops in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, where Democratic voters will get their first crack at weighing in on the field. Hickenlooper kicks off his campaign Thursday night in downtown Denver. He then heads on a two-day swing through Iowa, followed by a stop at the South by Southwest Conference in Austin, Texas.
Former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper announces that he is suspending his presidential campaign.