Obama wants Hickenlooper to run for CO Gov.

[Tender Branson]

President Barack Obama encouraged Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper to run for governor during a call Friday, but the mayor has told friends the family will spend the weekend weighing a decision.

Hickenlooper met Friday with key advisers.

Obama pledged his support during the two-minute call to Hickenlooper's cellphone while the mayor was en route to the National Western Stock Show's annual Boots & Business lunch.

"He is very grateful for the call, but it doesn't change the decision," Hickenlooper's spokesman, Eric Brown, said. "He is going to take the time to do what is best for the family."

Political junkies are working overtime trying to figure out what the mayor will do.

"I personally think it's 50-50," said Dick Wadhams, chairman of the Colorado Republican Party. "I have nothing to go on but gut."

Gov. Bill Ritter's surprise announcement this week that he was suspending his re-election campaign and dropping out of the race has Democrats scrambling for a nominee.

Ritter said public service was taking a toll on his marriage and children, and that message hasn't been lost on Hickenlooper and his wife, Helen Thorpe. Their son, Teddy, is 7.

The White House has aggressively gotten involved in races across the country, and not always with success. It tried and failed to push out the Democratic governor of New York. Closer to home, it dangled job offers in front of former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff of Denver when he decided on a primary run against U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, also of Denver. Romanoff declined the offers and entered the race.

After Ritter's announcement, the Democratic Governors Association sent staff to Denver this week.

"I can't get into specifics, but our political director was there meeting with some of the key players," director Nathan Daschle said. "I am very optimistic that we will reach an outcome that is good for us and bad for McInnis/Wadhams."

Former U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis is the front-runner for the GOP nomination, ahead of Evergreen businessman Dan Maes.

Hickenlooper, a former LoDo brewmeister and businessman, won the 2003 Denver mayoral race in a landslide, despite an initial poll that showed him tied with 6 percent of the vote. He was re-elected in 2007.

A poll conducted in September 2008 by Floyd Ciruli showed Hickenlooper with a 58 percent favorability rating statewide, one percentage point behind then U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar. They got the highest marks of everyone in the poll.

The mayor's favorability was 68 percent among Democrats, 57 percent among unaffiliated voters and 48 percent among Republicans.

"Hickenlooper is a master with the independent kind of voter, the weak partisan voter, and he's exactly what you need even though it's a tough year for Democrats," Ciruli said.

"Obviously he's got to have his base behind him and I assume they'd get behind him."

In a breakdown by regions, Hickenlooper's favorability rating was 73 percent in the metro area, but dropped off considerably in other regions of the state, Ciruli said.

Republicans and Democrats have questioned how popular Hickenlooper will be outside the Denver region.

"He's probably visited Copenhagen more times than he's visited Cañon City," Wadhams said.

Democratic state Rep. Ed Vigil may have unwittingly given Republicans an attack line when he wrote something along those lines on his Facebook page Thursday.

"What the Hick is going for governor," Vigil, of Fort Garland, wrote Thursday. "Does he know there is a rural Colorado? Has he been past Colorado Springs?"

Vigil on Friday said he will back the Democratic candidate for governor, but he is concerned for rural Colorado.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_14152195

[Lunar]

If Obama wasn't personally calling Hickenlooper, I'd have to drug test the White House strategy team

[Lief 🗽]

Considering that the only other option is running a nobody and letting the Republicans have a free pickup, yes.

[Lunar]

Considering that the only other option is running a nobody and letting the Republicans have a free pickup, yes.

Romanoff might have a shot if Hick is out.  But still, for the Dems to resort to a second-tier candidate against the GOP's has-been candidate would be depressing

[CARLHAYDEN]

He can campaign on the slogan of "Make Denver's problem, Colorado's Problem.  Hickenlooper for Governor."

[Holmes]

Interestingly, Democrats could end up nominating at least 4 capital city mayors for governor this year.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Interestingly, Democrats could end up nominating at least 4 capital city mayors for governor this year.

Who else? And if you're counting Rybak as one, Minneapolis is not the capital.

[Lunar]

Interestingly, Democrats could end up nominating at least 4 capital city mayors for governor this year.

Who else? And if you're counting Rybak as one, Minneapolis is not the capital.

I guess he means Wisconsin and Texas?  Houston's not the capital either though of course.

[Rowan]

Interestingly, Democrats could end up nominating at least 4 capital city mayors for governor this year.

Who else? And if you're counting Rybak as one, Minneapolis is not the capital.

I guess he means Wisconsin and Texas?

Milwaukee's not the capital of Wisconsin.

[Joe Republic]

Interestingly, Democrats could end up nominating at least 4 capital city mayors for governor this year.

Who else? And if you're counting Rybak as one, Minneapolis is not the capital.

I guess he means Wisconsin and Texas?

Milwaukee's not the capital of Wisconsin.

And Houston's not the capital of Texas.

[Lunar]

Well, if Hannemann runs in Hawaii...

[Vepres]

I don't have much of an opinion of him, but I imagine outside of the Denver and Boulder metropolitan areas he will be viewed as too much of a city guy. Besides, I'm not sure if he has that much charisma.

[Bo]

I think Hickenlooper should run. He is not associated with Ritter and any of his problems, and I think the Democratic base would be much more eager to support a "Denver liberal" than a "ConservaDem".

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

He would increase the competativeness in that the race would be close. However polling suggest that even he is trailing McInnis. So what does that tell me. It still doesn't guarrentee a dem win and it makes it less likely that he will run in the first place.

[Vepres]

I think Hickenlooper should run. He is not associated with Ritter and any of his problems, and I think the Democratic base would be much more eager to support a "Denver liberal" than a "ConservaDem".

True, attacks like that didn't work against Mark Udall.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I think Hickenlooper should run. He is not associated with Ritter and any of his problems, and I think the Democratic base would be much more eager to support a "Denver liberal" than a "ConservaDem".

True, attacks like that didn't work against Mark Udall.

Well to Shafer's credit, the race was within 2 points in early September. The Financial crisis drove it up to 10 for Udall. In a better environment or neutral year I think Shafer could have pulled it off. Last year people here tried to tell me that he was too Conservative for CO. He was no more conservative then McInnis or Norton who are both in the lead. Its all about the environment and campaign.

[Vepres]

I think Hickenlooper should run. He is not associated with Ritter and any of his problems, and I think the Democratic base would be much more eager to support a "Denver liberal" than a "ConservaDem".

True, attacks like that didn't work against Mark Udall.

Well to Shafer's credit, the race was within 2 points in early September. The Financial crisis drove it up to 10 for Udall. In a better environment or neutral year I think Shafer could have pulled it off. Last year people here tried to tell me that he was too Conservative for CO. He was no more conservative then McInnis or Norton who are both in the lead. Its all about the environment and campaign.

Yeah. He was a good fit for the state, perhaps a little conservative on social issues, but it was a heavily Democratic year and Colorado has been a bellweather state lately.

Had McCain won he may have had too.

[Alexander Hamilton]

I want Obama to resign.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I think Hickenlooper should run. He is not associated with Ritter and any of his problems, and I think the Democratic base would be much more eager to support a "Denver liberal" than a "ConservaDem".

True, attacks like that didn't work against Mark Udall.

Well to Shafer's credit, the race was within 2 points in early September. The Financial crisis drove it up to 10 for Udall. In a better environment or neutral year I think Shafer could have pulled it off. Last year people here tried to tell me that he was too Conservative for CO. He was no more conservative then McInnis or Norton who are both in the lead. Its all about the environment and campaign.

Yeah. He was a good fit for the state, perhaps a little conservative on social issues, but it was a heavily Democratic year and Colorado has been a bellweather state lately.

Had McCain won he may have had too.

Yea, McCain winning would have pulled him accross the finish line. Now if he was Marilyn Musgrave than heck yea she would be far too conservative for the state but as we learned in 2009 if you focus your campaign on issues important to voters like Energy and the economy, people will vote for you even in blue states like NJ. We saw that in CO. The energy crisis gave Schafer the momentum needed to catch up with Udall. The Financial Crisis however took back all those gains. The Dems should really be thanking the collapse of Lehman not only for President Obama but also the 60 seats because otherwise people like Sununu, and Schafer who were clawing there way back up to being competative would have stayed Competative through Nov, Dole would never have fallen behind Hagan to warrant the Godless attack. Coleman, Stevens(Parnell would have replaced him once the Senate refused to seat him), and maybe even Smith would have gotten the necessary extra votes to come out on top. Who knows what would have happened to Landrieu in a neutral year. There is definately a plausable 2008 Scenario that ends with the Presidency, 48 senate seats, 190+ House seats and the Governorships in NC and maybe WA(though highly doubtful).

[California8429]

Hick doesn't know rural problems, big minus. Hick's solutions for Denver haven't done anything (end homelesness....yeah sure). Hick has a bad haircut. Hick is only favored by Coloradans right now because all they know of him is the candidate Hick, not the actually elected offical. His promises are great, his results are nothing

[5280]

He seems like a nice guy, but I don't really know what accomplished as Mayor for Denver.  When was the last time Denver had a REP mayor to begin with?

[backtored]

Hick doesn't know rural problems, big minus. Hick's solutions for Denver haven't done anything (end homelesness....yeah sure). Hick has a bad haircut. Hick is only favored by Coloradans right now because all they know of him is the candidate Hick, not the actually elected offical. His promises are great, his results are nothing

I wouldn't be surprised if Hick takes a look at the political environment and decides not to run.  He's already the third-string QB in a race that needs a Peyton Manning to beat McInnis.  And he already has rural Democrats lobbing bombs over the Front Range at him because he looks to a lot of people too much like a carpetbagging liberal (remind of a certain Senator from Colorado?).  The fact is that Obama's approval rating in Colorado is among the lowest in the country and Hickenlooper's (and Ritter's and Bennet's and...) ties to the president will hurt him a lot.  Add to that the fact that Hickenlooper's business ties could cost him some union support (which Romanoff apparently tried picking up over the weekend) and this looks like an absolute disaster. 

He'll keep it close enough to make it interesting, but my guess is that his rather liberal ideas seep into the suburbs and beyond, his poll numbers will take a big hit and McInnis could end up winning with Ritter-esque numbers.

[Tender Branson]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic and Republican officials tell The Associated Press that Denver mayor John Hickenlooper will run for governor of Colorado.

He's a Democrat and will be seeking the party nomination.

The officials disclosed Hickenlooper's plans on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to pre-empt his announcement.

The current governor, Bill Ritter, abruptly announced last week that he would not seek another term. Hickenlooper made it known just after that he was considering a run. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said last week he would not seek the governorship.

Among Republicans seeking the GOP nomination is former GOP Rep. Scott McInnis.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/01/12/us/politics/AP-US-Colorado-Governor.html

[Bo]

May Hicklenlooper win. Now I hope Romanoff defeats Bennet in the primary.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

May Hicklenlooper win. Now I hope Romanoff defeats Bennet in the primary.

Hickenlooper isn't just going to walk into the Governor's mansion and Romanoff isn't a shoo in if he beats Bennet either. Both are trailing McInnis and Norton.