Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper has watched his political fortunes rise and fall during his first term. A year ago, he might have been among the most vulnerable incumbents up for re-election after suffering losses on some of his biggest priorities. Then polling taken earlier this year indicated that his position had improved. It helped that Republicans had a crowded field of candidates. Former U.S. Rep. and 2006 gubernatorial nominee Bob Beauprez, a late entrant into the race, won the four-way GOP primary with 30 percent. Former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo came in second with 27 percent. The possibility that Tancredo would win the nomination worried many GOP strategists because his anti-immigration views make him unelectable in a general election in Colorado. Tancredo had run for Governor in 2010 as the nominee of the Constitution Party and placed second in the race with 38 percent. Hickenlooper won with 51 percent. The GOP nominee, Dan Maes, was a train wreck of a candidate and got just 11 percent of the vote. Beauprez ran a weak campaign in 2006, getting 40 percent of
Subscribe Today
Our subscribers have first access to individual race pages for each House, Senate and Governors race, which will include race ratings (each race is rated on a seven-point scale) and a narrative analysis pertaining to that race.