Incumbent U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, characterized as a moderate Democrat, will face off against progressive challenger state Sen. Julie Gonzales in the June 30 primary for one of Colorado’s two U.S. Senate seats.

The winner of the Democratic primary will face Republican candidate Sen. Mark Baisley in the November general election. Baisley, a member of the Colorado State Senate representing District 4, is running unopposed in his party.

Once considered a swing state, Colorado has shifted left over the past decade, securing Democratic majorities at the state and federal levels. Hickenlooper’s seat in the Senate has alternated between Democrats and Republicans for most of the state’s history, with Republican Cory Gardner occupying the office from 2015 to 2021.

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Colorado has over 1 million active registered Democratic voters, compared to 910,000 Republicans as of May 2026. Republicans have not won a statewide election in Colorado since 2016.

As of June 12, Hickenlooper, 74, and Gonzales, 43, have not participated in any traditional debates ahead of the Democratic primary. Gonzales said she has actively campaigned for one, but that Hickenlooper has not responded to her invitations.

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Hickenlooper told The Post Independent that weekly trips between Colorado and Washington, D.C. have kept him busy, making it difficult for him to attend any debates. He added that he’s participated in multiple healthcare roundtables, forums and other panels, where he’s discussed his views on key issues. Both candidates have also participated in forums and media Q&As.

Same party, different backgrounds

Julie Gonzales

“Senadora” Gonzales — an introduction representative of her roots — is currently serving her second term in Colorado’s 34th Senate district, located entirely within Denver County. 

A graduate of Yale University, she got her start in politics as a community organizer on issues including affordable housing, educational justice and immigrant rights for over 20 years.

Gonzales said she defines her eight years in the state senate through her work “standing up to the corporate lobby” and building durable coalitions to find solutions on issues ranging from immigrant rights to worker rights. Now, she wants to continue that work in Washington, D.C. with a focus on Medicare for All, universal childcare and eldercare, and taxing billionaires and corporations.

“As proud as I am about what we’ve been able to accomplish both out in the community and in the state capital, those protections end at the state line when we are not also fighting for those same values in the U.S. Senate, which is why I decided to step into this race in this moment,” Gonzales said.

At the heart of Gonzales’s campaign against Hickenlooper is a call for a new generation of leadership. She has frequently stated that the Senate needs new, progressive lawmakers to actively fight President Donald Trump’s administration, criticizing Hickenlooper for supporting “go-along-to-get-along politics” that do little to effectively fight corporate power.

Gonzales said her vision for the Senate calls for reform — particularly through abolishing the filibuster, establishing term limits, banning insider trading, electing leadership that will take a stand against corporate money in politics and not voting for Chuck Schumer to continue as the leader of the Senate Democratic Caucus. The Senate minority leader has become unpopular among many in his own party over some of his legislative compromises.

“I think that Chuck Schumer is effectively managing the descent into fascism that we’re experiencing as a country, instead of leading the charge to oppose it,” she said.

If Gonzales were to defeat Hickenlooper in the primary and then go on to win the November general election, she would become the first woman in state history — and second Latina in American history — to serve in the U.S. Senate.

John Hickenlooper

Hickenlooper is currently in his first six-year term in the U.S. Senate, and has stated that his reelection bid will be the last of his career. The senator has been in office since 2003 — serving as Denver Mayor, governor and U.S. Senator.

“I feel like the job’s only half done,” he said. “I was a mayor, and then a governor, and those are much more fun — but this is the most important work I’ve ever done. When I look at what Trump has done … we’re the one place that can stop him, and I think we’re making progress.”

If reelected to continue in the Senate, Hickenlooper said his top priority would be to control the increases in residents’ cost of living, particularly through tackling rising costs in healthcare, housing and food accessibility. In his five and a half years in the Senate, Hickenlooper has helped to negotiate and pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act under former President Joe Biden, the latter of which he considers the largest effort to address climate change in the country’s history.

“These are all things we can affect fairly dramatically, but at the same time we’ve also got to make sure that people have jobs that are going to lead to better jobs and they’re going to be able to make more money,” Hickenlooper said. “This notion that everybody should be able to work their way up — and by working hard, eventually be able to buy their own house — that’s too far away from too many people, and I want to make sure that more people can get their fair shot at the American dream.”

In response to Gonzales’s opinion that the Senate needs a new generation of leadership, Hickenlooper said his 15 years as an entrepreneur, eight years as mayor and eight years as governor are “worth their weight in gold.”

Hickenlooper is the 16th senator in the country’s history to transition from the role of governor to being “one of 100” U.S. Senators, which he said many politicians are not willing to do despite bringing valuable experience to Washington.

“I understand the relationship between counties and cities, and between the counties and the state, between the state and the federal government. It takes a little while to figure that out,” he said. “I really do understand how to make our economy work.”

A sweeping approach to immigration reform

Hickenlooper’s decision to run for reelection was largely driven by wanting to fight against Trump’s “corruption at the White House,” he said. For example, the incumbent said he disagrees with the broad permissions granted to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to search homes without a judicial warrant and conduct arrests while wearing face masks and no body cameras.

Both Hickenlooper and Gonzales have expressed support for dismantling ICE and replacing it with an alternative, more humane system. Hickenlooper said he supports direct pathways to citizenship for DREAMers and Temporary Protected Status holders.

Gonzales’s priorities for immigration reform include providing better access to legal counsel and protecting immigrant workers from exploitation.

“(ICE) are not held accountable for brutality,” he said. “… I think we can make a big difference in reining Trump in, and he’s broken everything. I want to make sure that, as we rebuild it, we fix some of the problems that were there before.”

Differing opinions on healthcare and standing up to Trump

Gonzales has openly criticized Hickenlooper’s decision to vote for 10 of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees in 2025, arguing he has not done enough to fight the administration. The votes placed him among the top five most supportive Senate Democrats for the administration’s picks. At the time, Hickenlooper reasoned that the move would build beneficial relationships that could reduce potential damage for his constituents down the line.

“We are witnessing an administration that is out of control. For him to go and vote for — not one or two — but 10 different Trump nominees in the second Trump administration, when he has failed to put his own assets in a (qualified) blind trust … it raises real questions about the caliber of Democrat that we are sending to Washington, D.C. to fight for our values,” Gonzales said.

Hickenlooper said his experience as the former CEO and co-founder of Wynkoop Holdings — which he left to pursue a political career — taught him the importance of having “strong people under you that will push back when you make mistakes.” While initially optimistic about their qualifications, he said he has been disappointed with Trump’s cabinet members’ lack of action.

“If I knew back then what I know now, I wouldn’t have voted for any of them,” he said. “Not one of his cabinet members brings any evidence to have ever pushed back against Trump with his reckless policies.”

One of the issues where both candidates differ in approach is healthcare. While Hickenlooper said he supports universal healthcare, he disagrees with jumping to a single-payer “Medicare for All” solution right away. Instead, he said he would prioritize incrementally strengthening the Affordable Care Act and supporting government-run public options to compete with private insurers.

“I don’t have a problem with (Medicare for All), I think we’ll get there, but I don’t think it’s doable at least in terms of persuading the public,” he said. “We can’t just jump there … the public is resistant, but you can get incremental improvements.”

Hickenlooper also said he’s working on passing federal healthcare legislation that would require providers to be transparent on their pricing before it’s provided.

Gonzales, on the other hand, said she supports replacing the current multi-player U.S. healthcare model with a single-payer health insurance system, which would largely eliminate private health insurance. If elected, she said she would work to restore and strengthen Medicaid, Medicare, and Affordable Care Act funding while lowering out-of-pocket costs.

Bringing Western Slope issues to Washington, D.C.

In speaking to Roaring Fork Valley residents during her tour across the state, Gonzales said it became clear that the issues of inaccessible childcare, eldercare and affordable housing are top-of-mind for rural mountain communities, especially for families who are simultaneously providing care for their young children and aging family members. She believes the federal government should play a larger role in advancing mechanisms that extend that care to families.

“Childcare and the housing crisis have intertwined to present a real challenge for families that are working harder than ever, but also have to drive until they can afford housing,” she said. “It’s why I believe that the federal government has a role to play.”

Hickenlooper said he’s prioritized spending time in rural Colorado, listening to voters’ concerns during his two terms as governor and as a senator.

“No matter where you are, people feel like they can’t keep up with the cost-of-living emergency. People want better access to affordable healthcare, childcare, housing and fast, reliable internet,” he wrote in his Q&A responses to the Post Independent. “We’re fighting to make sure where you live doesn’t determine if you live by investing in rural hospitals and improving telehealth. We’re working to make sure rural communities have the water they need to thrive.”

Hickenlooper has collected around $6.8 million in contributions since 2025 and spent $4.2 million as of the most recent March filing deadline. Gonzales has gathered around $443,000 and spent $329,000 during the same period.

Ballots for the June 30 Colorado primary were mailed to voters starting Monday, June 8. U.S. Senators serve six-year terms and are not term-limited. To check your voter registration status, visit GoVoteColorado.gov.