NEWNow you can listen to Fox News articles!
A moderate Democrat entering his final campaign has fended off a sustained challenge in Colorado, marking a slow turn in the Democratic Party’s rapid shift to the left.
Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., a long-time player in Colorado politics, defeated a challenge from Sen. Julie Gonzales, his ongoing challenge, has argued that Democrats need to be more aggressive in their push against President Donald Trump.
Hickenlooper, who is running for a second term in the upper chamber, said this will be his last Senate campaign. Gonzales had hoped to hasten his exit with a campaign that followed a moderate position for the attorney general and votes in favor of other Trump appointees.
DEMOCRATS TRAVEL BETWEEN CONTINUING FIRE AND GREAT ALERT AS NOVEMBER ELECTIONS CLOSE
Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., walks on the Senate Subway of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on June 4, 2026. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“John Hickenlooper has been in office for over 20 years,” Gonzales told him ad launch campaign. “I know we’re not fooled by what he calls ‘the normal way,’ because there’s no sense in voting for Donald Trump’s nominees.”
Still, Gonzales’ defeat Tuesday night was a stumbling block in the continuing wave that has swept the Democratic Party during this midterm election cycle, which has seen new blood hungry for change challenge the old guard and the party’s leadership in Washington, DC.
Hickenlooper, 74, who served two terms each as mayor of Denver and governor of Colorado before launching an unsuccessful bid for president, was a stalwart in the Centennial State, while Gonzales, 43, positioned himself as part of the new wave.
PLOT TO STOP DANI: DEMOCRATS scramble to block far-left takeover in New York
Their battle for the Democratic Alliance nomination came just a week after a number of candidates supported by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani won their Democratic Alliance nomination. Notably, Mamdani-backed Darializa Avila Chevalier, a social organizer and socialist, overthrew five-term incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat, DN.Y.
And the fight between Hickenlooper and Gonzales wasn’t the only intraparty fistfight between a moderate and progressive incumbent in Colorado.
‘ON THE MOVE’: GOP WAKES HOUSE OFFICES AS VOTER ID BLOCKADE STOPS TRUMP’S AGENDA
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani during a news conference at the MTA Rail Control Center in New York on June 4, 2026. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Melat Kiros, a socialist, is running against Rep. Diana DeGette is a longtime Colorado State First. Kiros also played with the approval of one of Hickenlooper’s colleagues: Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vt.
Meanwhile, Hickenlooper will face state Sen. Mark Baisley in November. Baisley, who ran unopposed in the Colorado GOP primary, began a campaign for governor in the race to replace Gov. Jared Polis who was term limited but resigned to run for the Senate.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM
Fox News Digital did not immediately receive a comment from the Hickenlooper and Gonzales campaigns.
