DENVER — With less than two weeks until Colorado's primary election, voters have a number of important decisions to make. At the top of both ballots are the candidates vying to either win — or maintain — one of the coveted two spots in the U.S. Senate.
The seat is currently held by Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper, who is being challenged by State Sen. Julie Gonzales in the primary election.
State Sen. Mark Baisley is running unopposed on the Republican ballot.
Unaffiliated voters in Colorado can choose between the two primary ballots, but cannot submit both.
Ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on June 30.
Julie Gonzales
State Sen. Julie Gonzales is the first name voters will see in the race for U.S. Senator when filling out the Democratic primary ballot. If voters send Gonzales to the Capitol, she would be the first female senator from Colorado.
"Honestly, I'm sick of do-nothing Democrats who rest on their laurels, who will not show up when it matters most, until it's election season," Gonzales said. “As the Democratic Party, I think we have to walk and chew gum at the same time. Not only do we need to flip red seats blue and build a governing majority, but we also need to look at the caliber in states like Colorado of the leaders that we sent to DC in the first place. That's why I'm stepping up and running for this seat, because as proud as I've been of the work that we have accomplished here at the state level, it's clear those values, those protections end at the state line when we're not also fighting for those same policies in Washington, D.C.”
Gonzales, who represents District 34 in the state senate, told Denver7 she has dedicated her life to organizing everyday people to create change and opportunities.
“We have done the work, stood up to the corporate lobby, and fought for concrete improvements to Coloradans' everyday lives to make life more affordable," Gonzales said.
She lived on the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona until she was 10 and her family moved to South Texas.
"Carrizo Springs was my hometown, and I sound like Sarah Palin when I say from certain parts on the ranch, you know, we could see Mexico," Gonzales said with a laugh.
Still, Gonzales said her family has deep roots in Southern Colorado.
“We're the kind of old-school Chicanos where we didn't cross the border, the border crossed us. My family has called Huerfano County home since before Colorado was Colorado, and I'm so proud of that history," said Gonzales. “My grandpa was on the school board. My great uncle served as a county commissioner. That legacy of service is what drew me home here to Colorado.”
Once she graduated from Yale University, Gonzales moved back to Colorado.
"Politics didn't ever enter my mind until I found myself as a student at Yale seeing — that even in an institution that is 75 years older than the United States — that there were inequities, that there were fewer opportunities for folks like us who hadn't, you know, been born with a silver spoon," said Gonzales. "That's when I first got involved and learned about organizing.”
Gonzales was elected to the Colorado State Senate in 2018 and took office the following year.
"I've been so proud over the past eight years to serve in the State Senate and to champion those issues that Coloradans are so excited about: Lowering the cost of prescription drugs, protecting and advancing reproductive freedom before Roe was overturned, and standing up and passing the Colorado Voting Rights Act," Gonzales said.
She describes herself as a progressive Democrat, but Gonzales said growing up on ranches and in small towns has given her the ability to bring together people from both sides of the party.
Denver7 asked what her promise is to Colorado voters if she is chosen as the Democratic candidate for the Senate seat on the November general election ballot.
"First thing's first, I would not vote for Chuck Schumer to continue on as the leader of our Democratic caucus," Gonzales said in response. "Second, I would work to enact Medicare for all, universal child and elder care, and work to build an economy that actually works for folks like us, as opposed to only working for the billionaires and the corporations that they control.”
In addition, Denver7 wanted to know what Gonzales would consider a fun fact about herself — something she is not talking about on the campaign trail.
“When I was in high school, I was a band nerd," she said. “When I went into Yale, I thought I was going to be a music major, and that's how big a role music has played in my life. I ended up becoming a history major instead, and I'm so proud of that, but genuinely [I] play guitar any time.”
Watch the full interview:
John Hickenlooper
Democratic U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper is no stranger to Colorado politics. A former Colorado governor, Denver mayor, and fixture in the craft beer scene, Hickenlooper grew up outside of Philadelphia and went to college in Connecticut where he pursued geology.
Hickenlooper said he moved to Colorado in 1981.
"I had five great years in the oil and gas business, and then our company got sold. There was a terrible recession. All the energy companies were upside down," Hickenlooper explained.
He said he was out of work for a few years before having the idea to start a craft brewery. Wynkoop Brewing Company opened in 1988.
"Like many small business guys, I did 70 hours a week for more than a decade, and then all of a sudden it just took off," Hickenlooper said. "I was lucky."
His first political campaign was in 2003, when Hickenlooper became mayor of Denver.
"It was a very competitive race, and it turned out I kind of loved it. I loved bringing an entrepreneur's vision into trying to solve problems," he told Denver7. "When I first became mayor, that's really what I tried to do, is bring all the suburbs together to work with Denver, instead of always fighting with Denver.”
Hickenlooper went on to serve as governor of Colorado from 2011 to 2019. He won the Senate seat in 2020, taking office in 2021.
"I was key in getting the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed," Hickenlooper said, explaining what he believes are his largest accomplishments at the federal level. “The IRA is the largest investment addressing climate change in the history of the world. It was, you know, $1.4 trillion effort to really change how we think about climate change."
Denver7 asked Hickenlooper if there is a need for new ideas in the Senate.
"I think that you always need new ideas, but you also need the experience and the relationships to make sure that the new ideas are the right ideas and that they can get done," Hickenlooper said.
Then, Hickenlooper discussed the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation he said promotes transparency in health care.
Critics have pointed out that Hickenlooper has missed a handful of debates and forums on the campaign trail this year, but he claimed he has traveled around the state to meet voters where they are.
"I think we've gotten out there. I think most people know what I stand for, and what my ideas are, what my accomplishments have been," Hickenlooper said. “My focus on how we've been able to fight Trump, right from the beginning. We've been one of his fiercest opponents."
While Hickenlooper said he does not like to think in terms of labels when it comes to explaining what kind of Democrat he is, he acknowledged he is likely recognized as moderate.
"I prefer to think of it as somebody who gets things done," he said. "I look at what we've been doing, which is basically fighting Trump, and you know, whether it's the tariffs or the health care cuts he's done, the violence of ICE, I mean, each one of these things we go tooth and nail, and take it right to Trump. I think that's what people want.”
Hickenlooper promised that, if he advances to the general election, he will never stop fighting for Colorado.
“That's the real goal is to take so much of what Colorado has done already and make sure that is translated into an efficient and successful set of laws by which we can expand opportunity," Hickenlooper said.
A fun fact voters might not know about Hickenlooper is that he attended Woodstock.
"I love music," Hickenlooper said, smiling. “There's a wonderful band called Old Crow Medicine Show, and they once sold out Red Rocks back in, I think it was 2014, but my wife knew their lead singer and band runner, so I got to go out and play my banjo in front of 9,600 people at a sold-out Red Rocks concert... The wave of energy that comes to you when you're out on that stage from the crowd is more powerful than anything I've ever felt in politics. It was amazing.”
Watch the full interview:
Mark Baisley
On the Republican side of the race is State Sen. Mark Baisley, who is running unopposed in his primary.
While Baisley is guaranteed to make the November general election ballot, unaffiliated voters in Colorado have the choice of casting either a Republican or Democrat ballot in the primary election. Voters cannot submit both ballots.
Baisley, who represents District 4 in the Colorado State Senate, said his experience in the state legislature has prepared him for the U.S. Senate. He was first elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 2018.
“We have a house and we have a senate and we have the executive branch, and not every state looks like ours does, but ours looks like the federal government. It is good prep," Baisley said. “Preparation just in practice — in moving bills, in understanding how to develop the network of relationships with people on the other side of the aisle in order to to account for things you wouldn't have thought of, and also to get your bills to pass. So, I learned that very early on.”
An aerospace engineer by trade, Baisley said his goal is to preserve what the founding fathers instilled in America.
"I keep a 10-inch statue of Thomas Jefferson on my desk. Thomas Jefferson wrote that Declaration of Independence that I revere so much. First draft of it, anyway," Baisley said. "I try to model myself after that political hero of mine... How well do we adhere to the moorings that the founders gave us, and even our predecessors here in the State of Colorado, in the rich history of this state — How well do we preserve that and the uniqueness that is the exceptional state of Colorado?”
During his time working in the Colorado State Capitol, Baisley said he has worked effectively with Democratic Gov. Jared Polis.
"We've worked very closely together on bringing new business to Colorado. So, working on the CHIPS Act that brought semiconductor manufacturing to Colorado, and getting the Tech Hub designation for quantum computing, which was a huge thing for us," Baisley said, explaining how he can work with the executive branch of government at both the state and federal level. "I have a goal of trying to cut back the footprint of government in our lives, but where there's some really good constructive ideas, yeah, I look forward to those conversations with the Trump administration.”
Baisley was born in Minnesota, but moved all around the world from a young age since his father was an energy construction engineer.
“Living away from the United States is how I fell in love with the United States," said Baisley.
The family moved to Puerto Rico just before Baisley turned 14, leading to his fun fact that is not normally discussed on the campaign trail — his teenage years spent as a surfer.
“We never had a phone. So, what would happen is my pals would pull up, and in their old Mustang or Galaxie 500 with surfboards on the roof, and I owned some really great snorkeling gear, and they would just kind of say, 'Mark, we're taking off for a few days, can you join us?' And so I would just turn to my parents, like, 'Can I go?' and they would let us just run around the island for days," Baisley said. "I did an awful lot of surfing, and we would travel around the island, just pick a beach, especially ones we hadn't been to, and go down and camp out. And if the waves were up, we would surf. If it was glassy, we would snorkel.”
Watch the full interview:
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