John Hickenlooper defeats GOP Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner as Dems seek to flip Senate

John Hickenlooper, the former governor of Colorado, defeated Republican Sen. Cory Gardner in Tuesday night’s election, bolstering Democrats’ hopes of flipping control of the Senate.

The Associated Press called the race for Hickenlooper less than hour after polls closed in Colorado.

“Thank you, Colorado! Serving you is the honor of my life, and I can’t wait to be your Senator,” Hickenlooper tweeted.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (Hyoung Chang/AP)

With Hickenlooper’s victory in the bag, Democrats need to defeat at least two more incumbent Republican senators to retake control of the Senate.

According to the Cook Political Report, eight other GOP senators are on thin ice this election cycle.

Hickenlooper, who served as governor between 2011 and 2019, mounted a centrist 2020 bid for president, but dropped out before voters even started heading to the polls.

Related Gallery

Americans head to the polls on Election Day

Hickenlooper launched his challenge against Gardner shortly after pulling the plug on his presidential aspirations.

Gardner, like many other Republican senators, faced heat from constituents because of his support for President Trump’s push to install Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett before the election.