The governors are coming, the governors are coming.
Former Democratic Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper has just announced that he is running for president in 2020. He joins Washington state governor Jay Inslee who announced last week that he is also seeking the Democratic nomination for president next year.
JUST IN: John Hickenlooper tells @GMA he is running for president in 2020 because “I believe that not only can I beat Donald Trump, but that I am the person that can bring people together on the other side and actually get stuff done.”
JUST IN: John Hickenlooper tells @GMA he is running for president in 2020 because "I believe that not only can I beat Donald Trump, but that I am the person that can bring people together on the other side and actually get stuff done." https://t.co/pC1ofR5yff pic.twitter.com/6VoOt3Y6YI
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 4, 2019
“I’m running for president because we need dreamers in Washington but we also need to get things done,” Hickenlooper said in a campaign video.
“I’ve proven again and again I can bring people together to produce the progressive change Washington has failed to deliver,” he added.
Hickenlooper also said in the video that he’s running because “we’re facing a crisis that threatens everything we stand for.” As Hickenlooper makes those remarks, images of Donald Trump are displayed, making an obvious connection between our current crisis and our current president.
“As a skinny kid with Coke-bottle glasses and a funny last name, I’ve stood up to my fair share of bullies,” Hickenlooper added. He also mentioned his work on several key issues in Colorado, saying he expanded access to health care, fought climate change and enacted gun control reforms.
“We’ll repair the damage done to our country and be stronger than ever,” he said.
Hickenlooper in the video invited supporters to his first rally on Thursday at a park in Denver. He was the mayor of Denver from 2003 to 2011. He was then elected Colorado’s governor and served two terms before leaving office in January of this year.
Hickenlooper has been hinting at a potential White House run for several months.
In December, he told reporters that he was “past 50-50” on the chances of him running for president. He also has attacked Trump’s record on economic issues for rural states.
“We’re seeing all kinds of evidence that the Trump presidency isn’t succeeding. It’s not taking America where it needs to go. It certainly isn’t fulfilling his promises to the rural parts of America,” he said.
Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Ahrens said in a statement that Hickenlooper “is the latest tax-and-spend liberal to join the race.”
“But according to Hickenlooper, he’s actually ‘a lot more progressive’ than his far-left opponents,” Ahrens added. “In a primary dominated by socialist policies like the $93 trillion ‘Green New Deal,’ that puts him way outside the mainstream.”
Hickenlooper joins a crowded Democratic primary field.
The former vice chairman of the Democratic Governors Association becomes only the second governor to announce a White House bid following Inslee’s entrance into the race. Former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke is expected to announce his candidacy very soon also.
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