Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said on Monday he's running for president, casting himself as a can-do uniter who is used to overcoming adversity and accomplishing liberal goals in a politically divided state.

"I'm running for president because we need dreamers in Washington, but we also need to get things done," Hickenlooper, 66, said in a video announcing his campaign . "I've proven again and again I can bring people together to produce the progressive change Washington has failed to deliver."

He becomes the second governor to enter the sprawling field, after Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced last week, and is trying to cast himself as a pragmatist who can also take on President Donald Trump. Though as governor Hickenlooper prided himself for staying above partisan fights, he has argued his record as a former governor and big-city mayor distinguishes him from a broad field of Democratic presidential aspirants who are backing ambitious liberal plans on health care, taxes and the climate.

Hickenlooper has hedged on supporting Democratic rallying cries like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal to combat climate change. He once worked as a geologist for a petroleum company and was roundly criticized for telling a congressional panel he drank fracking fluid while arguing for the safety of the energy extraction technique.

It was after Hickenlooper was laid off from his geologist position during the energy bust of the 1980s that he inadvertently started on his road to politics. He opened a brewpub in a then-desolate stretch of downtown Denver that unexpectedly took off. That enabled Hickenlooper to become wealthy by building a mini-empire of restaurants and bars. It also led to him making a quixotic run for Denver mayor in 1993. Campaign ads featured Hickenlooper feeding quarters into parking meters to protest the city's charging for Sunday parking downtown. He won handily.

As mayor, Hickenlooper helped persuade dozens of suburban cities, sometimes led by Republicans, to back a tax hike to fund a light-rail network. He was filmed diving out of an airplane to advocate for a statewide ballot measure to suspend an anti-tax measure passed in the 1990s and allow the state budget to grow. When he ran for governor in 2010, he featured an ad of himself fully dressed, walking into a shower to scrub off negative attacks.

It's all part of Hickenlooper's quirky political image — he vows not to run attack ads and has frequently made fun of his tendency to misspeak and wander off political message.

Hickenlooper was supported by some Republicans as governor. His first term was marked by a series of disasters and tragedies, some of which he alluded to in his launch video — record wildfires and floods, the assassination of his own prison chief by a member of a white supremacist prison gang and the 2012 Aurora theater shooting, which killed 12. After that attack and the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting massacre in Connecticut months later, Hickenlooper called for gun control legislation and signed bills requiring universal background checks and limiting magazine capacity to 15 rounds.

He backed civil unions for gay couples and signed a law providing them in Colorado in 2013, before the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage. He announced in 2013 that he opposed the death penalty and refused to execute a quadruple-murderer who was on death row. And, as he prepared to leave office and was openly mulling a presidential bid, he ordered the state to adopt California's low-emission vehicle standards to fight climate change.

The last move was widely seen as shoring up an area that has long created tension for Hickenlooper — his relationship with the energy industry. Groups opposed to the expansion of energy exploration into Denver's suburbs often complained that Hickenlooper was too close to the oil and gas business, which remains a powerful force in Colorado politics.

As governor, Hickenlooper opposed ballot measures to limit drilling in populated areas. Hickenlooper's successor, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, has been more critical of the industry. Last week, Polis announced he'd pursue a wide range of new policies that would limit energy exploration.

Another potential vulnerability for Hickenlooper is money. As a former governor, he can't recycle donations from prior campaigns into a presidential account, as can the many U.S. Senators in the field. Hickenlooper's political committee raised $1 million during the first two months of the year, in contrast to senators such as Kamala Harris of California, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who raised more than that amount in the 24 hours after they announced their campaigns.

Still, Hillary Clinton vetted Hickenlooper as a possible running mate in 2016, and Democrats have spoken about his potential national appeal for years. In his launch video, Hickenlooper says, following images of Trump: "As a skinny kid with Coke bottle glasses and a funny last name, I've stood up to my fair share of bullies."

Hickenlooper is expected to focus heavily on Iowa, where many Coloradans come from and a state where his low-key, genial approach could be potent. In previous trips he's emphasized his record and how he can bring warring parties together. During a January swing he stopped by a Des Moines brewpub where a customer asked him how he'd win the primary of "who hates Trump the most?"

Hickenlooper responded by rattling off his governing accomplishments.

"Everyone yells at Trump, he will win," Hickenlooper said. "You have to laugh at him and joke along and say: 'Hey, this is what I did.'"</s>Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper announces campaign for 2020 Democratic presidential nomination

DENVER (AP) — Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper announces campaign for 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.</s>
• Colorado’s former Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper launched his presidential camapaign on Monday.
• Hickenlooper, 66, served as Colorado’s highly popular governor for two terms. Before that, he was the mayor of Denver and a successful businessman.
• As governor, Hickenlooper developed a reputation as a centrist, pragmatic problem-solver as opposed to a partisan firebrand.

Colorado’s former Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper launched his 2020 presidential campaign Monday.

Hickenlooper, 66, served as Colorado’s highly popular governor for two terms before being succeeded by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis. Before that, he was the mayor of Denver (a non-partisan position) and a successful businessman who founded Colorado’s first brewery pub, helping bring jobs and economic development to Denver.

In December, the Associated Press reported that Hickenlooper was quickly hiring up staff, including pollsters and fundraisers, for his Giddy Up PAC, created in 2017.

As governor, Hickenlooper struck a balance between espousing socially progressive policies on issues such as gun control while making Colorado a desirable home for business interests, including large energy companies.

While some progressives have criticized Hickenlooper for being too friendly to big oil & gas companies, including paving the way for fracking in Colorado, his supporters highlight his ability to work across the aisle and get along with just about anyone.

Read more: Our exclusive with Colorado’s colorful, rising-star governor, the man some Davos elites say could lead Democrats in 2020

Throughout his entire political career, he’s even refused to air any negative ads against his opponents – although that may have to change in the hyper-polarized environment of 2019.

“I think there’s a point where someone like me – I’m an entrepreneur, I’m a problem solver, I’ve been good at bringing people together that historically have been antagonistic,” Hickenlooper told CNN in December.

“Maybe the country needs someone that can bring the divided parts of the country and the divided constituencies back together.”

Hickenlooper touts his record creating jobs, reducing unemployment, and increasing quality of life for rural Coloradans as the high points of his record as governor.

If Hickenlooper’s presidential bid doesn’t succeed, he would be well-positioned to challenge vulnerable Republican Colorado Senator Cory Gardner, who is up for re-election in 2022, or land a cabinet position in a future Democratic administration.</s>Colorado's former Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper launched his 2020 presidential campaign Monday, the 14th Democratic candidate to jump into the field.

Hickenlooper, 66, served as Colorado's highly popular governor for two terms before being succeeded by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis. Before that, he was the mayor of Denver (a non-partisan position) and a successful businessman who founded Colorado's first brewery pub, helping bring jobs and economic development to Denver.

Hickenlooper made the announcement in a video titled "Standing Tall," where he charts his own life from a laid-off geologist, to a brew pub owner, to mayor of Denver, to governor. He highlights his experience as why he should be the person to challenge Donald Trump, who he casts as a "bully."

"I'm running for president because we're facing a crisis that threatens everything we stand for," Hickenlooper says over images of Trump. "As a skinny kid with coke bottle glasses and a funny last name, I've stood up to my fair share of bullies.

"I'm running for president because we need dreamers in Washington but we also need to get things done," he says. I've proven again and again I can bring people together to produce the progressive change Washington has failed to deliver."

In December, the Associated Press reported that Hickenlooper was quickly hiring up staff, including pollsters and fundraisers, for his Giddy Up PAC, created in 2017.

As governor, Hickenlooper struck a balance between espousing socially progressive policies on issues such as gun control while making Colorado a desirable home for business interests, including large energy companies.

While some progressives have criticized Hickenlooper for being too friendly to big oil & gas companies, including paving the way for fracking in Colorado, his supporters highlight his ability to work across the aisle and get along with just about anyone.

Read more:Our exclusive with Colorado's colorful, rising-star governor, the man some Davos elites say could lead Democrats in 2020

Throughout his entire political career, he's even refused to air any negative ads against his opponents - although that may have to change in the hyper-polarized environment of 2019.

"I think there's a point where someone like me — I'm an entrepreneur, I'm a problem solver, I've been good at bringing people together that historically have been antagonistic," Hickenlooper told CNN in December.

"Maybe the country needs someone that can bring the divided parts of the country and the divided constituencies back together."

Hickenlooper touts his record creating jobs, reducing unemployment, and increasing quality of life for rural Coloradans as the high points of his record as governor.

If Hickenlooper's presidential bid doesn't succeed, he would be well-positioned to challenge vulnerable Republican Colorado Senator Cory Gardner, who is up for re-election in 2022, or land a cabinet position in a future Democratic administration.</s>'I'm running for president because we're facing a crisis that threatens everything we stand for.'

Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper announced Monday that he is running for president in 2020, saying that the country is currently facing a “crisis,” CNN is reporting. Hickenlooper joins an increasingly crowded field of Democratic contenders challenging Donald Trump for the presidency in the next election cycle.

Taking a page from the changing ways in which Americans consume their news and information, Hickenlooper announced his candidacy via a YouTube video, which will be embedded below in this article. Titled “Standing Tall,” the video is something of a biography, highlighting some of the crises that faced Colorado during his term as governor (2011-2019), including natural disasters, economic issues, and a theater shooting. The video then shows how he recovered from being a laid-off geologist to a successful business owner to the mayor of Denver and then governor of Colorado.

From there, Hickenlooper talks about how he dealt with bullying throughout his life, and an image then shows Donald Trump, although Hickenlooper doesn’t actually directly call Trump a bully.

Meanwhile, Hickenlooper also plans to tout his candidacy the more traditional way, making the rounds of the morning news shows on Monday and then, later this week, will host a “hometown send off” party with local dignitaries as well as a blues band, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats.

In March, he will head to Iowa, the traditional stomping ground of presidential candidates eager to increase the value of their campaigns’ stock early in the primary season.

Hickenlooper’s announcement ends months of speculation about whether or not he would run. For months, he had been teasing that he might throw his hat in the ring, at one time telling reporters that he enjoyed a friendly game of chance and that he would “take the bet” that he’d eventually run.

Hickenlooper joins 13 other Democrats who have announced that they are running against Donald Trump in 2020, with more potential candidates still teasing that they may or may not run. He is the second governor to announce a bid, with the other being Washington state Governor Jay Inslee.

CNN writers Dan Merica and Scott McLean posit that Hickenlooper’s candidacy is a long shot, noting that he lacks the visible public profile of more established Democrats such as Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris.</s>Former Governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper becomes the 14th Democrat to announce a presidential bid, and the second governor after Jay Inslee to do so.

“I’m running for president because we’re facing a crisis that threatens everything we stand for,” Hickenlooper said over a picture of Donald Trump in a campaign video titled “As a skinny kid with Coke-bottle glasses and a funny last name, I’ve stood up to my fair share of bullies,” he said.

Hickenlooper has teased a run for months. Originally an oil industry geologist laid off in the 1980s, Hickenlooper opened a brew pub that he eventually grew turned into multiple restaurants and bars, giving him a background as a successful entrepreneur and executive. At 50, he became mayor of Denver and eventually Colorado governor for eight years when his term ended January 2019.

Hickenlooper is emphasizing his ability to work with a divided legislature, the state’s achievement of health care coverage for 95% of the population, high job growth, environmental laws, and universal background checks for gun purchases and bans on high-capacity gun magazines (more than 15 rounds) after the Aurora mass shooting. Under his watch, Colorado also legalized recreational marijuana.

“I’ve proven again and again that I can bring people together to produce the progressive change that Washington has failed to deliver,” Hickenlooper said.

Some Democratic strategists and consultants note that Hickenlooper has the executive experience the resumé of a governor offers, according to the . But he still lacks an overriding issue that could capture attention and let him pull away from the crowded field.</s>Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper has tossed his hat into the Democratic presidential ring. He announced his 2020 candidacy early Monday with a campaign video that hits the highlights of his career as a two-term governor and two-term Denver mayor. He addresses recession, droughts and floods, and the mass shooting in Aurora in 2012.

Hickenlooper just finished his second term in the statehouse. He was a popular, pro-business governor. He left Colorado with a strong economy and his tenure was marked by an emphasis on consensus-building.

It's that record that he's touting in the campaign video. "I'm running for president because we need dreamers in Washington but we also need to get things done," Hickenlooper says in the video. "I've proven again and again I can bring people together to produce the progressive change Washington has failed to deliver."

As governor, Hickenlooper also signed an expansion of Medicaid in 2013. He has not expressed support for a single-payer health system.

Hickenlooper was the first Denver mayor to be elected Colorado governor in 120 years. And he won election as mayor of Denver with no political experience. He was re-elected in 2014 after running an entirely positive campaign.

He was considered one of the nation's most effective mayors -- in 2005, Time named him one of its five top big-city mayors.

Hickenlooper was an amiable, business-friendly mayor who was able to lower the city's deficits by cutting costs and by persuading voters to accept sales taxes to pay for a new mass transit system. He also expanded pre-Kindergarten to every 4-year-old.

Hickenlooper followed an unusual route into politics, beginning his professional life as a geologist with Buckhorn Petroleum in the 1980s. But the oil bust in the mid-'80s cost him his job in 1986. There were no jobs to be had in the oil industry, so Hickenlooper went into the brewpub business, opening the Wynkoop Brewing Co. The brewery was a success, and it made him a millionaire.

Hickenlooper, the second governor or former governor to announce a Democratic presidential bid, follows Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who entered the fray last week. Hickenlooper will kick off his campaign at a hometown event in Denver Thursday. Then it's on to Iowa.

In September, Hickenlooper announced the formation of a leadership PAC, the Giddy Up PAC. Last year, he traveled to early-voting primary states like New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina.

Hickenlooper has opposed a number of Trump administration policies, including plans to scale back on federal coal emission restrictions, and has been generally critical of the president's approach to business.

Over the summer, he called for an investigation into the separation of thousands of children from their families at the border, and he opposed the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.</s>The Democrat and self-described “extreme moderate” announced his 2020 run for the White House on Monday morning in a YouTube video that highlights his accomplishments as a Colorado businessman-turned-politician while also directly attacking President Donald Trump.

“I’ve stood up to my fair share of bullies,” Hickenlooper says in the campaign video after flashing clips of Trump. “Join me, and we’ll repair the damage done to our country and be stronger than ever.”

The video touts several advances in Colorado during his eight years as governor, including methane regulations, rising health care coverage rates, statewide economic growth and stricter gun laws ― including universal background checks and a ban on high-capacity magazines.

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper announced his presidential candidacy on Monday in a campaign video that ticked off his achievements while also attacking President Donald Trump.

That gun control legislation followed several mass shootings in his state, including the 2012 shooting at an Aurora movie theater that killed 12 people and wounded several dozen more.

“I’m running for president because we need dreamers in Washington, but we also need to get things done,” he says in the video. “I’ve proven again and again I can bring people together to produce the progressive change Washington has failed to deliver.”

Hickenlooper has been vocal about his presidential ambitions for some time but delayed announcing his candidacy until after his second gubernatorial term ended on Jan. 8. Those two terms as governor followed two terms as mayor of Denver and the launch of a successful brewpub company.

To test his electoral chances, Hickenlooper has been traveling the country and raising money for his federal leadership PAC. In its first four months, Giddy Up PAC pulled in more than $600,000 ― 80 percent of which came from people in Colorado, ﻿The Colorado Sun reported.

In early January, Hickenlooper told Denver station KDVR that upcoming trips to key primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire were to see if “someone from an interior state like Colorado can get traction. ... Can you raise enough money to compete on the national landscape?”

Even if his state doesn’t hold the same fundraising power as some other states, he said it makes up for that in its message to voters.

“What I do think that we’ve done in Colorado, this notion of finding ways to bring people together who normally don’t compromise ― I still believe that that has currency and value in America,” Hickenlooper, who has earned praise for his efforts to achieve bipartisan compromise, told the station.

A poll taken for The Des Moines Register, CNN and Mediacom in December found that the majority of Iowa’s likely Democratic caucusgoers ― 67 percent ― think they don’t know enough about Hickenlooper to assess him as a presidential candidate. Twenty-four percent of respondents said they have a very favorable or mostly favorable opinion of him, while the remaining 9 percent said they have a mostly or very unfavorable view of him.</s>Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has announced he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, becoming the second governor to join a crowded field of candidates.

In a short video released Monday morning, Hickenlooper pledged to fight what he referred to as a crisis that threatens everything America stands for, as a picture of President Trump flashed on the screen, "As a skinny kid with Coke bottle glasses and a funny last name. I've stood up to my fair share of bullies. Standing tall when it matters is one of the things that really drives me."

The 67-year-old former geologist, beer brewer and mayor of Denver has been considering a presidential bid for some time. He often touts his state's solid economic growth, especially in rural parts of Colorado. Hickenlooper also points to his accomplishments as governor, such as Medicaid expansion, increased infrastructure and public education spending and overhauling state campaign finance laws. He also led Colorado through major challenges, including historic wildfires and floods, and a mass shooting at a movie theater in a Denver suburb.

"I promised Colorado families that we would rebuild our communities better than before, and that just offering thoughts and prayers would never again be sufficient," said Hickenlooper, who served two terms as governor.

In 2013 Hickenlooper signed universal background checks into law and a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, but his pro-business centrist profile could be a turn-off for progressives in the party. He's also been a strong supporter of Colorado's oil and gas industry, which is sure to be a point of contention for some Democrats.

As governor, he was known to try to build consensus and compromise on tough issues tackling the state. He argues there's more Democrats agree on than disagree, and that he could be a draw for independent voters and disaffected Republicans.

In an interview with NPR last month, Hickenlooper warned Democrats that the party needed to stand for more than opposition to President Trump.

"I think there is so much frustration at the national level, and I think President Trump has created this, so that the one way that people can demonstrate quickly and firmly that they are against Trump is to show anger and really lash out — at either President Trump or someone — to demonstrate that they have the same values as the Democratic primary voters. And I understand, I feel that," Hickenlooper said. "But I think there might be a kind of a new silent majority of people that are also going to want to see achievement.

While Hickenlooper isn't as well-known as some other potential challengers, he made that a clear lack of name recognition won't stop him. He formed a political action committee and began traveling for candidates during the midterm elections. This year, he's been making stops in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, where Democratic voters will get their first crack at weighing in on the field. Hickenlooper kicks off his campaign Thursday night in downtown Denver. He then heads on a two-day swing through Iowa, followed by a stop at the South by Southwest Conference in Austin, Texas.</s>Updated at 9:55 a.m. ET

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has announced he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, becoming the second governor to join a crowded field of candidates.

In a short video released Monday morning, Hickenlooper pledged to fight what he referred to as a crisis that threatens everything America stands for, as a picture of President Trump flashed on the screen, "As a skinny kid with Coke bottle glasses and a funny last name. I've stood up to my fair share of bullies. Standing tall when it matters is one of the things that really drives me."

In an interview with Colorado Public Radio, Hickenlooper said he has his own tactic for dealing with Trump's aggressive tactics.

"You say back what they're saying, but you twist it just enough so the people they're trying to impress see the lunacy, the comedy in what they're trying to say," Hickenlooper said. "When their audience begins laughing at them, it drives most bullies nuts."

The 67-year-old former geologist, beer brewer and mayor of Denver has been considering a presidential bid for some time. He often touts his state's solid economic growth, especially in rural parts of Colorado. Hickenlooper also points to his accomplishments as governor, such as Medicaid expansion, increased infrastructure and public education spending and overhauling state campaign finance laws. He also led Colorado through major challenges, including historic wildfires and floods, and a mass shooting at a movie theater in a Denver suburb.

"I promised Colorado families that we would rebuild our communities better than before, and that just offering thoughts and prayers would never again be sufficient," said Hickenlooper, who served two terms as governor, in his launch video.

In 2013, Hickenlooper signed universal background checks into law and a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, but his pro-business centrist profile could be a turn-off for progressives in the party. He's also been a strong supporter of Colorado's oil and gas industry, which is sure to be a point of contention for some Democrats.

As governor, he was known to try to build consensus and compromise on tough issues tackling the state. He argues there's more Democrats agree on than disagree, and that he could be a draw for independent voters and disaffected Republicans.

In an interview with NPR last month, Hickenlooper warned Democrats that the party needed to stand for more than opposition to President Trump.

"I think there is so much frustration at the national level, and I think President Trump has created this, so that the one way that people can demonstrate quickly and firmly that they are against Trump is to show anger and really lash out — at either President Trump or someone — to demonstrate that they have the same values as the Democratic primary voters. And I understand, I feel that," Hickenlooper said. "But I think there might be a kind of a new silent majority of people that are also going to want to see achievement.

Hickenlooper joins a field that now has 14 declared major candidates. He said that what sets him apart from his opponents is that many of them have spent long careers in Washington engaged in a "debate of words" while he's been focused on making his state function.

"I understand we need debate, but we also need doers," Hickenlooper told Colorado Public Radio. "I'm someone who, pretty much my whole adult life, has been spent bringing together talented teams of people and then working with them to accomplish real progressive change."

While Hickenlooper isn't as well-known as some other potential challengers, he made that a clear lack of name recognition won't stop him. He formed a political action committee and began traveling for candidates during the midterm elections. This year, he's been making stops in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, where Democratic voters will get their first crack at weighing in on the field. Hickenlooper kicks off his campaign Thursday night in downtown Denver. He then heads on a two-day swing through Iowa, followed by a stop at the South by Southwest Conference in Austin, Texas.
Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper announces he is running for the Democratic Party's nomination to be President of the United States in the 2020 presidential election.