John Hickenlooper, Former Colorado Governor, Announces His Candidacy For POTUS In 2020


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.

“I’m running for president because we’re facing a crisis that threatens everything we stand for.”

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.

“As a skinny kid with coke bottle glasses and a funny last name, I’ve stood up to my fair share of bullies.”

https://youtu.be/QwIk0hUmzk8

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.

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