Democratic U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper secured six more years in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday by trouncing his Republican challenger, state Sen. Mark Baisley, in a race that was never really competitive.
The Associated Press called the contest at 7 p.m. — as soon as polls closed. By 7:07 p.m., Hickenlooper was leading Baisley 83%-13%. The race is certain to tighten as ballots are counted, but not enough to get Baisley close to Hickenlooper’s lead.
“Voters had a choice between more of President Trump’s relentless corruption and higher prices AND change,” Hickenlooper said in a written statement. “We the people chose change!”
Hickenlooper’s victory continues his reign in the upper echelons of Colorado’s political landscape. He previously served two terms as Denver’s mayor and two terms as Colorado’s governor. After his second term in the Senate, when he will be 80, he has said he will retire.
“I have a 3.5-year-old son,” Hickenlooper, 74, said during a 9News debate with Baisley. “I selfishly want to have more time with my second son.”
Hickenlooper’s biggest challenge during his reelection bid this year came during the Democratic primary in June, when he fended off a challenge from his left from state Sen. Julie Gonzales, beating her by nearly 6 percentage points.
While still a solid margin of victory, it came against a relatively poorly funded and much lesser known opponent who entered the race late. That left political observers wondering if Gonzales could have beaten Hickenlooper with more money and a more disciplined campaign, especially given the anti-incumbent wave that drowned other Democratic incumbents in Colorado and across the nation this year.
But by winning the Democratic primary, Hickenlooper all but guaranteed he would win the general election, too, in a state that hasn’t elected a Republican to statewide office in a decade.
“I feel like he’s done a pretty good job,” said Jennifer Balasco, a 41-year-old unaffiliated voter who cast her ballot in Englewood on Tuesday for Hickenlooper.
Vivian Koras, a 72-year-old voter in Denver’s Windsor Gardens neighborhood, voted for Hickenlooper, too.
“I like what he’s been doing,” said Koras, who describes herself as an independent. “He’s a good senator.”
Baisley, who faced no primary and started out this election cycle running for governor, didn’t put up much of a fight against Hickenlooper in the general election.
He raised and spent about $100,000 through mid-October and received effectively no help from national Republicans. Hickenlooper, by comparison, had raised and spent more than $9 million on his reelection bid dating back to 2025.
More competitive Senate races this year, like the ones in Maine and Ohio, drew hundreds of millions of dollars in spending.
At one point, it looked like Chew — who spent more than $3.5 million of his own money on his campaign — could siphon votes from both Hickenlooper and Baisley. But in the end, the self-described independent’s campaign was never able to build enough momentum to pose a real threat.
Hickenlooper promised during the campaign to be a forceful check on the Trump administration, saying he regretted voting for some of the president’s cabinet nominees.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
Colorado Sun editor Justin George and Colorado staff writer Michael Booth contributed to this report contributed to this report.
