# Colorado U.S. Senate 2026 ## Snapshot John Hickenlooper (D) seeking second term — widely reported as his final term. **RESOLVED JUN 30:** Hickenlooper turned back progressive state Sen. **Julie Gonzales** roughly 57–43. Republican **Mark Baisley** was unopposed, having been the only candidate to clear 30% at the state assembly — confirming the depleted-bench read. ⚠️ **Do not confuse the two Colorado Senate seats.** The seat on the 2026 ballot is Hickenlooper's. Michael Bennet's term runs to 2029 and he keeps it — despite losing the Democratic gubernatorial primary the same night to Attorney General **Phil Weiser**, 55–45. A sitting U.S. senator lost a statewide primary in Colorado in June 2026 and it was not this race. Cook rates it **Solid D** (Sept 23). Structurally uncompetitive; the intel interest is the progressive primary pressure and 2032 open-seat setup. ## Incumbent - **[[John Hickenlooper]]** (D) — senator since 2021 (defeated Cory Gardner 2020 with 53.5%). Former Governor of Colorado (2011–2019). Former Mayor of Denver (2003–2011). Geologist / brewpub entrepreneur (Wynkoop Brewing). 2020 Democratic presidential candidate (withdrew March 2019). Moderate-pragmatist brand. ## Democratic primary (June 30, 2026) - **John Hickenlooper** — incumbent. Leading in all internal polling. - **Julie Gonzales** — Colorado State Senator (District 34, Denver) since 2019. Progressive lane; immigration-justice and criminal-justice reform focus. First tier-one primary challenge to Hickenlooper. Hickenlooper remains favored by comfortable margins; Gonzales challenge is organizationally serious but not projected to flip. ## Republican primary (June 30, 2026) - No tier-one candidate filed - Minor candidates only; CO R bench "depleted" per public reporting ## Ratings history - **2026-09-23 — Cook: Solid D** (Cook print ratings) - 2026-04 — Cook: Likely D - Cook has not shifted to Lean D despite Gonzales challenge — primary competitiveness doesn't affect general rating ## Key dates - 2026-03-17 — CO filing deadline (passed) - 2026-06-30 — CO primaries - 2026-11-03 — general election ## Money - Hickenlooper: strong COH, institutional D fundraising - Gonzales: state-senator-scale fundraising; progressive small-dollar network - R field: minimal cash ## Intel notes - **"Final term" framing**: multiple outlets have reported Hickenlooper's 2026 bid as his final term. If accurate, 2032 becomes an open-seat cycle with a deep D bench (Gov. Polis term-limited January 2027; AG [[Phil Weiser]]; Sec State Jena Griswold; Rep Joe Neguse). Worth noting for long-planning. - **Gonzales as Colorado-progressive barometer**: the Gonzales primary is a test of how much structural progressive pressure exists in CO Democratic primary electorate. A high-30s Gonzales share becomes meaningful signal for 2028 gubernatorial / 2032 Senate primary dynamics. - **CO R-bench depletion**: Colorado has not elected a Republican statewide since Gardner 2014. The lack of any credible R challenger in 2026 is the capstone signal that the party's 2010s statewide infrastructure is gone. A 2028 gubernatorial R rebuild is possible; 2026 is not. - **Hickenlooper's moderate brand**: watch votes on any [[Second Trump Administration]] compromise legislation — Hickenlooper has been one of the D members most willing to cross over, which feeds the Gonzales primary case. ## Related KB entities - TBD: [[John Hickenlooper]] — incumbent (People/ stub) - TBD: [[Julie Gonzales]] — primary challenger (consider stub post-primary if performance is high) ## Content leads - **Blog**: "Hickenlooper's Final Term?" — the 2026-2032 CO Democratic succession landscape - **Data**: CO R statewide losses 2014–2024 as a trend timeline - **[[YouTube]]**: Julie Gonzales explainer — the progressive lane in Colorado's Democratic Party ## Sources - [Ballotpedia — CO Senate 2026](https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Senate_election_in_Colorado,_2026) - [Wikipedia — 2026 CO Senate election](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_Senate_election_in_Colorado)