On Friday morning, Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper tweeted, “Ecstatic to cast my vote to nominate @KamalaHarris as the Democratic candidate for president 2024.”
Hickenlooper’s enthusiasm is right on cue. Vice President Kamala Harris has dominated as the party’s likely new nominee, shattering fundraising records and generating momentum not seen for years. So it’s not surprising Hickenlooper would get on board.
But it is surprising when you consider that Hickenlooper has already announced his plans to run for reelection at age 74 in 2026. If reelected, this would make him 80 years old by the end of his second term, only one year shy of President Biden. It’s an age a vast majority of voters have been clear is too old for higher office, raising the issue of whether Hickenlooper ought to follow suit and pass the torch, too.
Much like Biden, Hickenlooper has already pushed the envelope. In 2020, he defaulted to the U.S. Senate race after a failed presidential bid, entering a crowded primary of mostly younger, more diverse candidates. At the time, Hickenlooper made the same case as Biden: With his lengthy record, he was the safest candidate to defeat the Trump agenda. Like Biden, it worked, and everyone else fell aside.
But times have changed, as indicated by Harris’ surge, and unlike Biden, reelecting Hickenlooper would be more appealing if he were outperforming at the job. So far, he’s not. Halfway through his first term, the rankings for the first two years are less than inspiring.
Among Senate Democrats, Hickenlooper has introduced the fewest number of bills. He’s also secured the fewest cosponsors, ranked as having the second fewest bipartisan cosponsors and bicameral support on his bills, got bills out of committee the third least often, cosponsored the fourth fewest bills, got influential cosponsors the third least often, wrote the sixth fewest bills and ranked at the bottom for leadership.
The measures he excelled at were joining bipartisan bills second most often and passing four bills as the primary sponsor.
Like me, you might be tempted to think Hickenlooper only ranked so poorly because he’s a junior Senator. Sadly, that’s not the case. Even among his cohort of freshman senators, Hickenlooper introduced only about one-third of the bills compared to his top-ranked colleague, and he continued to rank at or near the bottom among his early peers for nearly all of the rankings listed above.
Certainly, productivity is only one measure of success for a U.S. Senator. Hickenlooper’s team appears to be available to constituents and likely operates effectively in many areas and behind the scenes. But is his overall performance enough to justify not passing the torch in 2026?
Probably not.
Where the line should fall regarding age is hard to say. Lots of debates have ensued regarding ageism in political circles, both for being too old and too young. But if we’ve learned anything in the past few weeks, it’s that voters are yearning for change. They want the sense of progress that accompanies generational shifts in leadership. Biden recognized this need and gave it to us. Why shouldn’t Coloradans get that gift, too?
Finding Hickenlooper’s replacement would not be hard. Colorado Democrats have a robust bench to pull from and if anything the biggest challenge would be having too many options. It’s also great timing, politically speaking. The state has become reliably blue so long as the GOP stays in disarray, and 2026 is likely no exception. That makes it safe for Democrats to secure their next big name and increase momentum in a nonpresidential election. This same opportunity might not exist in 2032 or beyond.
So what’ll be, Senator? Will you continue to put personal ambitions above the needs of Coloradans? Or, like Biden, will you recognize the best path forward for everyone is to pass the torch?
The ball is in your court.
Trish Zornio is a scientist, lecturer and writer who has worked at some of the nation’s top universities and hospitals. She’s an avid rock climber and was a 2020 candidate for the U.S. Senate in Colorado. Trish can be found on Twitter @trish_zornio
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Type of Story: Opinion
Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
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Publish date : 2024-08-04 22:00:00
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