


"They remind me how much is at stake for our country. And our state," he said. "I intend to give that some serious thought."

Colorado's shift to the left could put Sen. Cory Gardner's seat in jeopardy for Republicans, and at least 10 Democrats have launched campaigns, setting up a competitive primary even before Hickenlooper, 67, makes a decision.





He positioned himself as a common-sense candidate who couldn't be labeled a "socialist" by Republicans. But Hickenlooper couldn't make his voice heard in the crowded Democratic field of about two dozen candidates.


"While this campaign didn't have the outcome we were hoping for, every moment has been worthwhile," Hickenlooper tweeted on Thursday.

Republicans seized on the meltdown of Hickenlooper's campaign as evidence the Democratic Party has become too radical. "A two-term governor of a swing state and #2020 presidential #Democrat candidate who was booed for warning against his party's embrace of socialist policies has been forced out of the race," tweeted Kellyanne Conway, a top Trump aide.

But Hickenlooper's own supporters attributed his failure partly to the persistence of former Vice President Joe Biden's strong position in the Democratic primary field. Hickenlooper launched his presidential bid presuming that the 76-year-old Biden would stumble, and the electorate would be hungry for another centrist with a track record of winning white moderates. But Biden remains in the lead in primary polls.



If he entered the Democratic primary, Hickenlooper would be "the absolute favorite," said Mike Stratton, a veteran Democratic strategist in Denver.



"He spent his time in Iowa running for president and as governor working and campaigning against bold, progressive solutions that will move Colorado and the country forward," said state Sen. Angela Williams in a statement. "If he's going to switch gears and run for the Senate, he has a lot to explain to Colorado voters. This won't be a coronation."

Others have said they don't intend to step aside even if the former governor runs.

"What I heard Gov. Hickenlooper tell everybody who asked is, he wasn't cut out to be a senator and didn't want the job," said former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, one of the primary contenders, in a radio interview.

Hickenlooper got some support from one of his former presidential rivals. "I think it's always good when anybody who has been a mayor is in the Senate because they have a little more of that background of getting things done," said Pete Buttigieg during a campaign stop in Iowa. "Certainly, if he chooses to run, he'll make an outstanding senator."


Associated Press writer Thomas Beaumont in Fairfield, Iowa, and AP Washington Bureau Chief Julie Pace in Washington contributed to this report.