JOHN HICKENLOOPER

Colorado’s John Hickenlooper has straddled the divide between industry and the environment. Now the U.S. senator is trying to create a climate-oriented voting bloc comprised of outdoor enthusiasts.

Rep. Gleen Thompson In this image from video, Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., speaks as the House debates the objection to confirm the Electoral College vote from Pennsylvania, at the U.S. Capitol early Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. — Officials with Rep. Glenn Thompson’s office said Friday that the Pennsylvania Republican tested positive for COVID-19 after experiencing “cold-like symptoms.”>> Read more trending newsIn a statement, officials said the congressman is fully vaccinated. As of Friday morning, about 57% of Americans, or 190.1 million people, have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since the start of the pandemic, officials have confirmed over 45.3 million COVID-19 infections and reported more than 735,000 deaths nationwide, according to numbers compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Over 242.8 million COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide, resulting in more than 4.9 million deaths, according to Johns Hopkins.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers In this image from video, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., speaks on the floor of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Thursday, April 23, 2020. (House Television via AP, File)Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers said Friday that she is experiencing mild symptoms one day after testing positive for COVID-19. >> Read more trending news“Yesterday, despite being fully vaccinated, I tested positive for COVID-19,” the Washington Republican said in a statement. McMorris Rodgers’ diagnosis is the latest known breakthrough case of COVID-19 in Congress. Over 228.8 million COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide, resulting in nearly 4.7 million deaths, according to Johns Hopkins.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is moving the headquarters of the Bureau of Land Management back to the nation’s capital after two years in Colorado.

Rep. Darren Soto In this image from video, Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., speaks on the floor of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Thursday, April 23, 2020. (House Television via AP, File)Rep. Darren Soto said Wednesday that he is experiencing mild symptoms of COVID-19 after recently testing positive for the virus. I encourage everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible: https://t.co/3Mm7LPNMxT pic.twitter.com/vXNXAaSCTz — Rep. Darren Soto (@RepDarrenSoto) September 8, 2021The diagnosis is the latest known breakthrough case of COVID-19 in Congress. Since the start of the pandemic, officials have confirmed nearly 40.3 million COVID-19 infections and reported more than 650,800 deaths nationwide, according to numbers compiled by Johns Hopkins University. More than 222.1 million COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide, resulting in nearly 4.6 million deaths, according to Johns Hopkins.

"I single-handedly said, 'Let's go to Alabama,'" Trump said of the Space Command move. "They wanted it. I said 'Let's go to Alabama.' I love Alabama."

U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper, Angus King and Roger Wicker have become the latest high-profile lawmakers to test positive for the coronavirus.

Greg Abbott’s mask mandate ban. On Thursday, the state’s seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases hit 713, up 56% from two weeks ago. The announcement was made Thursday amid a surge in coronavirus cases in the state and as hospitals near capacity. ___TOPEKA, Kan. — Officials in some Kansas communities are battling a rise in COVID-19 cases by mandating masks for kids, issuing emergency orders and requiring vaccines. North Carolina on Thursday registered more than 7,000 daily COVID-19 cases, the highest in seven months.

Officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized the cards in the last week as they arrived in small packages. On Thursday, the state’s seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases hit 713, up 56% from two weeks ago. The announcement was made Thursday amid a surge in coronavirus cases in the state and as hospitals near capacity. ___TOPEKA, Kan. — Officials in some Kansas communities are battling a rise in COVID-19 cases by mandating masks for kids, issuing emergency orders and requiring vaccines. North Carolina on Thursday registered more than 7,000 daily COVID-19 cases, the highest in seven months.

(Adriana Lantzy/Children’s Health via AP) (Adriana Lantzy)HONOLULU -- Organizers of the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii said Thursday this year’s contest will be postponed to February because of increasing COVID-19 cases in the state. On Thursday, the state’s seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases hit 713, up 56% from two weeks ago. The announcement was made Thursday amid a surge in coronavirus cases in the state and as hospitals near capacity. ___TOPEKA, Kan. — Officials in some Kansas communities are battling a rise in COVID-19 cases by mandating masks for kids, issuing emergency orders and requiring vaccines. North Carolina on Thursday registered more than 7,000 daily COVID-19 cases, the highest in seven months.

The announcement was made Thursday amid a surge in coronavirus cases in the state and as hospitals near capacity. ___TOPEKA, Kan. — Officials in some Kansas communities are battling a rise in COVID-19 cases by mandating masks for kids, issuing emergency orders and requiring vaccines. In the Lawrence area, Douglas County leaders approved a health order Wednesday that will require children ages 2 to 12 to wear masks while in indoor public spaces. ___COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s top prosecutor on Thursday sued the state’s capital city over a school mask mandate that officials allege violates state law. North Carolina on Thursday registered more than 7,000 daily COVID-19 cases, the highest in seven months.

King tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021, a day after he began feeling under the weather, his office announced. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File) (Robert F. Bukaty)WASHINGTON — (AP) — Three senators said Thursday they have tested positive for COVID-19 despite being vaccinated, a high-profile collection of breakthrough cases that comes as the highly infectious delta variant spreads rapidly across the United States. Angus King, I-Maine, Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., all said they have tested positive for the virus. Wicker’s office said he tested positive for the virus Thursday morning. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. had announced Aug. 2 that he had tested positive for COVID-19 despite being vaccinated.

Brian Kemp said his order will prevent local governments from forcing businesses to be the city’s mask and vaccine police. In the Lawrence area, Douglas County leaders approved a health order Wednesday that will require children ages 2 to 12 to wear masks while in indoor public spaces. ___COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s top prosecutor on Thursday sued the state’s capital city over a school mask mandate that officials allege violates state law. North Carolina on Thursday registered more than 7,000 daily COVID-19 cases, the highest in seven months. Cassie Sauer, president of the Washington State Hospital Association.

Three senators say they have tested positive for COVID-19 despite being vaccinated.

Angus King, I-Maine, Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., all said they have tested positive for the virus. King said he began feeling feverish Wednesday and took a COVID test at his doctor’s suggestion. “While I am not feeling great, I’m definitely feeling much better than I would have without the vaccine,” King said.

Multiple U.S. Senators announced they tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.

Multiple U.S. Senators announced they tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.

(Adriana Lantzy/Children’s Health via AP) (Adriana Lantzy)DENVER -- Colorado U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper announced Thursday that he has tested positive for a “breakthrough” case of COVID-19. Kate Brown announced Oregon is expanding its COVID-19 vaccine requirement to include all teachers, educators, support staff and volunteers in K-12 schools. In a message to the community, the university says 87% of students have attested they are fully vaccinated. Those who become fully vaccinated and report their status to the university will no longer have to face twice-weekly testing. ___RICHMOND, Va. — A surge of COVID-19 cases is prompting U.S. federal courts to impose new restrictions and requirements for mask-wearing and vaccinations.

U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper, Angus King and Roger Wicker have become the latest high-profile lawmakers to test positive for the coronavirus.

Sen. John Hickenlooper tests positive for COVID-19 Sen. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat from Colorado, wears a protective mask while walking through the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021. >> Related: Coronavirus: Sen. Angus King tests positive for COVID-19“I’m grateful for the vaccine (& the scientists behind it!) Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Angus King, I-Maine, confirmed that they had also tested positive for COVID-19. >> Related: Coronavirus: Sen. Roger Wicker tests positive for COVID-19The diagnoses are the latest known breakthrough cases of COVID-19 in Congress. More than 209.7 million COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide, resulting in nearly 4.4 million deaths, according to Johns Hopkins.

The wife of a Democratic political strategist from Colorado is among those missing in the condo building that partially collapsed outside Miami.

Congressional Democrats are eyeing a $6 trillion infrastructure package that goes far beyond roads and bridges.

A bipartisan senators’ group working on a $1 trillion infrastructure compromise has now doubled in size, expanding to 21 members.

President Joe Biden’s nominee to oversee vast expanses of public land in the U.S. West is being criticized by Republicans because of her involvement in partisan politics as a longtime Democratic aide and environmentalist.

Several families and survivors of those killed in March's mass shooting at a Colorado supermarket are demanding the appointment of a special master to help distribute public donations for victims to a centralized account.

A group working to elect candidates with science, technology, engineering and math backgrounds plans to spend $50 million in the 2022 midterm elections.

On Wednesday, Reinfeld was reeling from the latest mass shooting even closer to home, after authorities say a 21-year-old gunned down shoppers at a local grocery store. “I could see at some point leaving because of all this,” said Reinfeld, a gun control activist. But it's also been haunted by shootings that have helped define the nation's decades-long struggle with mass violence. The Aurora shooting brought that terror from schools to a movie theater. After each of Colorado's biggest massacres, the local gun control movement has gained heartbroken new recruits.

(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)DENVER – The Department of Defense's inspector general announced Friday that it was reviewing the Trump administration's last-minute decision to relocate U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama. “Moving Space Command will disrupt the mission while risking our national security and economic vitality,” the senators said in a joint statement. We fully support the investigation.”Among other duties, the Space Command enables satellite-based navigation and troop communication and provides warning of missile launches. The Space Command differs from the U.S. Space Force, launched in December 2019 as the first new military service since the Air Force was created in 1947. The Space Command is not an individual military service but a central command for militarywide space operations.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks with reporters during a press conference in Louisville, Ky., Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020. “We’re waiting — whether I’m going to be the majority leader or not,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Wednesday. There already is a Jan. 5 runoff in the state's other Senate race. Securing the Senate majority will be vital for the winner of the presidency. John Hickenlooper defeated GOP Sen. Cory Gardner, and Arizona, where former astronaut Mark Kelly beat Republican incumbent Martha McSally.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi was on track to keep control of the Democratic House, but saw her majority shrinking and her leadership called into question. By evening, Pelosi had all but declared Democrat Joe Biden the winner, saying House Democrats “will now have the opportunity to deliver extraordinary progress” on party priorities — lowering health care costs, providing jobs through new infrastructure and others. “I know folks are anxious,” Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy told followers on a live Twitter video. McConnell also warned of the continued problems Republicans face in the Trump era as voters turn away from the GOP. “It’s time for a different approach,” said Democrat John Hickenlooper, a former governor who unseated Republican Sen. Cory Gardner in Colorado.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi was on track to keep control of the Democratic House, but saw her majority shrinking and her leadership called into question. By evening, Pelosi had all but declared Democrat Joe Biden the winner, saying House Democrats “will now have the opportunity to deliver extraordinary progress” on party priorities — lowering health care costs, providing jobs through new infrastructure and others. “I know folks are anxious,” Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy told followers on a live Twitter video. McConnell also warned of the continued problems Republicans face in the Trump era as voters turn away from the GOP. “It’s time for a different approach,” said Democrat John Hickenlooper, a former governor who unseated Republican Sen. Cory Gardner in Colorado.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said President Donald Trump’s campaign helped his GOP allies, but that state election officials were still counting ballots. Key Senate races in North Carolina, Alaska and Georgia remained undecided. Democrats contested seats from New England to the Deep South and the Midwest to the Mountain West, reaching deep into GOP strongholds. North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis has struggled against Democrat Cal Cunningham, despite the married challenger’s sexting scandal with a public relations strategist. GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler will face Democrat Raphael Warnock, a Black pastor at the church where the Rev.

Most of the pivotal Senate races were still too early to call when NBC projected Hickenlooper's victory. John Hickenlooper is projected to win Colorado's Senate race, flipping a key seat to Democratic control, according to NBC News. In remarks after his projected win, Hickenlooper listed health care, job growth and climate change as his priorities in the Senate. Since Gardner's 2014 Senate race victory, Democrats had dominated statewide races in Colorado. Democrats Hillary Clinton and Michael Bennet won the 2016 presidential and Senate races, respectively, by more than 5 percentage points each.

The former astronaut defeated Republican Sen. Martha McSally, who was appointed to the seat after McCain’s death in 2018. Daines’ first election in 2014 broke a Democratic lock on the Senate seat that had lasted more than 100 years. The six-term congressman from northern New Mexico defeated Republican Mark Ronchetti, a former television meteorologist, and Libertarian Bob Walsh. Reed cruised to victory over Waters, an investment consultant who mounted earlier unsuccessful campaigns for state Senate and U.S. Senate in Massachusetts. Warner defeated Republican challenger Daniel Gade in a low-key race in which the incumbent had a massive cash advantage.

Republican Senate candidate Sen. Mitch McConnell, second from right, and his wife, Elaine Chao, right, look on as aides show him the election results in Louisville, Ky., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)WASHINGTON – Hopes fading for Senate control, Democrats had a disappointing election night as Republicans swatted down an onslaught of challengers and fought to retain their fragile majority. Democrats contested seats from New England to the Deep South and the Midwest to the Mountain West, reaching deep into GOP strongholds. The Democrats' gains were in Colorado and Arizona, where former astronaut Mark Kelly beat GOP incumbent Martha McSally. Republican Cynthia Lummis, the former congresswoman from Wyoming, won the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Mike Enzi.

Republican senators are fighting to save their majority against an onslaught of challengers in states once off limits to Democrats that are now hotbeds of the backlash to President Donald Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans are fighting to save their majority, a final election push against the onslaught of challengers in states once off limits to Democrats but now hotbeds of a potential backlash to President Donald Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill. With it, a reelected Trump could confirm his nominees and ensure a backstop against legislation from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. With the chamber now split, 53-47, three or four seats will determine Senate control, depending on which party wins the White House. Swooping in to fill the gap for Republicans is the Senate Leadership Fund, tapping deep-pocketed donors.

The two contests are crucial in the fight for control of the Senate, where Republicans have a 53-47 majority. “You can’t just be a supporter of public lands for four months before the election,” Montana Gov. Democrats have gained traction on a Bullock lawsuit against a senior Trump administration official with a history as an anti-public lands firebrand, Wyoming attorney William Perry Pendley. The Trump administration installed Perry as the nation’s lead public lands steward, acting head of the Bureau of Land Management, only to have a court side with Bullock and remove Pendley from the post. The court also struck down plans approved under Pendley that would have opened public lands in Montana to more oil and gas development.

DENVER – A major Democratic group on Friday pulled its last remaining ads from Colorado's closely watched U.S. Senate race, a sign that the party thinks its nominee has the crucial race in the bag. Senate Majority PAC said it will cancel $1.2 million in television ads and spend the money elsewhere as Democrats press a newly expanded Senate map, which Republicans on the run in GOP strongholds such as Alaska and South Carolina. Hickenlooper is in good shape heading into the final stretch,” Senate Majority PAC spokeswoman Rachel Irwin said. This week, Gardner reported raising $7 million in the prior quarter compared with Hickenlooper's $22.6 million — part of an overwhelming Democratic fundraising advantage that has become a staple of virtually every Senate race. Last week the Republican counterpart to Senate Majority PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, added another $1 million to its spending in Colorado as part of a $22 million blitz to defend seats around the country.

– Political groups fighting for control of the U.S. Senate have poured more than $118 million into the contest between Montana's Democratic Gov. And the Montana political ad spending is almost 10 times as much per voter being spent on ads in Colorado's Senate contest between former Democratic Gov. But the main driver is the race's competitive nature and the high stakes in the Senate. “These groups that are spending, they're spending big," Bullock told The AP. The Annenberg center's Jamieson, whose grandmother homesteaded in Montana, noted that political ads have a long history in the state.

Standing behind Trump are Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., from left, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. So far, voters are signaling they want to finish the job they started in 2018 by installing Democrats for House majority control. In battleground Arizona, Republican Sen. Martha McSally is trailing Democrat Mark Kelly, a former astronaut. Gonzales said after GOP losses in 2018 there was an expectation that Trump atop the ticket would bring back Republican voters in 2020. But President Trump continues to drive Democratic energy and turnout, he said.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)WASHINGTON A small but singularly influential group is a driving force for an agreement on a stalled coronavirus relief bill: Endangered Senate GOP incumbents who need to win this fall if Republicans are going to retain control of the majority. Several of them are refusing to allow the Senate to adjourn until Washington delivers a deal to their desperate constituents. And Sen. Susan Collins is in overdrive, backing help for cash-starved states and local governments and Maine's shipbuilding industry. GOP Senate candidates need a deal, a good deal ... so they can get home and campaign on helping small businesses get up and moving again, said Scott Reed, the chief political strategist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Cornyn helped start a bandwagon of senators who are demanding the Senate stay at work in Washington until a coronavirus bill is passed.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)WASHINGTON A small but singularly influential group is a driving force for an agreement on a stalled coronavirus relief bill: Endangered Senate GOP incumbents who need to win this fall if Republicans are going to retain control of the majority. Confronted with a poisonous political environment, vulnerable Senate Republicans are rushing to endorse generous jobless benefits, child care grants, and more than $100 billion to help schools reopen. Several of them are refusing to allow the Senate to adjourn until Washington delivers a deal to their desperate constituents. And Sen. Susan Collins is in overdrive, backing help for cash-starved states and local governments and Maine's shipbuilding industry. GOP Senate candidates need a deal, a good deal ... so they can get home and campaign on helping small businesses get up and moving again, said Scott Reed, the chief political strategist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

John Hickenlooper's Senate campaign reports a $5.2 million fundraising haul over the past three months, calling it a record for any Senate candidate in state history. Hickenlooper's haul is significant, though it comes as his fellow Democratic hopefuls have been shattering Senate fundraising records nationally. The Democratic campaign on Wednesday reported raising the $5.2 million between April 1 and June 30. The period includes the weeks running up to Colorado's June 30 Democratic primary, which Hickenlooper won handily despite a series of gaffes. Gardner and other Republicans began a multimillion-dollar ad campaign against Hickenlooper before the primary concluded, and Hickenlooper's allies have hit back.

Hickenlooper was supposed to be Democrats' worry-free solution to the Colorado Senate race, but he's stumbled badly in the weeks leading up to the party's June 30 primary. John Hickenlooper's standing in the Colorado Democratic Senate primary, a new political group is spending at least $1 million on a scathing attack ad against Hickenlooper's rival in the race. Romanoff is the underdog in the June 30 primary, running as a populist insurgent against the establishment's choice, Hickenlooper, who has raised significantly more money. Privately, Colorado Democrats have been concerned about how Hickenlooper will perform in the primary. Hours later, the attack ad against Romanoff, which Let's Turn Colorado Blue described as a seven-figure buy, began to circulate.

Hickenlooper defied a subpoena from the Colorado Ethics Commission, only testifying after the nonpartisan panel found him in contempt. Then the commission found he'd violated state ethics laws by accepting free travel while governor. This guy they put on a pedestal, he's a hot mess, said Democratic former state Rep. Joe Salazar, who often clashed with Hickenlooper in the statehouse. On Tuesday, both Gardner and the National Republican Senatorial Committee released ads bashing Hickenlooper, an unusual move during a Democratic primary. Then Senate Democrats, alarmed at an unwieldy primary for the party's nomination to challenge Gardner, recruited Hickenlooper to run for the Senate instead.

The video shows a silhouetted Hickenlooper speaking at some sort of gathering with a microphone in his hand about political schedulers. Imagine an ancient slave ship, he tells the audience. We elected officials are the ones rowing, Hickenlooper said. Anderson has endorsed Hickenloopers rival, former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate. The winner of Colorado's Democratic Senate primary will face Republican Sen. Cory Gardner, widely seen as the most vulnerable GOP senator this year.

Mark Grueskin, an attorney for Hickenlooper, logged onto the remote hearing 15 minutes after it started, citing problems with his internet connection. He told commissioners that Hickenlooper's legal team had appealed to an appellate court a Wednesday night court order for Hickenlooper to appear. No immediate ruling is expected but Hickenlooper could be fined if the commission rules against him. The Public Trust Institute, a conservative group led by Frank McNulty, a former Republican speaker of the Colorado House, has alleged that Hickenlooper violated Colorado's ethics law by taking free flights on private jets as governor. Hickenlooper, who was governor from 2011 to 2019, has denied the accusations as politically motivated.

FILE - In this Nov. 15, 2019, file photo former Georgia House Democratic Leader Stacey Abrams, speaks at the National Press Club in Washington. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has already narrowed the field by saying he will pick a woman. Gretchen Whitmer, other names that have been part of the speculation are Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Abrams. On Thursday, Abrams announced that she was backing Democratic candidates in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina. For Arizona, Abrams said former astronaut Mark Kelly has a proven record of service to our country. John Hickenlooper, the former Colorado governor and 2020 presidential candidate, is the one to help us cross the finish line for a Democratic Senate majority, Abrams said.

Donations under $200 are not itemized, so it is impossible to know which states they came from based on FEC filings. (Chris Keller/Los Angeles Times)The state has long been a dependable source of donations for presidential candidates of both parties. Several Democratic Senate candidates visited California on fundraising trips this month, notably to headline an event at the Bel-Air home of Walt Disney Studios Co-chairman Alan Horn and his wife, Cindy. One example is Jones, the Alabaman trying to keep the Senate seat he won in a 2017 special election over Roy Moore, a Republican accused of sexual assault and inappropriate behavior with girls. Kelly, a former astronaut, has raised the most from Californians $1.4 million of all the Senate candidates in the country.

DENVER - John Hickenlooper will formally announce his Senate candidacy on Thursday, a friend of the former Colorado governor told CNN, a decision that comes a week after dropping out of the presidential race. Hickenlooper's Senate website has already been posted, with the homepage reading: "I'm running to give Colorado's priorities and values a voice in Washington." This is a breaking news story and will be updated. CNN's Veronica Stracqualursi and Nicolas Neville contributed to this report. The-CNN-Wire & 2019 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company.

ORourke, a former congressman from El Paso, rejected the idea. There have even been some who have said that I should stay in Texas and run for the Senate, ORourke said in El Paso on Thursday. A source close to ORourkes campaign said he believes a Senate candidate cannot win Texas without a Democratic presidential nominee who is also competitive in the state. ORourke told reporters he would still campaign in traditional early-voting states, including Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. To those places where Donald Trump has been terrorizing and terrifying and demeaning our fellow Americans, thats where you will find me on this campaign, ORourke said in the speech in El Paso.

(Reuters) - Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper dropped his bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday after his centrist campaign failed to catch fire amid two dozen hopefuls seeking to challenge Republican President Donald Trump. FILE PHOTO: 2020 Democratic U.S. presidential candidate former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper speaks during the Presidential Gun Sense Forum in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., August 10, 2019. Hickenlooper rose to prominence after founding a brewpub credited with helping to revive a faded part of Denver. But since entering the White House contest in March, he has barely registered with voters, polling at around 1% in several surveys. By comparison, front-runner Joe Biden raised $22 million, Sanders took in $46 million and Trump $124 million.

(Reuters) - The largest Democratic field in the modern U.S. political era is competing for the partys 2020 presidential nomination, although another Democrat dropped out of the race on Thursday. Billionaire donor and liberal activist Tom Steyer reversed course in July and said he will seek the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. BERNIE SANDERSThe senator from Vermont lost the Democratic nomination in 2016 to Hillary Clinton but is making a second try. She has focused her presidential campaign on a populist economic message, promising to fight what she calls a rigged system that favors the wealthy. JULIAN CASTROThe secretary of housing and urban development under President Barack Obama would be the first Hispanic to win a major U.S. partys presidential nomination.

To those places where Donald Trump has been terrorizing and terrifying and demeaning our fellow Americans, thats where you will find me on this campaign, ORourke said in a speech in El Paso. But he eschewed mounting calls for him to abandon his White House bid and run instead for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas next year. There have even been some who have said that I should stay in Texas and run for the Senate, he said. No Democrat has won statewide office in Texas since 1994, but ORourke came close last November when he challenged Republican Senator Ted Cruz. Hickenlooper is on the verge of quitting his presidential run, according to news media reports.

John Hickenlooper announced Thursday that he is ending his bid for the presidency. Numerous national Democrats have encouraged Hickenlooper for months to end his longshot race for the presidency and run against Gardner instead. Hickenlooper, 67, a onetime Denver mayor and businessman and geologist by training, served as Colorado governor from 2011 to 2019. He has repeatedly said along the campaign trail, "I'm the only candidate in this race who's actually achieved the big, progressive things politicians in Washington are talking about." A relative moderate, Hickenlooper struggled to have a breakout moment on the campaign trail, but has sparred repeatedly with Bernie Sanders over positions some of the Vermont senator's progressive proposals, such as "Medicare for All."

John Hickenlooper dropped out of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary race on Thursday as he struggled to gain traction in a crowded field. Colorado Democrats have urged Hickenlooper to abandon his bid and instead join the state's U.S. Senate race, where his party hopes to unseat Republican incumbent Cory Gardner. Already, more than 10 Democrats have jumped into the Democratic Senate primary. During July's Democratic primary debate Hickenlooper joined other moderates in attacking progressives, warning that Democrats' "Medicare for All" proposals would turn off voters. The Colorado Senate race has drawn intense national interest as Republicans and Democrats fight for control of the chamber next year.

John Hickenlooper, former governor of Colorado, speaks at the Iowa State Fair in Iowa, U.S., on August 10, 2019. John Hickenlooper will drop out of the Democratic presidential primary on Thursday, according to a Democrat close to him. Positioning himself as a common-sense candidate who couldn't be labeled a socialist by Republicans, Hickenlooper couldn't make his voice heard in the crowded Democratic presidential field, which includes nearly two dozen candidates. But if Hickenlooper did run against Gardner, he'd first have to get through another crowded Democratic primary field. Hickenlooper isn't the first Democratic hopeful to end his 2020 presidential bid.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) speaks while former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) listen during the Democratic Presidential Debate at the Fox Theatre July 31, 2019, in Detroit. Hide Caption

The two most progressive candidates in the 2020 Democratic field struck inspirational tones, with Warren urging Democrats to be "the party of big, structural change." Here are seven takeaways from Tuesday night, the first of the two nights of CNN's Democratic debate in Detroit:1. Delaney began the debate by comparing the two to failed Democratic nominees George McGovern (1972), Walter Mondale (1984) and Michael Dukakis (1988). It's why none of them landed real blows on Warren or Sanders all night. No daylight between Warren and SandersThe top two-polling progressives in the Democratic field were positioned on stage next to each other Tuesday night.

During the first of two Democratic debate nights, Sens. Former Rep. John Delaney criticized Warren over a trade plan that he says would isolate the U.S. from the world. But Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, criticized what she called a "bad trade deal" in USMCA. Despite the increased attention on trade Tuesday night, some Michigan Democrats think the party can do more to hold Trump's feet to the fire on the issue. But many congressional Democrats, led by Pelosi, argue the new North American trade deal does not do enough to protect American workers.

(CNN) - The second round of Democratic debates kicks off Tuesday night in Detroit with the primary's leading progressives, Sens. Warren and Sanders share the stageIf it's debate night drama you're craving, both of these campaigns have a warning: look elsewhere. Progressives like Warren and Sanders argue that embracing the grassroots and turning out new voters is the way to win. Whether that record will be enough to stir up the Democratic primary voter base is another question. Hickenlooper, a popular former governor from another Western state, has so far failed to catch on and the crowded debate stage will make Bullock's task that much more difficult.

Little-known former Maryland Rep. John Delaney was the surprising tone-setter during the first night of the second Democratic debates on Tuesday. Delaney spoke for less time than six of the 10 candidates, for a total under 11 minutes, according to a tally by debate host CNN. In one particularly testy exchange with Warren, Delaney said "Democrats win when we run on real solutions, not impossible promises. In a back-and-forth on trade, Delaney said that under Warren's proposal to change the way that the U.S. negotiates trade deals, announced Monday, "we would not be able to trade with the United Kingdom. "I'm the only person on stage who understands the business," Delaney, who formerly worked in health-care finance, said at one point.

John Hickenlooper began his final remarks as Tuesday's Democratic debate came to a close. Here are the central takeaways from the first night of the second round of the primary debates. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, the two leading progressives in the Democratic field, did not come to blows Tuesday night. Delaney, a former health care executive, later made mention of what he called the "fairytale economics" underpinning progressive plans. #DemDebate https://t.co/GM9LbJo6bV pic.twitter.com/nEhWcDyLWh CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) July 31, 2019The missing man: Joe BidenDespite a lackluster performance in the first Democratic debate, Joe Biden is still the front runner.

REUTERS/Mike SegarLOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The second debate among Democrats running for U.S. president attracted 18.1 million television viewers across three networks, a record audience for a Democratic primary face-off, NBC News said on Friday. The previous record for a Democratic debate was 15.8 million viewers, set in October 2015. Republican candidates set the all-time record for a primary debate audience in August 2015, when 24 million tuned in for the first performance by Donald Trump in a debate on Fox News Channel. The debate was the second of two with Democratic candidates aiming to challenge Trump. An estimated 15.3 million television viewers tuned in on Wednesday to watch Elizabeth Warren, Beto ORourke and eight other challengers, NBC said.

(Reuters) - Four hours and 20 candidates later, Democrats completed their first round of presidential primary debates on Thursday. Senator Kamala Harris, who blasted Biden for his opposition to school busing and his boasting of working with segregationists. He warned of the dangers for the Democratic Party if they pursue polices espoused by the likes of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Yet the sparring hardly helped ORourke to restore the aura of rock-star cool that made him a sensation within the Democratic Party last year in his surprisingly strong bid for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas. We have a perception problem with the Democratic Party, he said.

Joe Raedle | Getty ImagesAs the Democratic presidential candidates spar in the first debate leading up to the 2020 election, focus is on the governors who want to beat President Donald Trump and their individual accomplishments. Here's a scorecard that shows how the governors who would be president did in terms of growing their states' economy and spurring job growth, while managing public health, education, infrastructure and housing development. Jay InsleeWashington Governor Jay Inslee speaks during the first U.S. 2020 presidential election Democratic candidates debate in Miami, Florida, June 26, 2019. Mike Segar | ReutersDemocrat Washington (2013present) The 23rd governor of Washington State has made battling climate change the centerpiece of his presidential campaign. An unabashedly pro-business governor, Weld helped cement Massachusetts' role as a technology hub during the 1990s tech boom.

But then former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper stepped in and talked about his own police reforms as Denvers mayor. The real question America should be asking is why, five years after Ferguson when protests and rioting broke out in that Missouri town after a black man was killed by a white policeman in 2014 every city doesnt have this level of police accountability, he said.

click to enlarge Photo via Phil Roeder/FlickrAs if the small army of Democratic presidential hopefuls isn't already telling enough, the 2020 presidential primary season is well underway, with the first of two primary debates set to begin tonight in Miami.The two-night television event of the season, which will feature 10 different candidates each night, will run from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday night, and will air on NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo. You can also stream it for free online at NBCNews.com , and on NBC News apps, Telemundo , NBC News' Facebook Twitter and YouTube The Wednesday night lineup: U.S. Sens. Jay Inslee.The Thursday night lineup: U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Michael Bennett and Kirsten Gillibrand; former Vice President Joe Biden; South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg; U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell; Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper; entrepreneur Andrew Yang; and entrepreneur and author Marianne Williamson.Biden is currently polling highest in Florida, according to a June 18 Quinnipiac University poll, which showed he had 41 percentage points among voters, as compared to Sanders' 14 percent and Warren's 12 percent.

In 2008, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper welcomed fellow Democrats to the convention that made history, nominating Barack Obama for president. Less than three years later, Hickenlooper became Colorado's governor. He led his state through the aftermath of the Aurora theater rampage and the legalization of recreational pot. Hickenlooper, who is also a successful brew-pub entrepreneur, joins "CBS This Morning" to discuss his new memoir, "The Opposite of Woe: My Life in Beer and Politics."

Sheriffs sue Colorado governor to stop recreational marijuana Six Colorado county sheriffs are suing Gov. John Hickenlooper over the state's recreational marijuana law, and county attorneys from Kansas and Nebraska are also fighting the legislation that they say requires them to break federal laws. Mark Strassmann reports.

Colorado Gov. on the future of legal weed Gov. John Hickenlooper tells Bill Whitaker that marijuana will one day resemble the alcohol business.

Highs and lows of Colorado's first year of legal pot Next Thursday marks one year since recreational pot became legal in Colorado, the first state in the U.S. to legalize the drug. Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper calls it “one of the great social experiments of the next 50 years." Barry Petersen reports.

How is marijuana impacting Colorado's race for governor? Two years after Colorado voted to allow retail sales of marijuana, Gov. John Hickenlooper and his Republican opponent Bob Beauprez, don't have much nice to say about their state's famous issue. Could legal weed affect the race's outcome? Alexander Trowbridge reports.

Obama paints the town red in Denver The president will deliver a speech on the economy in Denver Wednesday, but when he arrived last night, he had a beer and played pool with Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.