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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCO-SEN: John Hickenlooper's senior aides urge him to run for Senate
(CNN)A group of senior aides to John Hickenlooper's presidential campaign urged the former Colorado governor to end his bid for the Democratic nomination and run for Senate last month, multiple sources familiar with the discussion tell CNN.
The meeting happened shortly after the Democratic National Committee announced in May that it was increasing the qualification thresholds for the September and October primary debates.
A key pressure point was the fact that Hickenlooper only has 13,000 unique donors, the sources said, making it nearly impossible for him to reach the 130,000-donor threshold needed to qualify for the third and fourth debates.
One source added that Hickenlooper's campaign raised just over $1 million in the second quarter of 2019 and could run out of money soon if no changes are made or if they governor's candidacy doesn't take off.
The meeting between senior aides and Hickenlooper was first reported by Politico.
Hickenlooper shook up his campaign on Monday, multiple sources told CNN, allowing his campaign manager, finance director and spokeswoman to leave as the former Colorado governor fails to gain traction in the expansive Democratic presidential primary field.
But a senior Democrat who spoke to the governor Monday night told CNN that Hickenlooper was not on the cusp of dropping out of the race.
"He's staying in," the senior Democrat said, adding that Hickenlooper will reassess after the second debate.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/02/politics/hickenlooper-campaign/index.html
W_HAMILTON
(7,869 posts)...as a Senate candidate than a presidential candidate.
RandySF
(58,911 posts)xmas74
(29,674 posts)If Warren pulls off the nomination I'd like to see Castro on the ticket with her.
Hickenlooper, Bullock, O'Rourke should go for the Senate. Stacey Abrams should also go for it.
Dawson Leery
(19,348 posts)It appears we have only a half dozen viable candidates running for POTUS.
Everyone else needs to find something else to help the party.
blogslut
(38,002 posts)To a bunch of you Democratic Candidates:
blueinredohio
(6,797 posts)SunSeeker
(51,574 posts)Response to SunSeeker (Reply #5)
Jakes Progress This message was self-deleted by its author.
ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)Is it hubris? Because he isn't going to be president; that's for sure. Why not continue doing good for your state?
RandySF
(58,911 posts)And let's be honest, it's even hard to get DU interested in must besides the 2020 presidential primaries right now.
ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)At least five staffers have left or are leaving Hickenloopers struggling operation, including his campaign manager, communications director, digital director and finance director. Hickenlooper named a new campaign manager on Monday night.
Hickenlooper publicly blamed his former staff Tuesday for his failure to gain traction in the crowded Democratic primary.
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/02/hickenlooper-2020-campaign-1395051
This is not the way a presidential candidate behaves. It certainly does not make him look good.
shanny
(6,709 posts)TeamPooka
(24,229 posts)we need to win the senate and it's the perfect place to wait until you run for POTUS again.