ABC News(WASHINGTON) — John Hickenlooper, the former Colorado governor, announced the end to his 2020 presidential campaign in a video Thursday morning.
“While this campaign didn’t have the outcome we were hoping for, every moment has been worthwhile and I’m thankful to everyone who supported this campaign and our entire team,” he said in the video.
Campaign sources previously confirmed his intentions to ABC News.
Stubbornly low poll numbers, a lack of donors, a mostly new campaign staff following a rash of departures in July and the likelihood of missing the Democrats’ third debate all contributed to his decision, according to his campaign.
A self-described “pragmatic-progressive,” Hickenlooper struggled to gain momentum while pushing a centrist campaign message focused on restoring the middle class.
Hickenlooper has not decided yet whether he’ll consider a Senate run against Colorado incumbent Cory Gardner, sources told ABC News. Democratic leadership is looking to flip that seat, which could tilt the balance of power in the Senate.
In a May interview on ABC News’ This Week, Hickenlooper expressed confidence in such a candidacy to George Stephanopoulos.
“I think I’d be a difficult candidate [to beat] as a senator,” he said. “I spent my whole life putting teams together, both as an entrepreneur in the private sector, but also as a mayor and a governor. And by building those teams, we have been able to bring people together and do the big, progressive things that people said couldn’t be done.”
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