U.S. Senate candidate John Hickenlooper released his first television ad Sunday, an uplifting message titled “We’re Colorado” that touts the state’s economic resurgence during his time as governor and advocates for economic fairness.
Sitting on a porch outside his Denver home, the Democrat looks into the camera and, for 30 seconds, explains that Colorado had the best economy in the country when he left office last year. As Congress now tries to rebuild an economy ravaged by pandemic shutdowns, he says it should do so “from the bottom up.”
“Instead of handing out loans to big corporations, they should be helping small businesses stay in business,” Hickenlooper says in the ad. “Instead of insider deals, they should help families who are struggling.”
Hickenlooper will face Andrew Romanoff in a Democratic primary June 30. The winner will take on Sen. Cory Gardner, a Yuma Republican, in early November.
“After months of cringe-worthy videos, embarrassing gaffes, and serious ethics troubles, Hickenlooper is coming off the sideline with nothing more than hot air,” said Jerrod Dobkin, Gardner’s campaign spokesman. “Meanwhile, Cory has secured lifesaving personal protective equipment, COVID-19 testing kits, and small business loans to help Coloradans through this crisis.”
Romanoff’s campaign says it expects to release an ad “very soon.” On Wednesday, the liberal challenger told supporters in an email that he had just finished recording a TV ad and hoped to raise $120,000 to broadcast it.
“No amount of advertising can mask the fundamental divide in this race: between our grassroots campaign for Medicare for All and a Green New Deal — and two corporate candidates who oppose our progressive agenda,” Romanoff said of Hickenlooper and Gardner on Sunday.
Hickenlooper’s campaign says it will spend more than $100,000 broadcasting its ad. The campaign did not say when the ad was filmed but claimed it was produced in strict accordance with state and city health guidelines. Everyone on the set maintained six feet of distance and wore face coverings, and Hickenlooper wore a mask between takes, according to a campaign spokesman.
The ad’s debut comes one day before the state’s Independent Ethics Commission decides whether to enforce a subpoena against Hickenlooper and force him to testify at a Thursday hearing. Hickenlooper’s attorney believes his client should not have to testify until the two can safely be in the same room together.
“Clearly he is more comfortable around a film crew than answering questions from the commission or voters about his use of corporate-paid private jets and a Maserati limo in violation of the Colorado Constitution,” said Joanna Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Hickenlooper is now the second U.S. Senate candidate to hit the airwaves. Gardner launched a TV ad in the middle of May, a cheery roundup of his efforts to obtain surgical masks from overseas. Last week, a campaign finance reform group alleged the ad violates ethics rules; Gardner’s campaign adamantly denies that.
