John Wright Hickenlooper

Democrat junior Senator of Colorado

Senator
Colorado
January 3, 2021 - January 3, 2027

202-224-5941

@SenatorHick

hickenlooper.senate.gov

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Congresses Served

Senate Terms

February 7, 1952 (73 years old)

Birthday

Served as the junior United States senator from Colorado since 2021
Was the 42nd governor of Colorado from 2011 to 2019
Served as the 43rd mayor of Denver from 2003 to 2011
Born in Narberth, Pennsylvania, and is a graduate of Wesleyan University
Career began as a petroleum geologist before co-founding the Wynkoop Brewing Company in 1988
TIME named him one of America’s five best big-city mayors in 2005
Introduced universal background checks and banned high-capacity magazines following the 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting
Expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, significantly reducing the uninsured rate in Colorado
Initially opposed marijuana legalization but gradually came to support it
Ran for the Democratic nomination for U.S. president in 2019 but dropped out before primaries
Defeated incumbent Republican Cory Gardner in the 2020 U.S. Senate election
Became the oldest first-term senator to represent Colorado and the only Quaker member of Congress
Involved in efforts to end homelessness in Denver and established the Denver Scholarship Foundation
Played a key role in Denver hosting the 2008 Democratic National Convention
Fined by the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission for violating Colorado’s gift ban as governor
Supported efforts to remove Donald Trump from office following the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol
Holds committee assignments in Energy and Natural Resources, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Advocated for disaster relief, drug policy reform, economic development, and environmental protection during his political career
Supports capital punishment reform, gun policy reform, healthcare expansion, and immigration reform
Personal life includes two marriages, a family with notable historical figures, and living with prosopagnosia (face blindness)