An election will be held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Colorado, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Under Colorado law, the filing deadline for U.S. Senate candidates is March 17, 2020, the third Tuesday in March of the election year; the primary is scheduled for June 30. Incumbent Cory Gardner is just one of two Republican U.S. Senators facing re-election in 2020 in a state Donald Trump lost in 2016, the other being Susan Collins from Maine.
Since taking office in 2015, Cory Gardner has remained one of the nations most unpopular senators. Even among members of his own party, Gardner's approval ratings remain lukewarm at best.
In early 2019, former U.S. representative Tom Tancredo announced his intention's to challenge Senator Gardner for the Republican nomination. Tancredo stated that Gardner had broken with Republican ideals and conservative values, and that the party should put forward a viable, conservative candidate. In March of 2020, Tancredo ended his campaign, ceding the nomination to Gardner, citing a lack of campaign funds and clear path to victory.
Candidates
Nominee
Cory Gardner, incumbent U.S. Senator since 2015
Withdrawn
Margot Dupre, estate agent
Gail Prentice, veteran and business owner
Tom Tancredo, former U.S. Representative, 1999-2009, Constitution Party Nominee for Governor, 2010
Endorsements
Cory Gardner
U.S. Senators
Mitch McConnell, Kentucky, Senate Majority Leader
U.S. Governors
Nikki Haley, South Carolina (former), presumptive Presidential nominee
John Kasich, Ohio (former), former 2020 Presidential candidate
Bill Owens, Colorado (former)
Organizations
Republican Jewish Coalition
Tom Tancredo (withdrawn)
Organizations
Colorado for Trump
America First PAC
Other individuals
Margot Dupre, estate agent, former primary opponent
Gail Prentice, veteran and business owner, former primary opponent.
Polling
Poll source
Sample size
Date(s)
Margin of Error
Cory Gardner
Tom Tancredo
Other
Don't Know
Gravis Marketing
387
March 10-12 2020
± 3.9%
39%
39%
-
22%
Colorado State University
643
March 3-10, 2019
± 3.8%
36%
-
23%
41%
Results
Cory Gardner is running unopposed for renomination.
Democratic Primary
Candidates
Declared
John Hickenlooper, former Governor of Colorado, 2011-2019, former Presidential Candidate
Andrew Romanoff, Former Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, 2005-2009, nominee for Colorado's 6th Congressional District in 2014
Disqualified
Lorena Garcia, community organizer
Withdrawn
Dan Baer, former executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education and former United States Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (endorsed John Hickenlooper)
Derrick Blanton
Marcos Boyington, software engineer
Diana Bray, psychologist and climate activist (endorsed Andrew Romanoff)
Denise Burgess, businesswoman and Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce board member
Ellen Burnes, Colorado State University professor and former chair of the Boulder County Democratic Party
David Goldfischer, associate professor at the Korbel School for International Studies at the University of Denver and national security advisor
Mike Johnston, former state senator and candidate for Governor of Colorado in 2018
Danielle Kombo, medical recruiter and businesswoman (endorsed Stephany Rose Spaulding)
Dustin Leitzel, pharmacist
Alice Madden, former majority leader of the Colorado House of Representatives
Christopher Hawkins Critter Milton, 2020 Unity Party nominee for Colorado's 3rd congressional district
Keith Pottratz, technician and veteran (endorsed Lorena Garcia)
Stephany Rose Spaulding, professor at University of Colorado Colorado Springs and nominee for Colorado's 5th congressional district in 2018 (endorsed Lorena Garcia)
Erik Underwood, entrepreneur and candidate for Governor of Colorado in 2018
John F. Walsh, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado (endorsed John Hickenlooper)
Michelle Ferrigno Warren, nonprofit leader, immigration advocate, first time candidate
Angela Williams, state senator (running for re-election)
Trish Zornio, biomedical scientist
Declined
Marcos Boyington, software engineer
Diana DeGette, incumbent U.S. Representative (running for re-election)
Kerry Donovan, state senator (endorsed John Hickenlooper)
Crisanta Duran, former speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives (ran for Colorado's 1st congressional district, then withdrew)
Stan Garnett, former Boulder County District Attorney
Jena Griswold, Colorado Secretary of State
Cary Kennedy, former Colorado State Treasurer
Joe Neguse, incumbent U.S. Representative for Colorado's 2nd congressional district (running for re-election)
Ed Perlmutter, incumbent U.S. Representative for Colorado's 7th congressional district
Joe Salazar, former state representative
Libertarian Primary
Candidates
Gaylon Kent, author and perennial candidate
Raymon Doane, former candidate for United States House of Representatives, CO-1
