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Club 20 to discuss Hickenlooper’s decision not to debate

By 08/07/2020 | updated 6 years ago

The political debates at the Club 20 meeting of business and civic leaders on the Western Slope is a Colorado election-year tradition, but one former Gov. John Hickenlooper is skipping this year.

The organization is planning a press conference next Monday to announce Hickenlooper’s decision. He is set to meet incumbent Republican Cory Gardner in the November election for Colorado’s U.S. Senate seat.

The Club 20 meeting this year is online Sept. 18-19, livestreamed statewide by Colorado Mesa University, rather than the weekend of festivities in Grand Junction each September.

“In the face of these modifications, the Hickenlooper Senatorial Campaign has announced that they will not attend the Club 20 debates and will only be participating in debates along the I-25 corridor,” Club 20 said in a media advisory Thursday afternoon.

The news wasn’t a surprise, however. The governor’s campaign said more than a week ago it had accepted four debates so far: An Oct. 2 in Pueblo, Oct. 6 in Denver, Oct. 13 in Fort Collins a debate on a date in October to be announced on Telemundo, a Spanish-language network with stations in Denver, Colorado Springs, Grand Junction and Durango.

“We have agreed to 4 debates and look forward to continuing to hear from and talk to voters throughout the entire state,” Melissa Miller, Hickenlooper’s communications director, said in response to Club 20’s announcement Thursday afternoon.

Gardner’s campaign said Thursday he would have been glad to debate for Club 20.

“It’s unfortunate John Hickenlooper is refusing to debate on the Western Slope,” Gardner spokesman Jerrod Dobkin, said in an email. “Senator Gardner looks forward to being at Club 20 on September 19th with or without Hickenlooper, who used to ‘thank’ Club 20 for their advocacy, but now just blows them off.”

The decision also has precedence for the Democrat at the top of the ticket. Jared Polis skipped the debate two years ago on his way to a decisive November win over Republican Walker Stapleton. The Western Slope has been traditionally heavily Republican. 

DENVER, CO – JUNE 16 : Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper debates former state House speaker Andrew Romanoff in the studio of Denver7 in Denver on Tuesday, June 16, 2020. The debate, held ahead of the Democratic primary, was sponsored by The Denver Post, Colorado Public Radio News, Denver7 and the University of Denver’s Center on American Politics. The winner of the June 30 primary will go on to face incumbent Republican Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner in November’s general election. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
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