Colorado Politics

Colorado lawmakers react to President Biden’s declaration that he’s running for a second term

Colorado’s congressional delegation on Tuesday greeted President Joe Biden’s official announcement that he’s running for reelection along predictable partisan lines.

U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper echoed Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ call to “finish this job” in an early morning tweet that reposted the freshly minted candidates’ three-minute campaign video and praised major legislation signed by the president.

“Under (Biden’s) leadership, we’ve made historic investments in our nation’s aging infrastructure, spurred clean energy innovation, and brought manufacturing jobs back to America. But this is only the beginning – let’s finish the job!” tweeted Hickenlooper, who sought the 2020 Democratic nomination, along with Biden, before withdrawing to run for Senate.

Across the aisle, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Silt Republican who endorsed former President Donald Trump’s bid for a second term last month, tweeted that Biden announced his run “despite a historical disaster of a first term.”

Added Boebert: “America will not be rewarding his failures with another term & I hope you will all join me in fighting hard to re-elect President Donald J. Trump!”

Trump launched his bid for another term in November and has been dominating early polls. Prominent Republicans who have thrown their hats in the ring include former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, with others weighing runs, chief among them Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Democrats appear to be lining up behind Biden, who faces primary challenges from author and spiritual guide Marianne Williamson and anti-vaccine activist and environmental lawyer Robert Kennedy Jr.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, who also ran for president in 2020, cheered the Biden campaign’s formal announcement.

“Thanks to (Joe Biden’s) leadership, our country has seen historic progress,” Bennet tweeted. “There’s more work to be done, and with Joe Biden and (Kamala Harris), we can protect our democracy and continue to deliver for the American people.”

Retweeting Biden’s announcement, U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, a Denver Democrat, tweeted that she agrees with Biden’s assertion that “our freedoms are under attack.”

“Now is the time for all of us to get involved and lay the groundwork so that we can protect our rights and win big in 2024!” she added.

Although he has yet to take sides in the looming race for the GOP presidential nomination, U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, a Windsor Republican, made clear he’s ready to replace Biden.

Linking to a headline from a Wall Street Journal opinion article noting that only a minority of Americans want Biden to run again, Buck tweeted, “The Wall Street Journal is right. Four more years of rampant inflation, skyrocketing energy prices, lawlessness at the border, and emboldened adversaries in Russia and China sounds like a prison sentence.”

In a series of tweets, U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, a Centennial Democrat, listed bullet points meant to bolster an argument for a second Biden term – including a historically low unemployment rate and “rallying the world against authoritarianism” – and added, “There’s still more to do.”

“This next election could decide whether we choose unity or division, so we cannot afford to sit on the sidelines,” Crow tweeted. “I’m proud to stand alongside the President today, and I hope you are too. Let’s finish the job.”

President Joe Biden speaks at the North America’s Building Trades Union National Legislative Conference at the Washington Hilton in Washington on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. 
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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