Former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff officially jumped into the 2020 race for U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner's seat Thursday morning joining a growing field of Democrats hoping to challenge a Republican incumbent considered among next year's most vulnerable GOP senators, Colorado Politics has learned.
In appearances at Democratic county reorganization meetings last weekend, Romanoff stopped short of officially announcing his candidacy, but finally did so Thursday morning.
Romanoff spent the past four years as president and CEO of Mental Health Colorado, an advocate for the prevention and treatment of mental health and substance use disorders.
In declaring his candidacy, Romanoff renewed his pledge to turn down contributions from special-interest groups and to fight the pay-to-play system that continues to corrupt our democracy.
Last weekend, he previewed his campaign by outlining policy disagreements with Gardner and invited supporters to sign up for "news from this next venture" using their cell phones or by contacting volunteers bearing clipboards.
Recalling that he served with Gardner in the Colorado House, Romanoff told Douglas County Democrats: "I disagree with him on just about every issue that’s at stake over the next two years.
"Cory Gardner voted to slash Medicare; I think we ought to expand it to everyone," he said. "Cory Gardner describes the Green New Deal as a lot of red tape; I think it is our last, best chance to rescue the planet. Cory Gardner has showered billions of tax dollars on those at the top; I think we ought to provide a leg up to those in the middle and at the bottom."
