Denver Mayor - No to Gubernatorial Bid

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper announced that he will not join the race for governor of Colorado. He stated his decision was based on an unfinished job in Denver.

"We have begun so many programs and so many initiatives with the city," he said. "We got a bunch of them done but there are still some big ones that aren't done. One of the reasons I ran for elected office was I wanted to show people that local government could carry through on its commitments, that it would practice what it preaches, that people could put the good of this city above their own personal ambition."

This comes as a blow to the Colorado Democratic party as Hickenlooper was considered to be the top vote-getter out of all their possible candidates. His popularity as mayor of the largest concentration of voters in the state would have made him a formidable candidate.

Bill Ritter is now their lead candidate. Currently polls show him not as popular as either GOP candidate Marc Holtzman or Bob Beauprez.

This race was considered a strong possibility as a grab by the Democratic party. The potential is still there but is no longer as promising as before today.