Colorado’s Hickenlooper Faces Voter Gun-Control Backlash

Onetime supporters now plan to cast their ballots for his Republican challenger.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) addresses the audience at the Colorado Energy Forum presented by the Consumer Energy Alliance on October 14, 2014 in Westminster, Colorado.
Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Jennifer Oldham

October 22, 2014 at 4:51 AM UTC

Updated on

October 22, 2014 at 9:26 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Colorado voters who once supported Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper now plan to cast their ballots for his Republican challenger, citing the incumbent’s support for the toughest gun laws in a decade and a reprieve from execution he granted to a convicted killer on death row.

Polls show Hickenlooper, the former Denver mayor and geologist once considered America’s most popular governor, is in a statistical dead heat against Bob Beauprez, a bison rancher and former congressman who lost a 2006 run for the state’s highest office by 16 percentage points. Beauprez is leading Hickenlooper by less than 1 point, according to an average of polls by RealClearPolitics.com.