DENVER – State Sen. Angela Williams, D-Denver, has filed paperwork declaring her candidacy in the 2020 U.S. Senate race, according to a Federal Election Commission filing.
According to FEC records, Williams is at least the 12th Democrat to file for the Senate race. They are all seeking the party nomination to try and unseat U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo.
Williams told Politico in May she was “seriously considering running” and met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other organizers to discuss a possible campaign, and the Colorado Sun and Colorado Politics have both previously reported she was considering running.
Williams officially announced her campaign on Monday afternoon, launching a video.
"Throughout my career in public service and in the private sector, I’ve been driven by the values of hard work, honesty, and standing up for others. Those are the values I want to take to the United States Senate," Williams said in a statement. "Cory Gardner and Donald Trump have sought to divide Coloradans and Americans for far too long. Their days of standing up for special interests at the expense of working families in Colorado are over. I’m eager to go to Washington to bridge the divide and tackle the toughest challenges facing our state and our nation.”
The Democratic primary for the 2020 U.S. Senate race in Colorado is nearly as crowded as the Democratic field for president, with a dozen candidates declared after Williams did so, according to the FEC.
Former Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat., has been urged by some of his staff to drop his presidential bid and to run for Senate, and Democrats in Colorado have discussed that hope for months. Some are also questioning whether other high-profile Democrats, including congressmen Ed Perlmutter and Joe Neguse, and Secretary of State Jena Griswold, among others, might run for the party’s nomination.
But Hickenlooper said, “I don’t think that’s my calling,” when he was asked about a possible Senate race at an event Monday morning, according to CBS News.
Several of the Democrats have already reported raising big money last quarter. Former state Sen. Mike Johnston reported raising $1.6 million in the last quarter, while Dan Baer reported bringing in $1.3 million.
