Democrat former Gov. John Hickenlooper soundly defeated incumbent Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) in Colorado, despite an ethics scandal that plagued his race and the Democrats’ chances for retaking the Senate majority, NBC and Fox News reported.
Hickenlooper was slapped with the highest ethics penalty by the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission in June for his use of a Maserati limousine and a corporate jet.
The ethics commission voted to fine Hickenlooper $2,750 for allowing corporations to cover the cost of a corporate jet trip to Connecticut, a Maserati limousine ride, and fancy dinners in 2018.
Colorado, which used to be a solidly red state, has transitioned into a blue state after voting primarily Republican from 1920-2004. The state has voted with the Democrats in the last three presidential elections, including in 2016 when Hillary Clinton led by a three-point margin.
Hickenlooper’s opponent, Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), was within the margin of error in multiple polls before the election.
The Colorado freshman senator had also run on a record of moving the headquarters of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to Colorado, working with Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) to pass the Great American Outdoors Act to preserve America’s parks system, and worked to place the provisional headquarters of the U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs.
Gardner also recently voted to confirm Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.