Campaign

The Hill’s Campaign Report: Colorado, Utah primary results bring upsets, intrigue

by Max Greenwood, Jonathan Easley and Julia Manchester - 07/01/20 4:05 PM ET

Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, your daily rundown on all the latest news in the 2020 presidential, Senate and House races. Did someone forward this to you? Click here to subscribe.

We’re Julia Manchester, Max Greenwood and Jonathan Easley.

Here’s what we’re watching today on the campaign trail.

LEADING THE DAY:

After an at-times bumpy primary campaign, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper won his state’s Democratic Senate primary on Tuesday, beating back a challenge from former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff and setting him up to take on Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) in November.

The race was called quickly on Tuesday, with The Associated Press (AP) declaring Hickenlooper the winner only about half an hour after voting ended.

While he avoided the kind of close call that some political observers thought possible, Hickenlooper’s primary campaign didn’t go as smoothly as national Democrats had hoped.

The former governor faltered in recent weeks, stumbling over verbal gaffes and a run-in with Colorado’s independent ethics commission that resulted in a contempt finding after he failed to appear at a scheduled hearing. Republicans are poised to pounce on Hickenlooper’s ethics troubles as the general election campaign ramps up. Still, Hickenlooper’s win is likely to pose a threat to Gardner’s reelection prospects in November.

Tuesday’s primaries also yielded an upset for Rep. Scott Tipton (R-Colo.) in Colorado’s 3rd District. Tipton, a five-term incumbent backed by President Trump, lost his primary bid to political newcomer Lauren Boebert, who challenged Tipton from the right. Boebert’s win drew immediate criticism from Democrats, who have pointed to her past comments apparently sympathizing with the QAnon conspiracy theory.

Meanwhile, in Utah, the closest-watched primary fight is still unresolved, with former Gov. Jon Huntsman trailing Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox by a slim 3-point margin in the race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

The news is striking given Huntsman’s outsized profile in the state and the fact that he was previously elected to two terms in the governor’s mansion. But Cox had his own set of advantages heading into the Tuesday primary, including an endorsement from current Gov. Gary Herbert and unique leadership credentials stemming from his role in heading up Utah’s coronavirus response.

It’s been four decades since Utah elected a Democratic governor, and whoever emerges victorious from the GOP primary will be seen as the likely successor for Herbert.

—Max Greenwood

READ MORE:

Hickenlooper beats back progressive challenge in Colorado primary, by Max

Oklahoma voters narrowly approve Medicaid expansion, by Max

Utah Lt. Gov. Cox leads Huntsman in close governor’s race, by The Hill’s Tal Axelrod.

Colorado GOP Rep. Scott Tipton defeated in primary upset, by Tal

Terry Neese, Stephanie Bice head to head to Oklahoma GOP runoff, by Abigail Mihaly.

FROM THE TRAIL:

Trump’s reelection campaign has announced a staff shake-up about four months before the general election as polls show him trailing Biden. Michael Glassner, who organizes Trump’s rallies, is being reassigned to a legal role within the campaign, and Jeff DeWit, a former Arizona state treasurer and Trump’s 2016 Arizona chair, will come on as chief operating officer.

The shake-up comes after a rally two weekends ago in Tulsa, Okla., where the president garnered embarrassing headlines after being unable to fill the arena and several campaign staffers contracted the coronavirus. Tal reports.

Julia Manchester reports from Orlando: Democrats are seizing on the recent coronavirus spike in Florida, blaming it on the leadership of President Trump and GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis in a critical swing state that could help decide November’s general election.

PERSPECTIVES

Steve Israel: Democratic leaders are much more progressive than you might believe.

Tucker Carlson: Democrats are steamrolling weak Republicans.

CONGRESS AND THE STATES

The New York City Board of elections will not start counting ballots that were mailed in for last week’s primaries until next week, likely delaying results in a number of competitive races that remain too close to call. Tal reports.

MONEY WATCH:

Hundreds of former members of the George W. Bush administration have formed a super PAC to Biden, saying they are alarmed by Trump’s conduct in office. Tal reports.

Jon Ossoff, the Democratic Senate nominee in Georgia, pulled in $3.45 million in the second quarter of 2020, his campaign announced on Wednesday, including $2.35 million in the three weeks following his primary win earlier this month.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) are launching a joint effort to raise money for other progressive candidates.

POLL WATCH:

CNBC/CHANGE RESEARCH

ARIZONA PRESIDENTIAL

Biden: 51%

Trump: 44%

FLORIDA PRESIDENTIAL

Biden: 50%

Trump: 45%

NORTH CAROLINA PRESIDENTIAL

Biden: 51%

Trump: 44%

MICHIGAN PRESIDENTIAL