Campaign sources confirmed his intentions to ABC News.
Stubbornly low poll numbers, a lack of donors, a mostly new campaign staff following a rash of departures in July and the likelihood of missing the Democrats’ third debate all contributed to his decision, according to his campaign.
A self-described “pragmatic-progressive,” Hickenlooper struggled to gain momentum while pushing a centrist campaign message focused on restoring the middle class.
Hickenlooper has not decided yet whether he’ll consider a Senate run against Colorado incumbent Cory Gardner, sources told ABC News. Democratic leadership is looking to flip that seat, which could tilt the balance of power in the Senate.
In a May interview on ABC News’ This Week, Hickenlooper expressed confidence in such a candidacy to George Stephanopoulos.
“I think I’d be a difficult candidate [to beat] as a senator,” he said. “I spent my whole life putting teams together, both as an entrepreneur in the private sector, but also as a mayor and a governor. And by building those teams, we have been able to bring people together and do the big, progressive things that people said couldn’t be done.”
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