John Hickenlooper, Everytown-Supported Gun Sense Candidate, Wins in Colorado

Result Marks Massive Defeat for the NRA — Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and Victory Fund Spent More Than $1.3 Million in Colorado this Election, Including $1.1 Million to Support John Hickenlooper, Successfully Ousting NRA-Backed Sen. Cory Gardner

Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action Volunteers Made 70,000 Calls And Texts to Support Gun Sense Candidates in Colorado

DENVER — Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and Victory Fund (“Everytown”) and its grassroots networks, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, today declared a major victory as voters rejected NRA-backed Sen. Cory Gardner and elected John Hickenlooper to the U.S. Senate. 

John Hickenlooper was a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a part of Everytown, before becoming governor of Colorado. As governor, Hickenlooper took on the gun lobby and won, signing legislation to require background checks on all gun sales and limit high-capacity magazines, and making Colorado one of the first purple states to enact sweeping gun safety reform.

Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and Victory Fund spent more than $1.3 million in Colorado this election, including nearly $1.1 million to support Hickenlooper against Sen. Gardner, a top beneficiary of NRA money. Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers made 70,000 calls and texts to support gun sense candidates in Colorado. Hickenlooper participated in a virtual rally with hundreds of Moms Demand Action volunteers earlier this year, and Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts campaigned with Hickenlooper too, joining him to kick off virtual phone banks during the primary and general elections.

Read more about Everytown’s political work in Colorado this cycle.

In 2018, Everytown spent millions in Colorado in order to elect Jared Polis as Governor, Jason Crow to Congress, and flip the state Senate to a gun sense majority.

“In electing John Hickenlooper to the Senate, Colorado voters chose a proven leader with a long track record of championing common-sense gun safety bills despite fierce opposition from the gun lobby,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “Everytown was proud to support John Hickenlooper, and we’re excited to help him and his new colleagues in the Senate pass long-overdue federal gun safety laws.” 

“John Hickenlooper has been a steadfast ally to our movement — he took on the NRA and won as governor, and I know he’ll do the same in the Senate,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. “We were proud to support him during this election and we’ll continue to support him as he fights for gun safety legislation in Washington.” 

“I’m so proud to call John Hickenlooper my new senator,” said Christina Gardner, volunteer with the Colorado chapter of Moms Demand Action. “John Hickenlooper has proved time and time again that he will stand up for the health and safety of our families and our communities. We’re so grateful that Coloradans will no longer be represented by a senator who is beholden to the gun lobby.”