Before a campaign event in Denver late last week, Andrew Romanoff sent a tweet comparing his fight against national Democrats to Luke Skywalker’s battle against the Death Star in “Star Wars.”

“That’s what it feels like, the Democratic Death Star,” he said a couple hours later at a rooftop bar along Larimer Street.

This Romanoff is different than the Romanoff who won four elections as a Democrat in the 2000s, who helped usher in a Democratic majority at the Colorado Capitol, and who, just weeks ago, was leading the Democratic race for U.S. Senate in Colorado.

This Romanoff is more like the Romanoff who ran an insurgent campaign for Senate in 2010 against Obama-backed Senate appointee Michael Bennet. That Romanoff returned after the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee decided late last month to throw its full weight behind former Gov. John Hickenlooper, the most moderate and establishment candidate.

“It’s shaping up as a grassroots-versus-D.C. contest,” Romanoff said of the Democratic primary contest to take on Republican Sen. Cory Gardner in 2020, calling it a “weird stage of the race.”

The DSCC’s decision has set off a race within a race to become the leading anti-Hickenlooper candidate. While the former governor enters the Democratic primary as the favorite, the other 10 candidates have an opportunity to contrast their liberalism with Hickenlooper’s centrism, or their anti-establishment approach to his establishment support. With engaged and enraged progressives looking for an alternative to Hickenlooper, the battle is on to become that alternative.

“There is space for an anti-establishment candidate in a statewide primary like this,” said Seth Masket, a University of Denver political science professor. “Historically in Colorado, that sort of candidate hasn’t necessarily done very well. But if they can jettison most of the other candidates out of this race and get progressive support — anti-establishment support — that’s worth something. Maybe they can make a competitive primary out of this.”

The leading Hickenlooper alternative — after Mike Johnston’s withdrawal this week — is Romanoff, according to polling. He is embracing progressive policies and tapping into the frustrations of progressives in Colorado and beyond as he accuses the national party of “blackballing” his campaign with Democratic consultants and vendors.

Stephany Rose Spaulding, a Colorado Springs professor and pastor, is another such candidate. She has been critical of Hickenlooper since the DSCC’s endorsement, questioning his moral compass on Twitter, doubting his backbone, and saying he won’t achieve progressive policy priorities.

“We were pro-climate reform and in favor of addressing the climate crisis before him, we were in favor of Medicare for all before (his entrance),” Spaulding said in an interview Wednesday. “So, in some ways, he becomes a shadow to amplify our light.”

“But my strategy and agenda is not to be an anti-Hickenlooper person,” she added. “My strategy and agenda is to present who I am as a candidate and if that is illuminating what he is incapable of addressing, then that’s what happens. But I’m not going to go into this campaign or any forum trying to say how I can be against him.”

Hickenlooper, for his part, has remained congenial toward his fellow Democrats since joining the Senate race last month. The former governor will share a stage with the other Democratic candidates for the first time this weekend in Durango.

Johnston exited the Senate race Tuesday because, he said, beating Hickenlooper would mean running a negative campaign. He was unwilling to do so, a compunction the Democratic race’s anti-establishment candidates don’t share. They will criticize Hickenlooper on his support for oil and gas, on the DSCC endorsement, and his prior opposition to being a senator.

“We don’t need someone coronated in the back rooms to beat (Gardner),” read a recent fundraising email for state Sen. Angela Williams, the only current elected official in the race. “We need a strong progressive voice who will draw a clear contrast in values and vision.”

Diana Bray is well positioned to challenge Hickenlooper on climate change, because she has before, protesting outside the governor’s mansion when Hickenlooper occupied it. And Trish Zornio, a scientist, has been critical of Hickenlooper’s science bona fides. Most of the Democratic field is female and several say they will make the case it’s time to elect a woman instead of him.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has backed high-profile anti-establishment liberals like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, is fundraising for Romanoff and has been critical of Hickenlooper. Many progressive activists argue a liberal candidate who inspires the left wing is the safest bet, not a moderate like Hickenlooper.

“There is a vibrant progressive wing and it’s getting even more vibrant in Colorado, but it’s still a difficult road ahead,” Masket said of beating Hickenlooper in the Democratic primary.

“(Hickenlooper) was generally seen, when he first ran for governor a decade ago, as probably the most liberal candidate Democrats could nominate and still win the state. I don’t think that same calculation is still there today,” he added. “The state has gone to the left; the (Democratic) Party has definitely gone to the left. So, there may be a sense among progressives … that the party doesn’t necessarily have to moderate that much in order to be competitive.”

On that Denver rooftop Aug. 29, Romanoff met with a few dozen supporters and answered their questions, making the case that he is the anti-establishment alternative to a certain former governor. He alluded to Hickenlooper on several occasions without saying his name.

“I support the Green New Deal; the candidate backed by the DSCC does not. I support Medicare for all; the candidate backed by the DSCC does not,” Romanoff said at one point.

In an interview after the event, he reflected on a question he had heard that night. For months, Romanoff has been asked why he’s the best candidate, or how he can separate himself from the many other Democrats in the Senate race. But that question is framed differently these days.

“They ask me point blank, how are you going to beat John Hickenlooper? What’s the difference between you and John Hickenlooper? Why should I vote for you instead of John Hickenlooper? Because he’s the name they know. And we are debating (how to answer) this,” Romanoff said.

“Maybe I won’t mention him, because I don’t want to give him any more name recognition than he’s got. And I didn’t — I just said, ‘The candidate backed by the DSCC,’ ” he added, before breaking into a knowing grin. “I don’t want to be accused of negative campaigning!”