Michael Hancock proved Tuesday that Denver voters love an underdog and are willing to forgive missteps from a likable guy.

The city councilman parlayed a rough childhood into a stunning success story and defeated former state Sen. Chris Romer to claim the job of Denver mayor that he boldly predicted as a teenager he’d one day hold.

“I won by remaining constant on my message and trusting the people of Denver to see the goodness of our campaign,” Hancock said.

He also did it with grit and grins almost every step of the way, even when flubbing answers about evolution or intelligent design.

Never mind that he didn’t have a business background, that his biggest job to date was serving as president of the Denver City Council and at one point his campaign was accused of lacking focus.

Enter former Mayor Wellington Webb, who bypassed two candidates who once worked for his administration to endorse Hancock.

That was crucial, said political consultant Steve Welchert.

“What it said was, ‘Hancock’s a good guy with a great story, but with Webb backing him, the guy has a chance of winning,’ ” Welchert said.

Webb wouldn’t elaborate on what he did to help shake up the campaign, except to say that Hancock got accustomed to getting text messages from him at all hours of the day — and night.

April Washington, an adviser and volunteer for Hancock, said Webb unleashed his political savvy, from how to run a ground game to how to handle — or, in this case, not handle — a candidate.

“He urged the staff to let Michael run his race,” Washington said. “He suggested they watch the movie ‘Secretariat’ to drive home his point not to box Michael in.”

When Webb endorsed Hancock on March 24, internal polling showed him at 9 percent, Washington said. By April 17, a Denver Post/9News poll showed a three-way race among the 10 candidates: Chris Romer and James Mejia were tied at 22 percent, with Hancock at 18 percent.

A day after the poll, candidate Carol Boigon dropped out and endorsed Hancock.

But Mejia and other candidates focused on Romer in the final days before the May 3 election, allowing Hancock to run up the middle untouched. Hancock edged Mejia to join Romer in the runoff.

Political consultant Katy Atkinson said Hancock turned out to be the kind of candidate people could see themselves having a cup of coffee with.

“That, and his compelling story, I think that’s what appealed to people,” she said.

Political consultant Mark Putnam, whose firm created John Hickenlooper’s widely praised “Shower” ad from the 2010 gubernatorial campaign, helped tell Hancock’s story in an ad that debuted in March.

The spot opened with Hancock driving through east Park Hill, where he grew up, and with footage of his family.

“My father left when I was 6. We were 10 kids in public housing, then homeless in a motel room,” Hancock said in the ad. “I’ve had a brother die of AIDS and a sister murdered, but I never gave up.”

“I think voters were blown away that a kid who came from that tough of background was so successful,” said Welchert, the political consultant.

Romer, the son of former Gov. Roy Romer, came into the race with plenty of name ID and the most money, but turned off some voters in the runoff with attacks deemed negative.

“Their efforts totally backfired,” said Hancock’s campaign manager, Evan Dreyer.

Through it all, Hancock kept the pledge he made at the start of the campaign: to stay positive. He also said he wouldn’t do opposition research on his opponents.

“We didn’t get The Denver Post endorsement. We didn’t get (former Mayor) Federico Peña’s endorsement. We didn’t get James Mejia’s endorsement,” Dreyer said.

“But at every one of those turns, Michael would always say, ‘This campaign is just like my life. I have always had to overcome challenges and obstacles. Nothing has ever come easy.’ “

Until Tuesday night.

“People love an underdog story,” Welchert said. “Chris, right or wrong, was the overdog.”

Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327 or lbartels@denverpost.com