John Hickenlooper, Colorado’s popular former governor, is announcing his candidacy for president early Monday, his campaign told The Denver Post, casting himself as a proven leader with a list of progressive policy wins.

“I’m running for president because we’re facing a crisis that threatens everything we stand for,” Hickenlooper says in a taped announcement while the image of President Donald Trump flashes across the screen. The two-minute video was to be emailed to supporters before dawn.

“I’m running for president because we need dreamers in Washington, but we also need to get things done,” Hickenlooper adds. “I’ve proven again and again I can bring people together to produce the progressive change Washington has failed to deliver.”

He will hold an official kickoff rally Thursday at Civic Center before leaving for two days of campaigning in Iowa, his campaign said. The rally will include a performance by Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats.

Hickenlooper is at least the 14th Democrat to enter the race to unseat President Donald Trump in 2020, with many potential contenders still in the wings. His resume as a former state executive adds a new element to a Democratic primary field that’s the largest and most diverse in history — but also heavy on Washington insiders. The only other governor to announce so far is Jay Inslee of Washington state.

High-profile Democrats such as Sens. Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand and Amy Klobuchar have announced their candidacies, but there is no clear front-runner. Former Vice President Joe Biden has signaled a likely run, as has Texan Beto O’Rourke, who captured the attention of the nation during his failed attempt to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz.

Another Coloradan, Sen. Michael Bennet, is also considering a run.

At Thursday’s rally, Hickenlooper is expected to paint broad policy goals in his speech that will build upon his economic accomplishments in Colorado, especially workforce development. A more robust policy agenda should begin to take form later in March, a spokeswoman for the campaign said.

Policy, however, may take a back seat while Hickenlooper and his team push the idea that he is the most electable candidate in the general election.

Hickenlooper’s biography and his record as a governor who has worked toward bipartisan accomplishments have been appealing to Iowans, even if they’re holding back on choosing a candidate in these early days.

“I’m looking for someone who is well qualified for office and who is willing to reach across the aisle and make deals,” said Bry Walton of Ames, Iowa, who recently saw Hickenlooper speak at an event. “I really admire that in a candidate — a willingness to work with the other party. I like that he’s willing to reach across the aisle and work with the other party.”

Joe Amon, The Denver Post Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper stops for a quick picture with local Democratic activist Barb Wheelock, of Ames, on the way to the stage to speak at the Story County Democrats Soup Supper at the Collegiate United Methodist Church Feb. 23, 2019, in Ames, Iowa.

Joe Amon, The Denver Post Local resident Ammertte Deibert 70 listens to each candidate and keeps notes as former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Colorado, and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro speak at the Story County Democrats Soup Supper at the Collegiate United Methodist Church Feb. 23, 2019, in Ames, Iowa.

Joe Amon, The Denver Post Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper speaks at the Story County Democrats Soup Supper at the Collegiate United Methodist Church Feb. 23, 2019, in Ames, Iowa.



Joe Amon, The Denver Post Local democratic activist Barb Wheelock listens to former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper speak at the Story County Democrats Soup Supper at the Collegiate United Methodist Church Feb. 23, 2019, in Ames, Iowa.

Joe Amon, The Denver Post Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper stops to talk with attendees on the way to the stage to speak at the Story County Democrats Soup Supper at the Collegiate United Methodist Church Feb. 23, 2019, in Ames, Iowa.

Joe Amon, The Denver Post Olivia Chase 18, talks former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper out of his pen as he waits with his staff to speak at the Story County Democrats Soup Supper at the Collegiate United Methodist Church Feb. 23, 2019, in Ames, Iowa.



Joe Amon, The Denver Post Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper talks with Iowa voters during a party held at the home of Neil and Debra Salowitz on Jan. 27, 2019, in Des Moines, Iowa.

Joe Amon, The Denver Post Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper discusses his ideas with a full house during a party held at the home of Neil and Debra Salowitz on Jan. 27, 2019, in Des Moines, Iowa.

Joe Amon, The Denver Post Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper shares his ideas and accomplishments with Iowa voters up close and personal during a party held at the home of Neil and Debra Salowitz on Jan. 27, 2019, in Des Moines, Iowa.



Joe Amon, The Denver Post Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper poured his own beer with head brewer and assistant general manager Brian Vaughan during a visit to the Court Avenue Brewing Co. on Jan. 27, 2019, in Des Moines, Iowa.

Joe Amon, The Denver Post Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is hugged by former Colorado resident Jenny Wimler as Hickenlooper enters the Court Avenue Brewing Company to talk with voters on Jan. 27, 2019, in Des Moines, Iowa.

Joe Amon, The Denver Post Ned Miller and his wife Maggie McGill chat with their friends and with former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper during Hickenlooper's visit to the Court Avenue Brewing Company on Jan. 27, 2019, in Des Moines, Iowa.



Joe Amon, The Denver Post Former Gov. John Hickenlooper talks with former Colorado resident Jenny Wimler as he enters the Court Avenue Brewing Company to talk with voters on Jan. 27, 2019, in Des Moines, Iowa.

The question many Democrats are wrestling with right now — particularly in early states such as Iowa and New Hampshire — is, who would give them the best chance to beat Trump in a general election? Should the party nominate a woman or person of color to expand the electorate? Or should Democrats make an overt appeal to disenfranchised Trump voters in the American Midwest with a more moderate candidate?

“In light of Donald Trump, it’s important to have a voice for women and people of color,” said Elena Bartemes, a biomedical sciences graduate student in Des Moines, Iowa. However, she added, she’s not interested in supporting a candidate who is strictly partisan. “Consensus: That’s the point of government.”

Hickenlooper, 67, is expected to point to his eight years governing Colorado, a modern-day political swing state with an electorate nearly evenly divided among registered Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters. In addition to leading the state during an explosive economic expansion following the Great Recession, Hickenlooper nudged the state to the left. By the time his second term ended in January, he had expanded the state’s Medicaid program, signed comprehensive gun-control legislation and helped establish civil unions for same-sex couples prior to the U.S. Supreme Court legalizing marriage equality.

Hickenlooper, who was a finalist to be Hillary Clinton’s running mate, has hinted for years that he was interested in higher office. He began telegraphing that he was serious about a 2020 run last fall, when he formed a federal leadership committee to raise money to support exploration. In the run-up to the 2018 election, he campaigned for Democrats in Florida, Georgia and Iowa.

Since leaving office in January he has made several trips to Iowa, home of the nation’s first nominating caucus, and the first primary states, New Hampshire and South Carolina. And he has visited with potential donors on both coasts.

John Tully, Special to the Denver Post Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper addresses a house party at the home of Lisa and Erik Drake on Wednesday evening, Feb. 13, 2019 in Manchester, New Hampshire.

John Tully, Special to the Denver Post Guests begin to arrive to hear former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper address a house party at the home of Lisa and Erik Drake on Wednesday evening, Feb. 13, 2019 in Manchester, New Hampshire.

John Tully, Special to the Denver Post Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper addresses a house party at the home of Lisa and Erik Drake on Wednesday evening, Feb. 13, 2019 in Manchester, New Hampshire.



John Tully, Special to the Denver Post Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper addresses a house party at the home of Lisa and Erik Drake on Wednesday evening, Feb. 13, 2019 in Manchester, New Hampshire.

John Tully, Special to the Denver Post Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper answers questions from guests after addressing a house party at the home of Lisa and Erik Drake on Wednesday evening, Feb. 13, 2019 in Manchester, New Hampshire.

John Tully, Special to the Denver Post Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper addresses a house party at the home of Lisa and Erik Drake on Wednesday evening, Feb. 13, 2019 in Manchester, New Hampshire.



John Tully, Special to the Denver Post A guest listens as Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper addresses a house party at the home of Lisa and Erik Drake on Wednesday evening, Feb. 13, 2019 in Manchester, New Hampshire.

John Tully, Special to the Denver Post Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper attended a house party at the home of Lisa and Erik Drake on Wednesday evening, Feb. 13, 2019 in Manchester, New Hampshire.

John Tully, Special to the Denver Post Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper departs after addressing a house party at the home of Lisa and Erik Drake on Wednesday evening, Feb. 13, 2019 in Manchester, New Hampshire.



Hickenlooper is a long shot for the nomination, political observers suggest. However, Democrats have had success with governors such as Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter in the past.

“He’s not in the top tier just yet,” said Seth Masket, a political science professor at the University of Denver who has written about the 2020 field for the national news site FiveThirtyEight. “But there is a rationale for his candidacy. The top tier of candidates consists mostly of liberal senators. The idea that he might be more competitive in a general election is something people are going to take seriously.”

Hickenlooper is betting that his temperament as a consensus builder, coupled with a track record of progressive policy wins, will appeal to Democrats who want nothing more than to beat Trump.

Many challenges ahead

As Hickenlooper heads to Iowa this weekend for his first trip to an early state as a candidate, he is surrounding himself with loyalists and new blood alike.

Brad Komar, who helped Hickenlooper get re-elected in 2014, is returning as campaign manager. Rick Palacio, who ran the Colorado Democratic Party from 2011 to 2017, will be a senior adviser, and Stephanie Donner, who worked in Hickenlooper’s state administration in a variety of roles, will be chief legal counsel.

The campaign has also hired two organizers in Iowa. Field teams of varying sizes will be developed in other early primary and caucus states, including New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, according to the campaign.

Hickenlooper will need to raise an estimated $40 million to make it through the early states. His advisers believe it is doable given his large national network of donors dating back to 2008, when he raised money for the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

To help Hickenlooper make inroads with small donors, the campaign is focusing on building up his email list and national profile by putting him on television during the early days of the campaign: He was scheduled to appear on Good Morning America on Monday, according to an advisory. Regular citizens who contribute small amounts are the most sought-after prize in Democratic politics today and one measure of viability the party will use to determine which candidates end up on packed primary debate stages starting in June.

Another challenge for Hickenlooper is building his presence on social media. According to CrowdTangle, a social media analytics website, Hickenlooper’s audience and reach are dwarfed by leading candidates such as Sanders and Harris.

Hickenlooper also awaits a verdict from Colorado’s Independent Ethics Commission, which is investigating whether he violated the state’s prohibition on gifts during this time as governor. Former Republican state House Speaker Frank McNulty alleged last year that Hickenlooper accepted free plane rides and other accommodations as he traveled the world. Hickenlooper has argued he either paid for the flights himself or they do not fall under the state’s constitutional ban because they did not relate to state business.

There is no apparent timeline for when the investigation is scheduled to be completed.

From geologist to governor

In recent weeks, Hickenlooper has told voters in Iowa and New Hampshire that his candidacy is akin to a religious calling. If the path to Monday’s announcement was ordained, it was far from orderly.

Hickenlooper, the youngest of four, was born and raised in a Philadelphia suburb by his mother, who was widowed twice by the time she was 40. His father died after a battle with cancer when Hickenlooper was just 8.

Hickenlooper graduated from Wesleyan University, a liberal arts school in Connecticut, with a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s in geology. He moved to Colorado to work for an oil company but lost his job during a downturn in the oil market in 1986.

“After six or eight months unemployed, you see a different person in the mirror,” Hickenlooper said in New Hampshire last month, suggesting he can form a bond with some Trump voters over their shared experience of being unemployed. “And you begin to distrust all the things you’ve taken for granted. And like a lot of Americans, I reinvented myself.”

Hickenlooper, who learned how to brew beer in college, would go on to open Colorado’s first brewpub, the Wynkoop. It took off, and within a decade the entrepreneur had breweries across the nation.

Hickenlooper launched his political career in 2003 as a late entrant to the Denver mayoral race. As in the 2020 race, he started low in the polls. But after a few attention-grabbing commercials and promising to balance the city’s budget, he beat six candidates who had long been in public service.

After Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, another Democrat, decided not to seek re-election in 2010, Hickenlooper entered the race as the clear front-runner. He won his first term the same year Republicans took control of the U.S. House of Representatives amid the rise of the Tea Party movement. Hickenlooper won re-election in 2014.