Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper downplayed Bernie Sanders's momentum and praised his opponent, arguing that he couldn't think of "any other elected official who's had more money spent to diminish their reputation than Hillary Clinton." | Rod Lamkey Jr. for POLITICO Democratic governors: Sanders is just not ready The governors tell POLITICO that Sanders deserves praise for his focus on income inequality, but Clinton is the better bet for the White House.

Bernie Sanders may have some novel ideas, but Hillary Clinton is the candidate who would best carry their states in a general election.

That was the assessment of a quartet of Democratic governors backing the former secretary of state over the Vermont senator on Friday, as they sized up the presidential race and the condition of their own states at POLITICO's sixth annual State Solutions Conference in Washington.


Even Sanders' own governor, Peter Shumlin, has shunned his fellow Vermonter for Clinton. On Friday, he offered kind words for Sanders, saying that he "would never say a negative word" about him but that Clinton is more prepared to be president. Praising Clinton for listening carefully regarding the state's opioid abuse problem, he remarked that "Hillary has the smarts and the ability to bring people together.”

Shumlin paid special notice to Sanders' advocacy of single-payer health care, which he supports but does not feel is a realistic expectation given the current makeup of Congress. “I do not expect the U.S. Congress, with a tea party majority, to adopt a single-payer, publicly financed system," he said.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, who won the increasingly Republican state in 2008 and 2012 as Barack Obama fell short, said that while he admires Sanders for bringing issues like economic inequality to the forefront, the senator's democratic-socialist message would not play in his state.

"I just think that while Sen. Sanders has a point of view, we are not a socialistic state, and I think that that angle —while he’s got some tremendously legitimate points on income inequality and all that sort of stuff — I just don’t see him as having the electoral strength to be helpful in the Show-Me State," Nixon said.

At the same time, Nixon rejected the notion that Sanders as the Democratic nominee would have a profoundly negative effect on down-ballot races in November. "I think that any penalties that he would have would be relatively small. Missourians look at who their elected officials are pretty closely," he boasted. "I’m not one to think it would be the end of the world.”

Remarking that he understands "where that lack of excitement" for Clinton comes from (like negative ads), Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said that of all candidates running in both parties, there is "no one else ready to be president."

"I don't think there's any other elected official who's had more money spent to diminish their reputation than Hillary Clinton," said Hickenlooper, who endorsed Clinton last year and on Friday downplayed any concerns about his candidate's strength in the face of Sanders' rise and enthusiastic base. "Now, it's like if she's speaking about women's issues, it's like she's got a conflict of interest.

"She's hired people, she's fired people, she's run big, complex organizations," the Colorado governor continued, raising the specter of a certain Republican candidate who is also known for hiring and firing people. In recounting a recent trip to Europe, Hickenlooper recalled a Swiss politician who told him that the "biggest problem with Donald Trump is that he just doesn't have dignity."

Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, who at one point backed Vice President Joe Biden for the White House, said Sanders has "tapped into the anger." “That's not how you lead a country,” he said. “You don't lead a country just by tapping into the anger. You've gotta, you know, articulate a vision.”

Eliza Collins and Nolan D. McCaskill contributed to this report.