Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper will not seek a third term if re-elected to the U.S. Senate in 2026, his campaign confirmed Wednesday.
Hickenlooper, a Democrat who won his first Senate election in 2020, first told Punchbowl News about his plans Wednesday, saying he would serve only two terms. Last year, he told Colorado reporters he planned to seek re-election in 2026.
A campaign spokesman confirmed the senator’s plans to JS and declined to comment further other than to point to previous statements Hickenlooper made endorsing the term limits.
Should the 72-year-old Hickenlooper win a second term in 2026, he will be 80 when his seat next rises in 2032. In response to a Post question last year about the ages of key congressional leaders, Hickenlooper said he supported a two-term administration. limit for U.S. Senators (neither chamber of Congress has such a limit).
Before serving two terms as governor of Colorado, Hickenlooper served as mayor of Denver. He comfortably dethroned Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner in 2020, two years after leaving the governor’s office. Before announcing his run for Senate, he briefly campaigned for president in 2019.
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