On Thursday, former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff announced that he would seek the Democratic nod to challenge GOP Sen. Cory Gardner. The only other high-profile candidate who has declared so far is former state Sen. Mike Johnston, though political observers reportedly expect another former state House speaker, Crisanta Duran, to enter the race soon. There are plenty of other Democrats who might end up challenging Gardner, who is running in a state that Clinton carried 48-43.
Romanoff represented a Denver state House seat from 2001 to 2009, and he spent the final four years of his tenure as speaker. In 2010, Romanoff challenged Sen. Michael Bennet, who had been appointed to the Senate the previous year, in the Democratic primary. Romanoff had the support of Bill Clinton, while Barack Obama and the DSCC backed Bennet. Ultimately, Bennet won the expensive race 54-46 and held on in November.
Romanoff ran for office again in 2014 when he challenged GOP Rep. Mike Coffman in Colorado's 6th District. Both candidates raised a massive amount of money and got plenty of outside help, but the GOP wave helped Coffman pull off a wide 52-43 win. The DCCC reportedly began recruiting Romanoff for another run just weeks after his defeat, but he ended up taking over as CEO of a non-profit called Mental Health Colorado, a post he stepped down from on Thursday as he launched his new Senate campaign.