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Press Release
NARAL Pro-Choice America Celebrates John Hickenlooper’s Victory in Colorado’s U.S. Senate Race
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Contact: [email protected]
Defeat of anti-choice, anti-freedom Republican incumbent Sen. Cory Gardner is a win for Coloradans and reproductive freedom
Colorado — Today, Colorado voters elected NARAL-endorsed former Governor John Hickenlooper to the U.S. Senate. Hickenlooper’s victory over anti-choice, anti-freedom Republican Senator Cory Gardner marks a huge win for reproductive freedom and flips a critical seat in the U.S. Senate.
In response to Hickenlooper’s victory, NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue released the following statement:
“There’s no doubt that Gov. John Hickenlooper’s embrace of reproductive freedom helped galvanize voters to mobilize and kick Sen. Cory Gardner out of office. This win underscores that for Colorado voters, support for our fundamental rights is a winning stance. This victory is a clear rejection of Gardner’s extreme anti-choice, anti-freedom agenda. There’s no doubt that Gardner’s betrayal of Colorado women and families helped boost John Hickenlooper to flip this critical seat. NARAL and our members couldn’t be prouder to have backed Hickenlooper, and look forward to working with him to protect and expand reproductive freedom in the days ahead.”
NARAL Pro-Choice America Southwest Regional Director Caroline Mello Roberson said:
“NARAL Pro-Choice America and our more than 58,000 members across Colorado are proud to have supported Gov. Hickenlooper in this critical race to unseat Sen. Cory Gardner. For the last four years, Gardner has served as a rubber-stamp to Donald Trump’s extreme anti-choice agenda. Coloradans deserve a leader who will truly represent their values and defend the freedom to make personal decisions about pregnancy without interference from politicians like Cory Gardner. We congratulate Hickenlooper on his victory and look forward to working together to champion reproductive freedom for every body.”
NARAL endorsed Hickenlooper as part of its largest-ever electoral program designed to hold senators like Cory Gardner accountable for rubber-stamping Donald Trump’s extreme ideological agenda. NARAL reached over 3 million voters in key states including Colorado through its historic 2020 electoral program.
Key to NARAL’s 2020 strategy was activating its more than 58,000 members statewide to reach, persuade, and mobilize Coloradans who were motivated by Senator Gardner’s betrayal of their values and Trump and Republicans’ unyielding attacks on reproductive freedom.
As senator, Gardner voted to ban abortion and to defund Planned Parenthood by disqualifying the organization from participating in federal healthcare programs—earning him a 0% score from NARAL in the Congressional Record on Choice. Not only did Gardner vote to illegitimately confirm Amy Barrett to the Supreme Court, he helped Trump to stack the federal judiciary with dozens of judges hostile to Roe v. Wade and determined to gut or overturn the constitutional right to abortion.
Colorado already restricts access to abortion, especially for people with low incomes. Because there’s no law expressly protecting the right to abortion in Colorado, if Roe were to be overturned, those hostile to reproductive freedom could quickly work to criminalize abortion.
Read more about NARAL’s endorsed candidates here.
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For over 50 years, NARAL Pro-Choice America and its network of state affiliates and chapters have fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom—including access to abortion, contraception, and paid family leave—for every body. NARAL is powered by its more than 2.5 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 7 in 10 Americans who believe every person should have the freedom to make the best decision for themselves about if, when, and how to raise a family.