Political analyst: Tight gubernatorial race doesn’t mean dissatisfaction with Hickenlooper

By the skin of his teeth John Hickenlooper earned another term as governor in Colorado’s midterm election.

With 96 percent of precincts reporting, Hickenlooper beat his Republican challenger, Bob Beauprez, by less than 38,000 votes, meaning nearly half of Colorado voters wanted him out of office.

Even though the race was close, a political analyst says it doesn’t necessarily show immense dissatisfaction with Hickenlooper himself.

“This election was not a referendum on Gov. Hickenlooper. It was a referendum on President Obama,” said Bob Loevy, a retired political science professor. “What it says is that Hickenlooper did a good enough job that as a Democrat he was able to withstand a national Republican tide, which was very strong.”

Across the country Republicans dominated Tuesday’s election. In Colorado, Cory Gardner, a Republican, won a key U.S. Senate seat. Loevy said he believes that Hickenlooper survived the red wave because most voters are able to separate him from President Barack Obama.

That’s not to say voters are pleased with every decision Hickenlooper has made. Loevy said he believes Hickenlooper lost votes because of his support of gun measures. But because Hickenlooper never took a strong stance on the bills, Loevy said voters don’t attribute the laws to him very strongly.

Hickenlooper has also been criticized for his waffling stance on the death penalty. He granted an indefinite reprieve to death row inmate Nathan Dunlap and hinted that he could grant him clemency.

Colorado is preparing to try a high-profile death penalty case in the trial of James Holmes, the accused Aurora theater shooter. Political analysts had said that because voters want to Holmes put to death, it could bode poorly for Hickenlooper’s re-election.

During his acceptance speech Wednesday morning, Hickenlooper thanked his supporters and vowed to work with both political parties to seize momentum during his next term.