How allies of Sen. John Hickenlooper tried to ward off a progressive challenge by Julie Gonzales

In late November political consultant Michael Whitehorn got a call from a colleague who works for a Colorado Democratic Party campaign fund Whitehorn s firm had signed on to advocacy state Sen Julie Gonzales impending campaign to unseat U S Sen John Hickenlooper and the caller Chris Rork ran a party campaign fund He also once worked as a regional director for Hickenlooper Colorado state Sen Julie Gonzales speaks during a news conference to launch a campaign for an affordable housing ballot measure on Tuesday Sept in Aurora AP Photo David Zalubowski During the call Whitehorn recalled Rork stated him that it wasn t too late for Whitehorn s firm to avoid being blacklisted for working on a campaign that they were going to lose anyway Whitehorn declared Rork informed him that if Gonzales primary campaign didn t go forward he could guarantee that Whitehorn s firm would be hired to work for the unified Democratic campaign next year Rork also allegedly proposed an alternative path for Gonzales Whitehorn commented And that would be the Denver mayor s office He implied there would be chosen version of more aid for a race like that than there would be for a Senate race Whitehorn stated He added that Rork didn t provide any other details including the timing Mayor Mike Johnston is midway through his first term or what sort of help could be available Whitehorn and Gonzales two other consultants described the call as part of a pattern of pressure undertaken since September to try to dissuade Gonzales from entering the race It didn t work On Monday the progressive state senator launched her campaign with a video criticizing Hickenlooper for voting to confirm nominees put forward by the Trump administration part of her broader criticism of establishment Democrats approach to governance Speaking to The Denver Post about the pressure campaign Whitehorn reported he was taken aback by Rork s suggestion that Gonzales pursue a future mayoral campaign He recalled telling Rork that Gonzales wasn t interested in running for mayor and the call ended soon after Attempts to reach Rork and the Hickenlooper campaign for comment Tuesday were not productive In a declaration Colorado Democratic Party spokesman Andrew Nicla wrote that Rork held that his comments were given in a private limit as a friend He was not speaking on behalf of the Colorado Democratic Party He added We encourage anyone with a spirit of facility to run We are neutral in primaries The call was not the only sign of opposition to Gonzales candidacy In September several website addresses referencing a Gonzales Senate run were registered by someone unaffiliated with her campaign Anyone trying to visit the sites has instead been redirected to Hickenlooper s campaign site Newest Google searches for Gonzales name first returned a Hickenlooper ad paid for by his campaign A former Hickenlooper chief of staff who now works for an NFL gang also texted Whitehorn writing that he hoped Gonzalez would reconsider before she takes the focus away from fighting republicans Days after the websites were purchased and rerouted in September a text message poll was sent to certain Colorado voters according to images reviewed by The Post The survey sought voters opinions on Hickenlooper and Gonzales It also included a lengthy question touting Hickenlooper s achievements and solicited whether they were convincing reasons to advocacy him A little over a week later Gonzales announced she had lunch with Rork In her datebook entry for Oct reviewed by The Post she wrote that Rork notified her I can absolutely guarantee you that you will not win this primary Gonzales commented she took that to mean I ve seen what these races will do Don t do this Rork did not return a voicemail or text message seeking comment Tuesday Hickenlooper s campaign did not respond by the early afternoon to an emailed list of questions also sent Tuesday Rork is the executive director of the Democratic Senate Campaign Fund Whitehorn revealed which is described on its website as an initiative of the Colorado Democratic Party The fund is used to raise money for Democratic state Senate candidates The state party requires the neutrality cited by Nicla of its officers The program applies to elected party officers and prevents them from making endorsements in contests in their jurisdiction like individual legislative races Related Articles Colorado state senator launches progressive primary challenge of U S Sen John Hickenlooper How Starbucks tried to quash union activity in Colorado Coloradans have gloomy outlook on financial sector elected leaders and fear rise in political violence poll finds Durango father children arrested by ICE agree to leave the country advocates say How Colorado s members of Congress voted on bill to end shutdown Gonzales consultants Whitehorn Annie Orloff and Claire Simonson all mentioned they d never faced a similar effort to head off a political campaign The consultants firm MAC Group Consulting is also representing Melat Kiros who among candidates running a primary campaign against Democratic U S Rep Diana DeGette They reported they faced no similar pressure related to that contest To be blacklisted the consultants announced would mean losing the ability to work for more prominent and established Democratic candidates and officers Rork s alleged offer of guaranteed work for next year s Democratic coordinated campaign supporting the party s top candidates essentially the U S Senate and gubernatorial nominees could mean contracts worth anywhere from to a month Whitehorn explained My reaction was a hard pass Orloff explained of Rork s offer We do not want to be part of this beliefs of consultants and insiders in the establishment who pick who s going to be in primaries behind the scenes and then go to Democratic voters and expect them to dutifully and loyally vote for the people who they already picked Gonzales is the best-known of several Democratic challengers seeking to supplant Hickenlooper who previously served as Colorado s governor and Denver s mayor before winning a Senate seat in The primary poll is June Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter The Spot