Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper Hops on the 'Election Cycle'
The Colorado governor is an avid cyclist.
— -- Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado was vetted to be Hillary Clinton’s vice president, and now many say he is a contender for a cabinet position if she gets elected.
At a Democratic field office in Lone Tree, Hickenlooper gave a speech to Clinton volunteers gathered before a day of door-to-door canvassing. Colorado, which was a "red state" for decades in presidential elections, shows a lead for Clinton in the latest polls. After serving 13 years in public office, Hickenlooper has helped turn this state from red to “purple" to blue.
“In 1981 I came here to work as a geologist. The price of oil collapsed. I got laid off. So then I started a brew pub and it just took off,” said Hickenlooper.
Patrons of his brewery encouraged him to run for mayor of Denver in 2002 after he led a campaign to keep "Mile High” as part of the name of the Broncos' football stadium.
This past year, Hickenlooper felt it was the "highest compliment” to be vetted for the vice president position and gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention in support of Clinton.
With 13 other states now considering marijuana ballot initiatives this election cycle, the governor of one of the first states to legalize recreational marijuana back in 2012 still has concerns about the policy.
“It’s a steep hill when you’re the first to do something like that. I’m not completely convinced that this is the best thing,” said Hickenlooper. “But we’ve made a lot of progress."
As an avid cyclist who helped develop over 1,000 miles of bike trails in Denver, Hickenlooper was eager to take ABC’s "Election Cycle” for a spin at the end of our interview.
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