Capitol Coverage: Hickenlooper Talks Politics

Governor John Hickenlooper has already been front and center this campaign season. He had a prime speaking spot at the Democratic National Convention and has recently been hitting the campaign trail with Hillary Clinton. Bente Birkeland sat down with him to talk about this election cycle and what it means for his party.

Capitol Coverage: Hickenlooper Talks Politics kgnu

Image: Governor John Hickenlooper campaigning at a rally in Commerce City with Hillary Clinton

Below are excerpts from Bente Birkeland’s interview with the Governor.

On the possibility of taking a cabinet position if Hillary Clinton wins the presidential election.

Hickenlooper: “Well it would be hard just because my son is fourteen. He’s just going to high school. He’s made it quite clear he’s not crazy about the idea….

“My first impulse would be to try and convince her to pick someone else, for pretty much almost any task. There’s almost always someone around there who can do the difficult tasks as well as you can.”

On whether Colorado is a battleground state this election cycle given that polls have consistently had Clinton up by a healthy margin.

Hickenlooper: “We certainly are a battleground. It’s hard to measure. The polling says one thing, but I’m not sure the polling has always been accurate. I’ve talked to various people in the Clinton campaign. No one is taking Colorado for granted. I think they’re fully expecting to come back repeatedly.”

On how possible ballot initiatives this fall could impact voter turnout.

Hickenlooper: “In some cases they’ll get more Democrats and in some cases they’ll get more Republicans. Overall I think this will be a pretty high turnout election. Just the amount of emotion energy we’re seeing every where now suggests people will be voting.”