DENVER, CO. — This morning on Colorado Public Radio, in its first endorsement of a Senate challenger this cycle, Sunrise Movement announced its support for Andrew Romanoff against former Gov. John Hickenlooper in the Democratic primary. Romanoff, who has pledged to make the Green New Deal his top priority in office, served as Colorado’s Speaker of the House for two terms and led the Democrats to their first majority in Colorado in over 30 years.
“Electing Romanoff to the Senate would be game-changing in fighting the climate crisis. Hickenlooper and Gardner are both in cahoots with the billionaires who got us into this mess,” said Sunrise Communications Director Stevie O’Hanlon. “Nearly all the Democratic presidential candidates signed the No Fossil Fuel Money pledge, but Hickenlooper — who used to work for Buckhorn Petroleum — was one of three who refused. Young people refuse to settle for a dangerous candidate who is more concerned with fossil fuel profits than our health and safety. Romanoff is the right candidate to defeat Cory Gardner, and that’s why we’re launching an ambitious field program to elect him.”
As Senator, Romanoff would champion Green New Deal legislation that mobilizes every aspect of American society to move to 100% clean and renewable energy, guarantees a living-wage job for anybody who needs one, and ensures a just transition for both workers and frontline communities. He’d fight for worker training programs for green jobs, an end to fossil fuel subsidies, and accelerate the creation of clean-energy infrastructure.
Polls show that 60% of Colorado voters support the Green New Deal — a liability for Hickenlooper, who staunchly opposes the both the plan (along with other progressive proposals like Medicare for All) — and 62% of the state’s voters view climate change as an “extremely or very serious” problem.
“Families who live near fracking sites are suffering from severe breathing problems, asthma, migraines, and even cancer. Fossil fuel executives are funding campaigns of people like Cory Garnder and John Hickenlooper, who in turn let them exploit Colorado at the expense of its people,” said Michele Weindling, 24, a Sunrise Movement organizer from Boulder, Colorado. “We are endorsing Andrew Romanoff because we need to immediately transition our economy to 100% renewable energy and guarantee good paying jobs and quality healthcare to every fossil fuel worker in this state, and he is committed to making that happen.”
Between now and June 30th, Sunrise Colorado’s volunteer-powered field program will register thousands of young voters and collect thousands of pledge-to-vote cards. Sunrise Colorado will go all-out to mobilize young people to defeat Hickenlooper, Gardner, and the fossil fuel executives trying to buy our election. The program will be based out of Sunrise Colorado’s volunteer-run hubs in Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs, as well as college campuses.
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