Progressive jolts the left with Senate primary challenge: 'Dem Tea Party has arrived!'

Democrats praised a progressive politician in Colorado on Monday after she filed paperwork to run for Sen. John Hickenlooper's (D-CO) seat.

Julie Gonzales, a progressive state Senator in Colorado, announced her primary challenge against Hickenlooper on Monday, according to a report by The Colorado Sun. Gonzales has served in the state senate since 2019 and is well-known for her work to pass Colorado's strict gun control laws and laws protecting abortion care in the state.

“Go-along-to-get-along, poll-tested incrementalist politics have not made Coloradans’ lives better,” Gonzales told The Colorado Sun on Monday. “Those politics have not delivered affordability, accountability or just, like, everyday, concrete policy change for Coloradans.”

Hickenlooper's team pushed back on Gonzales' candidacy, saying it was an attempt to divide Democrats at a time when the party needs to be unified.

“Republicans know their only hope of flipping Colorado hinges on dividing us,” Jess Cohen, a spokesperson for Hickenlooper’s campaign, told the outlet. “Sen. Hickenlooper looks forward to a healthy and unifying primary.”

Even so, Democrats across the country applauded Gonzales for entering the race. Some argued that Hickenlooper had shown too much support for President Donald Trump's nominees, while others praised Gonzales' support for blue-collar households.

"Bye Hick!" Tiffany Caudill, a progressive candidate for the Denver City Council, posted on X.

"She has been on the front lines of almost every fight for a more just Colorado for the last 10 years," Colorado State Rep. Javier Mabry, a Democrat, posted on X. "We know where she stands, she always puts working people first. Let’s get her elected to the US Senate."

"THE DEMOCRATIC TEA PARTY HAS ARRIVED IN COLORADO," progressive policy advocate Deep Singh Badhesha posted on X. "Senadora Julie Gonzales is about to give billionaire backed, corporate friendly, milquetoast Hickenlooper a real run. He has the most pro Trump skew in the Senate. Bernie won Colorado twice. It's time for a real fighter in DC."

"DEM. TEA. PARTY," Mason Pressler, SBDSA Electoral Chair, Nat. Committeeman for Young Democrats of Michigan, posted on X.

"We deserve leaders who fight for us. The Senadora is just that kind of leader," Michael Farrington, a political candidate in Colorado, posted on X.