Gardner, Hickenlooper to debate at Colorado State

Sen. Cory Gardner and former Gov. John Hickenlooper have agreed to a face-to-face debate next month in Fort Collins.

The televised debate is hosted by the Coloradoan and partners 9News and Colorado State University, along with news outlets Colorado Politics, Rocky Mountain PBS, KRDO in Colorado Springs, KJCT and KKCO in Grand Junction and KOBF in the Four Corners.

The debate will take place at Colorado State University and be moderated by 9News' Kyle Clark and Marshall Zelinger. Coloradoan reporter Jacy Marmaduke and a reporter from Colorado Politics will also ask questions. There will be no live audience due to COVID-19 restrictions on large gatherings.

This event is the only Colorado Senate debate that will be televised statewide. It will be broadcast from 6-7 p.m. Oct. 13 on 9News, Coloradoan.com, YouTube, or on streaming devices like Roku and Apple TV.

Gardner and Hickenlooper were both invited to the debate in July. Hickenlooper agreed to it in July, and Gardner agreed to participate earlier this month.

The race between Gardner, the Republican incumbent, and Hickenlooper has garnered national attention as Democrats seek to overturn the GOP majority in the Senate. Recent polls show Hickenlooper holding a lead of 5 to 10 percentage points over Gardner.

Rebecca Powell is a content strategist at the Coloradoan, working to connect our community with the answers they seek. Contact her at RebeccaPowell@coloradoan.com. We can't do the important work of keeping our community informed without you. Support the Coloradoan with a digital subscription.