U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, the former
Colorado senator considered by many Democrats as the front-runner among
prospective gubernatorial candidates to succeed Gov. Bill Ritter, has announced
that he will not run for governor and is instead endorsing Denver Mayor John
Hickenlooper.
Salazar’s announcement came Thursday, in the wake of Ritter’s
announcement this week that he will not run for re-election, primarily due to a
desire to spend more time with his family.
Below is the full text of Salazar’s statement:
“Colorado needs a strong, experienced leader with optimism
and new ideas for carrying our state forward. That is why I am endorsing John
Hickenlooper for governor of Colorado.
“John Hickenlooper is a uniter. He
transcends political and geographic divides to bring people together to develop
solutions. If he decides to run, he will make an excellent governor for the
state of Colorado.
“I know John and Helen will seriously consider this historic
opportunity that will define the future of state of Colorado and her people.
This is a personal decision they must make, and I will fully respect that
decision.
“As for me, I have a job to do as Secretary of the Interior to
implement President Obama’s vision for a clean energy economy and to better
protect America’s great outdoors.”
