Author: Nicholas Riccardi
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Takeaways from the Democratic presidential debate
MIAMI — Democrats hoping that Wednesday night’s first presidential debate of the 2020 campaign would be clarifying probably came away disappointed. There were no major stumbles but few standout moments as 10 candidates vied for the nation’s attention. Takeaways from the prime-time event: WARREN, CASTRO LEAD THE WAY Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren dominated the…
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Governors still in the shadows of Democrats’ 2020 campaign
Being a governor isn’t what it used to be, at least not in presidential politics. Three Western executives are learning that the hard way in a crowded Democratic scramble dominated by former Vice President Joe Biden and a gaggle of nationally known senators. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, a late entry into the field of two…
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Hickenlooper, other Democratic presidential candidates pledge to bolster unions
LAS VEGAS — Half a dozen Democratic presidential candidates, including Colorado’s John Hickenlooper, declared unions to be a lifeline for the American middle class and pledged Saturday to strengthen workers’ rights to strike and organize and to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. But while the candidates decried the erosion of wages…
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Hickenlooper proposes staggered minimum wage hikes
LAS VEGAS — Democratic presidential candidate John Hickenlooper is proposing a $15 national minimum wage — with a twist. Rather than unilaterally hiking the wage to $15, the former Colorado governor proposes phasing in the increases depending on an area’s cost of living. The most expensive quarter of the country would get a $15 minimum…
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Hickenlooper differs from 2020 Democratic field on pot
A growing list of Democratic presidential contenders want the U.S. government to legalize marijuana, reflecting a nationwide shift as more Americans look favorably on cannabis. But one 2020 hopeful — Colorado’s John Hickenlooper — is standing somewhat apart from the Democratic field. Making marijuana legal at the federal level is the “smart thing to do,” says California…
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Beyond liberal base, Hickenlooper among Democrats pitching to party moderates
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — As the early Democratic presidential candidates come out with their tax and health care plans, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is pitching beer and bipartisanship. The brewpub magnate recently swung through early-voting Iowa to test his theory that what voters really are interested in is someone with a record of…
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Hickenlooper staffs up for possible 2020 bid
DENVER • Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and his allies are taking new steps toward launching a presidential campaign, including interviews with dozens of potential staffers and hiring a pollster and national fundraiser, according to a person close to the Democrat. He’s launched a political action committee that allows him to raise money nationally and hired…
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John McCain memorialized as hero, fighter, imperfect friend
PHOENIX — Sen. John McCain was eulogized Thursday as a “true American hero” — and a terrible driver with a wicked sense of humor and love of a good fight — as 3,500 mourners crowded into an Arizona church to pay their final respects to the maverick politician. Former Vice President Joe Biden recalled “the…
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Denver Post editorial page editor resigns amid staff cuts
DENVER — The Denver Post editor who oversaw an editorial critical of budget and staff cuts made by the newspaper’s New York-based hedge fund owners said he resigned Thursday after another piece critical of the company was rejected. Editorial Page Editor Chuck Plunkett said in an interview he resigned Thursday after Digital First Media management…
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Trump floats new gun measures as gun owners talk ‘betrayal’
DENVER — When President Donald Trump raised the idea of banning “bump stocks” and curbing young people’s access to gun, gun owners and advocates who helped his political rise talked about disloyalty and desertion. Trump’s flirtation with modest gun control measures drew swift condemnation from gun groups, hunters and sportsmen who banked on the president…