Ex-Colorado governor John Hickenlooper runs for president

Former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper has announced his 2020 presidential bid.

The Democrat made the statement in a tweet, saying the country was “in crisis” and needed someone to “bring people together”.

The post was accompanied by a video in which Mr Hickenlooper relates how he has stood up to his “fair share of bullies” during his career.

Mr Hickenlooper joins 14 other Democrats running for the top job.

He is the second governor to enter the field, following Washington’s Jay Inslee who announced his bid last week.

Mr Hickenlooper worked as a geologist before he was laid off and founded a brewpub chain in Denver. He then served as the city’s mayor from 2003-2011 and went on to twice be elected governor.

His video, titled “Stand Tall”, features the Rocky Mountain and touts his record in office and in the private sector.

“We beat the NRA,” he says, describing gun control legislation that requires universal background checks on gun purchases, and bans on high ammunition-capacity magazines in Colorado.

The legislation came after a mass shooting at a movie theatre in the state “that once again tore the heart of our community,” he says in his video, adding that “just offering thoughts and prayers would never again be sufficient”.

Describing himself as a “doer”, he says he brought together the oil and gas industry and environmentalists to create new methane emissions in the swing state.

He says he convinced Democrats and Republicans to work together to expand the state’s Medicaid health care programme that has achieved coverage for nearly 95% of all residents.

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