Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has ousted Republican Cory Gardner from the state senate seat with 54.6% percent of votes, the Associate Press reports.
This loss is significant for the Republican Party as Gardner was known as a vocal critic of China.
Gardner assembled several hearings investigating China during his time as chair of the Senate foreign relations committees subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific and international cybersecurity.
On the other hand, Hickenlooper has been extremely critical of the Trump administration’s use of tariffs on Chinese goods in the trade war and has said such moves alienated U.S. allies and harmed American companies.
Hickenlooper was governor of Colorado from 2011 to 2019. He has advocated for stronger subnational economic ties with China, which is one of the state’s top export markets.
