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Hickenlooper Running For President: 'I Can Bring People Together'

DENVER (CBS4) - Former Gov. John Hickenlooper is running for President. He made it official overnight with the release of a video that shows pictures of President Donald Trump. Hickenlooper says, "I'm running for President because we're facing a crisis that threatens everything we stand for."

That crisis, Hickelooper says, is one of division unlike anything the country has seen since the Civil War. He says that is why he should be president.

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"I've proven again and again I can bring people together to produce a progressive change Washington failed to deliver."

Hickenlooper is counting on his brand as a pragmatic progressive to set him apart in a field of largely far left liberals. He points to his expansion of Medicaid, passage of gun control laws and new rules limiting methane emissions as some of his wins.

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But he's also the guy who drank fracking fluid to show it's safe, hardly endearing him to environmentalists. Still, his quirky nature has, overall, worked to his advantage.

He says in the video, "As a skinny kid with coke bottle glasses and a funny last name, I've stood up to my fair share of bullies. Standing tall when it matters is one of the things that really drives me."

While Hickenlooper is barely registering in polls so far, he hasn't run any ads yet either. And his ads are some of the best -- feeding parking metors, jumping out of a plane, showering fully clothed. He knows how to get attention. Whether it translates into votes remains to be seen.

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As a self-described "extreme moderate," he may have trouble firing up the base. Hickenlooper is the 14th democrat to jump in. He admits he doesn't have nearly the money or name recognition of other candidates, but says he does have an ability to make things happen.

Colorado's U.S. Senator Michael Bennet may run too. Our partner KOA radio asked Hickenlooper about that and he said the more candidates, the better.

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He's squeezing all the media he can get out of this announcement. After releasing his video, he appeared on national television on Monday. Tuesday, he'll sit down with CBS4 for an interview.

He's also holding an event with supporters at Civic Center Park Thursday at 5 p.m.

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