There goes the Hickenlooper re-election strategy.

If you have followed John Hickenlooper’s governorship, and most especially his incessant attempts to take credit for any new company or job that shows up in Colorado, you can see the outlines of his re-election effort. 

Businesses are coming to Colorado. Business is good in Colorado. I am the Business Governor. So please re-elect me.

A good argument, except that unemployment is still way higher than historical averages. In the meantime, if you believe real business people, Colorado isn’t such a good place to do business anymore.

There goes the re-elect argument.

From the Denver Business Journal:

Colorado’s ranking in an annual ranking of the best states in which to do business has slipped, Chief Executive magazine reported Tuesday…

Colorado was ranked No. 13, between Utah and Oklahoma, but its ranking fell two points from the 2012 survey. The magazine’s survey dinged Colorado in one area: “Anti-business forces won 2012 elections and are delivering on promises.” [Peak emphasis]

There is no way to hide from the effects of this session. The Governor has conceded the middle. Even his profile in The New Yorker led with this fact: 

“Colorado’s governor finds himself leading his state to the left.”

In between taking people’s guns and publicly dancing with pardoning a butcher, Hickenlooper seems to have fallen in disarray. His re-election arguments are beginning to crumble.