Turns out John Hickenlooper has a good reason for ducking debates against U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner — the Democrat is losing favor with voters and his polling numbers are dropping.

So the last thing the Hickenlooper campaign needs now is the Democrat flailing in a debate because he can’t answer why he believed he was above the law and dodging subpoenas to avoid his Ethics Commission hearing.

Or to explain to voters why he was guilty on a few of those charges.

The Morning Consult poll released Tuesday shows Gardner closing the gap with 42% to Hickenlooper’s 48%. The margin of error is 4%.

The poll surveyed 616 likely voters and was conducted July 17-26.

Earlier this month, a firm that polls for Democrats said Hickenlooper was leading by 11 points.

Another questionable poll the Denver Post fawned over in May suggested Hickenlooper had a wide lead of 54% to Gardner’s 36%.

Considering Hickenlooper’s continued legal troubles and his string of gaffes over Black Lives Matter, not knowing how George Floyd died, and his negative cultural appropriation of Native Americans, it’s not surprising his poll numbers are dropping.

And at some point, he’s going to have to come out of the basement and actually campaign against Gardner, without making a fool of himself, again.