Perlmutter Won’t Run for Governor or Re-Election
Campaign says Colorado congressman will make announcement today

Colorado Rep. Ed Perlmutter will announce he’s ending his run for the Democratic nomination for governor and not seek re-election, sources close to the congressman told news outlets.
Perlmutter will hold a news conference on Tuesday, but his campaign told reporters only that the it would be “regarding the gubernatorial race,” the Denver Post reported.
But a source close to Perlmutter told The Associated Press that the congressman no longer enjoyed campaigning and did not want to run for re-election to his congressional seat.
The decision comes after fellow Democratic Rep. Jared Polis, a multimillionaire, announced his own gubernatorial campaign.
Both Polis and Perlmutter are part of the New Democrat Coalition in Congress, a collection of centrist Democrats and the two would likely have been competing for the same votes in a primary.
Perlmutter and Polis were running to replace term-limited Gov. John Hickenlooper.
Perlmutter launched his campaign on the premise of “building an even stronger economy and a more secure middle class with good-paying jobs, affordable higher education and a secure retirement.”
So far, three Democratic state legislators — Sens. Dominick Moreno and Andy Kerr, and Rep. Brittany Petersen — have all announced their intentions to run in Perlmutter’s district.
Perlmutter first won the seat in 2006 against his Republican opponent by 13 points in what was expected to be a tossup race.
Along with his congressional duties, Perlmutter coaches the congressional women’s softball team since the game against members of the press started nine years ago.