John Hickenlooper's allies attempted to head off progressive challenge

In late November, political consultant Michael Whitehorn got a call from a colleague who works for a Colorado Democratic Party campaign fund.

Whitehorn’s firm had signed on to support state Sen. Julie Gonzales’ impending campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, and the caller — Chris Rork — ran a party campaign fund. He also once worked as a regional director for Hickenlooper.

During the call, Whitehorn recalled, Rork told him that it wasn’t too late for Whitehorn’s firm to avoid being blacklisted for working on a campaign that they were “going to lose anyway.” Whitehorn said Rork told him that if Gonzales’ primary campaign didn’t go forward, he could “guarantee” that Whitehorn’s firm would be hired to work for the unified Democratic campaign next year.

Rork also allegedly prop