DENVER — Sometimes you’re good, sometimes you’re lucky, and if you’re Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, sometimes you’re probably a little of both.
A Democrat, Mr. Hickenlooper resisted the tea party tide in 2010 to win the governor’s race, in part because he was a popular Denver mayor who ran a solid campaign. But he also benefited from a Republican Party primary debacle that resulted in two de facto GOP candidates, who split the conservative vote in the general election and handed Mr. Hickenlooper an easy win.
