AP: Democrats Joe Biden, John Hickenlooper Win Colorado

Democrat Joe Biden has won the state of Colorado.

He was awarded its nine electoral votes on Tuesday. The state, which went for Democrat Hillary Clinton four years ago, has trended sharply to the left since President Donald Trump's 2016 election.

Democrat John Hickenlooper has defeated Republican Sen. Cory Gardner in one of the closest-watched Senate races in the nation.

Gardner was widely seen as one of the most vulnerable Republicans because Colorado had shifted strongly to the left since his election to the Senate in 2014.

Hickenlooper is a popular former two-term governor who relentlessly tied Gardner to President Donald Trump during the race.

Gardner struggled to distinguish himself from the president. He touted a sweeping public lands bill he coauthored, a national suicide prevention hotline he launched and various federal goodies he secured for Colorado. But none were enough to escape from Trump's shadow.