Democrats 2020: John Hickenlooper, geologist turned brewer with eyes on the White House

He has a drink-driving conviction, is mildly dyslexic and once took his mother to watch the pornographic film Deep Throat.

Meet Democratic presidential hopeful John Hickenlooper, the former governor of Colorado.

In a battle where many of the party candidates are hewing to the left, Mr Hickenlooper's sales pitch is that he is an "extreme moderate" – a pro-business Democrat who is also socially progressive.

Now 67, Mr Hickenlooper has a nice line in self-deprecating wit – even in his campaign video.

"As a skinny kid with Coke-bottle glasses and a funny last name, I've stood up to my fair share of bullies," he said as he tried to hammer home the message that, despite his diffident style, he is capable of holding his own against Donald Trump.

Born in Philadelphia, Mr Hickenlooper studied English and then geology.

He came to Colorado as a geologist but was laid off during the economic downturn in 1988, which prompted an abrupt change of career.

Mr Hickenlooper used his severance pay to open a brew-pub in downtown Denver.

"I first met him on the day he opened his brewery," recalled  Patty Calhoun, editor of Westword, a Denver-based newspaper and website.

"1988 was a very depressed time in Denver and the only thing which happened was that John Hickenlooper and his partners opened The Wynkoop.   "He just blossomed. With John, what you see is what you get. He is the most extroverted person you've ever met. If anybody is made for sitting down and chatting with people in Iowa and New Hampshire, it is him.

"He really is a good listener who is interested in what other people have to say, even if he will argue with them."   He entered politics in 2003, 15 years after opening his pub, running for mayor in Denver with a typically quixotic tv ad culminating in his riding a motorbike off into the distance.

As Denver's mayor, he secured the Democratic National Convention for the city and wiped out a $70 million budget deficit. However, his administration's handling of a massive blizzard which shut the airport for 45 hours was heavily criticised.

He ran for governor in 2010, inheriting a state which had been hit hard by the recession. When he left office at the beginning of 2019, the economy was booming.

During his time as governor, he had to cope with floods, horrendous wildfires and the Aurora cinema shooting, which left six people dead.

Mr Hickenlooper's response put him on a collision course with the National Rifle Association and the gun industry. Legislators received death threats; one manufacturer moved its factory out of the state.

It was also on his watch that Colorado voted to legalise the recreational use of marijuana, a decision with which Mr Hickenlooper disagreed. His views have since changed and as governor, he signed a raft of cannabis legislation.

According to Alan Salazar, his former deputy chief of staff, Mr Hickenlooper is a "consummate tavern owner" with a personality that has served him well in politics.

"He is a storyteller and engaging company to be with. He is also challenging because he has great expectations for the people he works with.

"Politically, it is hard to put a label on him. He has Democrats who love him, independents who love him and moderate Republicans who love him.

"He defies convention. What he offers is, like Donald Trump, a reputation as a businessman but he is also the opposite of Donald Trump."

Mr Salazar was cautious about predicting Mr Hickenlooper's chances of success.

"I have been in politics for nearly four decades and I have never seen a crowded field like this.

"I think the fact that the extreme left is in the ascendancy in the party could be a problem for John. But if the Democrats are smart, they not only need to defeat Trump but defeat Trumpism."

Tom Vilsack, who served as Agriculture Secretary in Barack Obama's administration, said that Mr Hickenlooper faces a big challenge getting himself known to voters across the country.

"I am sure he is going to put his heart and soul into it," Mr Vilsack said. "He has a different brand of politics which has done pretty well for him in Colorado.

"I think he will have some very thought-provoking ideas to put out there.

"He has never been a negative politician and It will be interesting to see if he can break through the cynicism which permeates our politics."

Mr Hickenlooper's stance as a moderate triggered suggestions that he could run alongside John Kasich, the former Republican governor of Ohio, in a unity third party ticket. But such talk has died down.

His local supporters, such as Pat Waak, the former chairwoman of the Colorado Democratic party, believes voters will warm to his thoughtful personality.

"I was and wasn't surprised when he decided to run for president. There are a lot of good people in the field," she said.   ‘He is not well known by the general public, it will be a lot of hard work, but he will be energised by it.   "I have been in politics a long time and I get exasperated by people who don't know why they are running.   "John has thought this through."

But seasoned observers outside Colorado believe that his lack of name recognition will hold him back in a crowded field.

"He comes from a smaller state in terms of population so he really needs an event to stand out," said Brandon Barford, a partner at Beacon Policy Advisors, a Washington DC political consultancy.

Steve Jarding, a veteran Democrat activist and lecturer in public policy at the Harvard School of Government, also voiced doubts about the Colorado governor's prospects.

"Hickenlooper is a chief executive which voters often like but also from a smaller state and one without a national base," he said.

"He also fumbled his introduction to a national audience with his deer in the headlights answer on whether he is a capitalist - not a difficult question but he bombed on it.

"Also his playing footsie with Kasich on a Democrat/Republican joint ticket will not serve him well in the primaries."