Cory Gardner

Cory Gardner (born August 22, 1974, Yuma, Colorado, U.S.) is an American politician who represented Colorado in the U.S. Senate from 2015 to 2021. Gardner, a Republican, previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives (2011–15).

Gardner was born in Yuma, Colorado, a farm town in the northeastern part of the state, where his family owned a farm-machinery business. After graduating (1997) from Colorado State University with a degree in political science, he earned a law degree from the University of Colorado in 2001.

Gardner subsequently worked as a spokesperson for the National Corn Growers Association in Washington, D.C. In 2002 he began his political career by serving as legal counsel and later legislative director to U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard. In 2005 Gardner was appointed to the Colorado House of Representatives, and he was elected to a full term the following year. He followed a small-government and low-tax agenda and showed special interest in legislation concerning energy, with a focus on both renewables and fossil fuels. From 2007 to 2011 Gardner served as minority whip.

In 2010 Gardner was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. After taking office the following year, he advocated for legislation furthering energy development while battling federal regulators such as the Environmental Protection Agency. In 2014 he ran for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Democrat Mark Udall on a conservative agenda, though with concessions on such issues as same-sex marriage, which he opposed but held to be a matter for the courts. Gardner narrowly won the election, and he took office in 2015. The following year he offered tepid support for the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump. However, after Trump won the election, Gardner backed many of his policies. In 2017 he notably helped secure passage for a major tax reform bill, though his efforts to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act were unsuccessful. In 2019 the House impeached Trump for allegedly withholding aid to Ukraine in order to pressure the country into opening a corruption investigation of a political rival. In the Senate trial early the next year, Gardner voted not to convict the president, who was acquitted in an almost party-line vote. These developments came as Gardner faced an increasingly difficult reelection bid in 2020; his seat was among those targeted by Democrats who hoped to retake control of the Senate. Gardner ultimately lost to the Democratic candidate, John Hickenlooper, and he left office in 2021.

Gardner was married, and he and his wife, Jaime, had two children.