Cory Scott Gardner[1] (born August 22, 1974) is an American attorney and politician serving as the junior United States Senator for Colorado since 2015. A Republican, he was the U.S. Representative for Colorado’s 4th congressional district from 2011 to 2015 and a member of the Colorado House of Representatives from 2005 to 2011.
Gardner defeated Democratic incumbent Mark Udall in the 2014 Senate race.[2] Gardner was chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee from 2017 to 2019. After the 2018 midterm elections, he and University of Colorado Regent Heidi Ganahl became the only Republicans to hold statewide elected office in Colorado. Gardner lost his 2020 reelection bid to former Governor John Hickenlooper.[3]