At this hour, multiple news agencies, including Channel 4 and the Denver Post, are reporting that Denver mayor John Hickenlooper will run for Colorado governor, with an announcement anticipated this afternoon.

The move is the biggest surprise since the sun came up this morning. It's been abundantly clear that Hickenlooper was the Democrats' man since at least last Thursday, when Interior secretary Ken Salazar formally endorsed Hick in his own declaration of disinterest in the position. In the days that followed, we've witnessed plenty of stage direction and hype-building, including President Barack Obama's well-publicized nudge to Hickenlooper on Friday and Rep. Ed Perlmutter's face-saving withdrawal from campaign consideration yesterday.

What's next? In all likelihood, a more interesting and entertaining campaign than we would have seen had Bill Ritter decided to bid for another four years in office. More to come. Much more.

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