Cory Scott Gardner (born August 22, 1974) is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Colorado from 2015 to 2021. 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 narrowly defeated Democratic incumbent Mark Udall in the 2014 Senate race. 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 announced in 2019 he would run for re-election for a second term, but lost his 2020 reelection bid to former Governor John Hickenlooper by just over 9 percentage points.After leaving the Senate, Gardner has remained active in politics and policy. He sits on the board of Michael Best Strategies, is the Chief Political Affairs Strategist for the Crypto Council for Innovation, and has remained active in fundraising for Republican candidates.