Updated, 1:18 p.m.
The Upper Senator of Colorado, Michael Bennet, is looking for a new job.
Under a beautiful blue sky in City Park in Denner, Bennet officially launched his campaign for the governor. He was there with his wife, Susan, and one of their three daughters, as well as for a Who’s-Who of political partisans.
Speaking to the crowd, Bennet said that the Coloradans are concerned about the cost of living, the state of democracy and the realization of the American dream.
“The best solutions to our challenges range from us. They will come from Colorado. I run for the governor because I believe that we can build a future that focuses on the well-being of all of us, not just a few, “said Bennet.
Bennet has been used in the American Senate since 2009, winning three terms. He barely won his races in 2010 and 2016, before winning in 2022 in two figures again. Before that, he was a superintendent of Denver’s public schools, an experience he has often spoken while putting pressure for legislation in the Senate.
When he was asked why he wanted to take his fight from the American Senate to the State House, Bennet said: “I think being governor will not only allow me to continue to lead this fight against Trump, but will also help us build a positive vision of the future.”
In recent years, he has spoken of his frustrations on the functioning of the Senate and the Congress – or not. And with the democrats in minority in this room for at least the next few years, there are limits to what Bennet can do.
With Governor Jared Polis Term Limited, the best political job of the state, a plum post, will be open for the first time in eight years.
While speculations have raged on high -level Democrats could seek the seat, Bennet is only the second to offer it.
The Attorney General Phil Weiser launched his campaign at the start of the new year. At the beginning of April, he raised nearly $ 2 million and had several dozen mentions of local leaders, as well as former governor Roy Romer, who is the president of the honorary campaign of Weiser.
Hart Van Denburg / CPR News
While the conversation was starting to go up Thursday from Bennet’s entry into the race, Weiser said he would continue his campaign.
“I served Colorado as a lawyer for the people, working directly with people in all the counties of all the history to resolve difficult challenges. This is exactly what a governor does. I am ready for this work and I will continue to build a better future for all of us,” said Weiser in a statement. He also said Washington needed experienced democratic leaders.
The former senator and interior secretary, Ken Salazar, who also plans to participate in the race, published a statement on Friday morning by praising both Bennet and Weiser while stressing that he had previously occupied his two current jobs.
“The Democrats of Colorado will choose their candidate for the governor in June 2026, and more candidates could still emerge before that,” he said in a written declaration of his home in the San Luis valley. “The one who ultimately wins this appointment must be ready to represent all the corners of our state – in particular our rural communities – by providing practical and innovative solutions with the real challenges we face together.”
Bennet surprised a lot when he started to seriously contemplate a race at the end of February. When Magellan’s strategies interviewed probable democratic primary voters last December, they did not include Bennet on a list of possible candidates.
The main election is even more than a year old.
Bennet race could open a seat in the Senate for another Democrat
Bennet’s announcement does not only shake the governor’s race, but also begins behind the scenes on which will replace him in the Senate.
Bennet said he would stay in his current job while he campaigned for the governor.
And if he wins, “I will name my replacement,” he told journalists.
Colorado has a deep democratic bench, and many Democrats will probably look at the siege, including some of the members of the State Chamber.
Several names would probably be in the mixture, including current democratic representatives. Joe Neguse, Jason Crow and Brittany Pettersen. Crow and Neguse stood behind Bennet at the announcement and quickly approved him for the governor.
“There is no one in whom we no longer have confidence in directing Colorado and building a better future for families like ours – and all the families of our state – than Michael Bennet,” said Neguse in a press release.
Hart Van Denburg / CPR News
Hart Van Denburg / CPR News
“Senator Bennet is a proven leader and champion of Colorado who is working to reduce costs, to fight climate change and to keep President Trump responsible,” Crow said in a statement. “Michael Bennet was a fierce fighter for Colorado and is exactly the type of servant chief that our state needs right now.”
Neguse is currently a member of the leadership of the Democratic Chamber, holding the title of deputy chief of the minority, while Crow, which overthrew a long -standing republican seat in 2018, was operated to direct the recruitment of candidates for 2026. Pettersen also attracted national attention recently with its fight to obtain voting by proxy for new parents.
Bennet’s political path so far
Bennet himself arrived in the Senate as a vacancy meeting, chosen to fulfill the rest of Salazar’s mandate in the Senate in 2009.
Since hitting the room, he has been a great fundraising, reports more than $ 20 million for his last race in the Senate. He will have to use these links to ensure the support of his race for the governor. Its federal campaign committee had less than $ 500,000 in cash at the end of last year, but the laws on the finance of the state campaign prohibit the transfer of these funds to its state warns.
In the Senate, Bennet defended the expansion of the children’s tax credit, which the congress temporarily accepted during the pandemic but then made it possible to travel. He was also involved in attempted immigration reform of the Obama era, in particular sponsoring versions of The Dream Act and helping to develop the Bipartite Immigration Bill of the Eight Gang in 2013, which adopted the Senate but blocked in the house controlled by the Republican. He also pleaded for the creation of a universal option of public health care thanks to the expansion of the Act respecting affordable care and health insurance.
Bennet also used his perch in the Senate of Agriculture Committee to defend communities struggling with Western drought and to adopt two bipartite agricultural invoices, even if the most recent agricultural bill has been delayed by two years. And he worked with the delegation to guarantee federal funds to complete the conduit of the Arkansas valley and to keep the headquarters of the space in Colorado Springs.
Hart Van Denburg / CPR News
Hart Van Denburg / CPR News
In 2019, Bennet attempted a long offer for another executive office: the American presidency. He arrived at New Hampshire primary before abandoning the race after obtaining less than 1000 votes.
Before serving in elected functions, Bennet, a lawyer educated in Yale, was the superintendent of Denver’s public schools, an experience he has often mentioned according to his commitment to policies such as children’s tax credit. Bennet also worked as a chief of staff to senator John Hickenlooper when Hickenlooper was mayor and as general manager of the investment company Anschutz.
Although the democratic field is still sparse, this is another story in the primary republican race.
Ten candidates submitted documents to present themselves, including the state senator Mark Baisley from Woodland Park, the representative of the Scott Bottoms State of Colorado Springs and the Sheriff of the county of Teller, Jason Mikesell. Senator of the State Barbara Kirkmeyer, who presented himself at Congress in 2022, also expressed his interest in the office, while the former representative Gre Lopez and the state senator Paul Lundeen are also often mentioned as potential candidates.
