Editor’s note: This story was adapted from an in-depth report by The Denver Post on the Democratic primary candidates for governor, originally published in November, and from other recent Post coverage.
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Michael Bennet, now Colorado’s longest-serving senator in 50 years, is eyeing a full-time return to the state in his bid to become its next governor.
His appeal against Attorney General Phil Weiser in the June 30 Democratic primary is based on senatorial deftness and long experience in public office. His record includes winning a key provision in the 2021 American Rescue Plan to expand the federal child tax credit — a move heralded by the Brookings Institution as leading to a “historic reduction in poverty” across the country before the provision expired after about six months.
When then-Gov. Bill Ritter appointed Bennet to fill a Senate vacancy in 2009, he was new to elected office — but he wasn’t new to public life. He’d served as the superintendent of Denver Public Schools and as then-Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper’s chief of staff, after a stint working on corporate mergers for billionaire Phil Anschutz.
Bennet, 61, entered the governor’s race in April 2025, and his decision to run was an exceedingly rare one, since U.S. senators hold one of the most influential political posts in the country.
He said at his announcement event that he saw an opportunity in Colorado to “forge a better politics” than what’s practiced in Washington, D.C. He pledged to build an economic and educational foundation to “drive a stake through Trumpism.”
“We have people all over Colorado that are working in their communities, and at the county level, who are desperate to have a partner in the statehouse, who believe that what we have to do in this state is unify the citizens of Colorado,” Bennet said, listing off priorities like cutting the costs of housing and childcare and raising education levels. “… This is not a moment for rhetoric, it’s a moment for results.”
With so many other Democrats seemingly waiting in the wings, Bennet’s entrance into the race after Weiser threw the political world for a loop — and kept the field from growing.
“I was surprised, just because it seemed like it was outside the realm of what he was thinking about,” said U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen, a Lakewood Democrat who’s endorsed Bennet, in an interview last fall. But like other backers, she quickly understood the move after a conversation with him.
“When you talk to him, it becomes clear that he felt like this was where he could make the biggest impact, and that’s what we all strive for in public service,” Pettersen added. “… While I was surprised, I understand that his breadth of experience — from superintendent to the Senate — and (with) the opportunities he has in Colorado, I understand why he wants to do this.”
‘We have to unify Colorado’
Bennet quickly lined up major endorsements from across the state. The rollout was a show of force for the campaign, drawing on Bennet’s long history of winning statewide campaigns and his reputation among Democratic leaders.
During the campaign, he’s taken some swipes at outgoing Gov. Jared Polis, a fellow Democrat. That included during a May debate co-sponsored by The Denver Post, when he took exception to Weiser citing his experience in state government.
“I don’t think the state government has done very much to solve our housing crisis, to solve our childcare crisis, to solve our healthcare crisis, to solve the fact that for the first time in a generation, businesses are moving out of our state because they can’t succeed as well in Colorado,” Bennet said.
Bennet, who grew up in Washington, D.C., earned a law degree from Yale Law School and spent much of his early legal career on the East Coast. Before he entered Colorado’s political sphere, he worked for Anschutz, buying up and restructuring distressed businesses, including oil companies and movie theater companies, earning millions of dollars in the process.
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He served in Hickenlooper’s mayoral administration beginning in 2003, then was appointed superintendent of DPS in 2005. In that role, he tackled declining enrollment and a stark achievement gap between students of color and white students. He also made the decision to close a storied northeast Denver high school that had struggled in the decade prior.
Since his appointment to the Senate, Bennet has won new terms by increasingly large margins. In 2022, he won nearly 56% of the vote, routing his Republican rival by nearly 15 percentage points.
Bennet ran for president in 2020, though he dropped out of the race early in the Democratic primaries.
He has repeatedly pointed to education and support for children of all economic stripes as key motivations for his public service. That streak continues with his gubernatorial bid.
By last fall, three of his four major policy proposals so far had circled education and childcare. He also has keyed in on housing affordability, aiming to help families dig roots in the Centennial State and help their kids find their own Colorado dream.
“Whether you think you’re the most conservative person in Colorado, or the most liberal or progressive person in Colorado, if our kids can’t afford to live here, it doesn’t matter,” Bennet said in an interview last year. “… We have to unify Colorado — build a coalition across our state to do hard things — and I think I’ve got the experience and the leadership skills to be able to help us.”
Former Colorado House Majority Leader Daneya Esgar said that breadth of experience — and focus on children — helped bring her into Bennet’s camp early in the race.
“When I look at Michael’s career, he has a history of governing. He’s been a senator, he’s had to really think about policy issues, he’s had to make important decisions when it comes to votes,” Esgar said. “… I think what I’ve always appreciated about Michael is the work he’s really done and the vision he has for Colorado’s kids, throughout his entire career.”
Questions about Senate seat
But Bennet’s senatorial experience has also been an avenue of attack.
The question of why he’s leaving one of the most powerful political positions in the country to run for office closer to home has followed him on the campaign trail, no matter how many times he says why.
Former U.S. Sen. Tim Wirth, a Democrat who represented Colorado from 1987 to 1993, said he told Bennet he wished he’d stay in the Senate, where he was elected to serve, and that he was “surprised and disappointed” he would end his term early.
“If I were in the Senate, I’d be as visible as possible fighting Trump,” said Wirth, a Weiser supporter. “I’ve told both Michael and (now-Sen.) John Hickenlooper that I wish they were both a lot more aggressive than they’ve been. They’ve got effectively safe seats, and they ought to be outspoken.”
Bennet has contended with blowback for controversial votes to approve some of President Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees last year. During the May debate, Bennet said he regretted voting for Energy Secretary Chris Wright but defended voting for Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins because the state needed support on wildfires.
Bennet has also raised eyebrows with his pronouncement that, should he win the governorship, he’d time his resignation so he could appoint his own successor to the U.S. Capitol.
He’s stuck to that plan, while saying he doesn’t have a replacement shortlist and won’t commit to identifying possible candidates to voters. He’s said in recent public comments only that he would appoint someone who’s younger than 50 years old.
Staff writer Seth Klamann contributed to this story.
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