{"id":1656,"date":"2026-06-16T17:33:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T17:33:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1656"},"modified":"2026-06-16T17:33:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T17:33:41","slug":"what-to-know-about-u-s-sen-michael-bennets-background-as-he-runs-for-colorado-governor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1656","title":{"rendered":"What to know about U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet\u2019s background as he runs for Colorado governor"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Editor\u2019s 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Pizza Hut, where sales have lagged with arrival of delivery culture, will be sold for $2.7 billion<\/a><\/p>\n

Michael Bennet, now Colorado\u2019s longest-serving senator in 50 years, is eyeing a full-time return to the state in his bid to become its next governor.<\/p>\n

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 \u2014 a move heralded by the Brookings Institution as leading to a \u201chistoric reduction in poverty\u201d across the country before the provision expired after about six months.<\/p>\n

When then-Gov. Bill Ritter appointed Bennet to fill a Senate vacancy in 2009, he was new to elected office \u2014 but he wasn\u2019t new to public life. He\u2019d served as the superintendent of Denver Public Schools and as then-Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper\u2019s chief of staff, after a stint working on corporate mergers for billionaire Phil Anschutz.<\/p>\n

Bennet, 61, entered the governor\u2019s race in April 2025, and his decision to run was <\/span>an exceedingly rare one, since U.S. senators hold one of the most influential political posts in the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

He said at his announcement event that he saw an opportunity in Colorado to \u201cforge a better politics\u201d than what\u2019s practiced in Washington, D.C. He pledged to build an economic and educational foundation to \u201cdrive a stake through Trumpism.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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,\u201d Bennet said, listing off priorities like cutting the costs of housing and childcare and raising education levels. \u201c\u2026 This is not a moment for rhetoric, it\u2019s a moment for results.\u201d<\/p>\n

With so many other Democrats seemingly waiting in the wings, Bennet\u2019s entrance into the race after Weiser threw the political world for a loop \u2014 and kept the field from growing.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI was surprised, just because it seemed like it was outside the realm of what he was thinking about,\u201d said U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen, a Lakewood Democrat who\u2019s endorsed Bennet, in an interview last fall. But like other backers, she quickly understood the move after a conversation with him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you talk to him, it becomes clear that he felt like this was where he could make the biggest impact, and that\u2019s what we all strive for in public service,\u201d Pettersen added. \u201c\u2026 While I was surprised, I understand that his breadth of experience \u2014 from superintendent to the Senate \u2014 and (with) the opportunities he has in Colorado, I understand why he wants to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018We have to unify Colorado\u2019<\/h4>\n

Bennet quickly lined up major endorsements from across the state. The rollout was a show of force for the campaign, drawing on Bennet\u2019s long history of winning statewide campaigns and his reputation among Democratic leaders.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the campaign, he\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t 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\u2019t succeed as well in Colorado,\u201d Bennet said.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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A quick look at the Colorado governor candidates running in this month\u2019s Democratic, Republican primaries<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n