Michael Bennet
US Senator for Colorado
Candidate for Governor
Democrat
Next Election
Colorado 2026 Democrat Primary • June 30, 2026
About Michael Bennet
Michael’s parents and grandparents raised him to have the highest hopes for our country. Michael’s dad was a public servant who worked for the federal government. His mom was a school librarian and an immigrant to this country. Born in Poland just before Hitler invaded, she and her parents survived the Holocaust and made their way to the United States to rebuild their shattered lives.
Michael believes that, as Americans, we have a responsibility to build opportunity for one another and the next generation. This core belief informed Michael’s work as the Superintendent of Denver Public Schools and, for the last sixteen years, as Colorado’s U.S. Senator.
When Michael arrived to the Senate in 2009, he quickly established himself as an independent leader – who stands up for what is right and delivers results for Colorado.
Driven by an obligation to create an economy that works for everyone, not just the few at the top, Michael has delivered once-in-a-generation economic policies like the expanded Child Tax Credit, which cut our nation’s childhood poverty rate nearly in half and gave a tax cut to 96% of Colorado families with kids.
Michael helped pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and secured over $8 billion for more than 1,000 Colorado projects to improve our roads, bridges, transportation, and water infrastructure. He also wrote the bill which would become the single largest investment in high-speed internet in American history, and led the fight to limit prescription drug costs for seniors.
Michael was instrumental in passing the Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant climate legislation in the planet’s history, and played a critical role in writing the bill’s clean energy provisions that are creating jobs and lowering energy costs, especially in rural communities. As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Michael has brought Western water and wildfire challenges to the forefront of the national conversation, securing billions of dollars for forest health, conservation, and drought in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. He also has worked to protect many of Colorado’s treasured landscapes including Camp Hale, Camp Amache, the Thompson Divide, Hermosa Creek, and Browns Canyon.
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s reckless decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade, Michael continues to fight for a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions and will stand up against any Trump Administration action that infringes on Colorado’s constitutional right to choose.
As the Trump Administration attacks our fundamental American values of equality, freedom, and opportunity for all, Michael is running for Governor to protect Colorado from Trump’s damage and to build a brighter future in Colorado – a future focused on the well-being of all of us, not just the few.
Michael lives in Denver with his wife Susan Daggett, their cat Captain Flint, and their dog Bandit.
They have three daughters, Caroline, Halina, and Anne.
Michael believes that, as Americans, we have a responsibility to build opportunity for one another and the next generation. This core belief informed Michael’s work as the Superintendent of Denver Public Schools and, for the last sixteen years, as Colorado’s U.S. Senator.
When Michael arrived to the Senate in 2009, he quickly established himself as an independent leader – who stands up for what is right and delivers results for Colorado.
Driven by an obligation to create an economy that works for everyone, not just the few at the top, Michael has delivered once-in-a-generation economic policies like the expanded Child Tax Credit, which cut our nation’s childhood poverty rate nearly in half and gave a tax cut to 96% of Colorado families with kids.
Michael helped pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and secured over $8 billion for more than 1,000 Colorado projects to improve our roads, bridges, transportation, and water infrastructure. He also wrote the bill which would become the single largest investment in high-speed internet in American history, and led the fight to limit prescription drug costs for seniors.
Michael was instrumental in passing the Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant climate legislation in the planet’s history, and played a critical role in writing the bill’s clean energy provisions that are creating jobs and lowering energy costs, especially in rural communities. As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Michael has brought Western water and wildfire challenges to the forefront of the national conversation, securing billions of dollars for forest health, conservation, and drought in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. He also has worked to protect many of Colorado’s treasured landscapes including Camp Hale, Camp Amache, the Thompson Divide, Hermosa Creek, and Browns Canyon.
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s reckless decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade, Michael continues to fight for a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions and will stand up against any Trump Administration action that infringes on Colorado’s constitutional right to choose.
As the Trump Administration attacks our fundamental American values of equality, freedom, and opportunity for all, Michael is running for Governor to protect Colorado from Trump’s damage and to build a brighter future in Colorado – a future focused on the well-being of all of us, not just the few.
Michael lives in Denver with his wife Susan Daggett, their cat Captain Flint, and their dog Bandit.
They have three daughters, Caroline, Halina, and Anne.
About the Governor Position
Governing
Latest Updates
Candidate
Running for Governor
As governor, I will do everything in my power to protect Coloradans’ from Trump’s lawlessness.
This is our Colorado and I won’t back down
Matt Duss, former foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders, on how Democrats can win on an anti-war platform and bring about real change. The post When Anti-War Candidates Become War-Monger Presidents appeared first on The Intercept.
Candidate
Running for Governor
200+ events
10+ Colorado’s Future Roundtables
9 forums
200+ endorsers
13 policy platforms rolled out
...and more to do!
Let’s go win this thing!
Colorado’s prison population plan was designed to prevent overcrowding. Instead, eight months after it was triggered, the system remains strained and largely ineffective, prompting two Democratic lawmakers to push for changes through new legislation. According to its sponsors, Senate Bill 036 lays o...
Candidate
Running for Governor
Big fan of @eatatottos! Stop by for the highest fried chicken sandwich or, my personal favorite, the cheesesteak.
Candidate
Running for Governor
@raphaelwarnock and I are aligned: we should protect every eligible American’s right to vote and oppose efforts that make ballot access harder.
We’re a no on the SAVE Act.
Voters’ unfamiliarity with the attorney general has always been the Democrat’s greatest vulnerability in the governor’s race as he runs against the much better known US Sen. Michael Bennet in the primary
Candidate
Running for Governor
I’m honored to earn the endorsement of major labor unions across Colorado.
Together, we’re fighting to lower costs, protect good-paying jobs, tackle the affordability crisis, and stand up to Donald Trump.
Maine’s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows is actually running for governor on her willingness to take flagrantly unconstitutional action. Bellows is touting her removal of Trump from the ballot, an effort that led to a unanimous Supreme Court swatting down Co…
A US district judge on Friday denied the Trump administration’s request to reconsider the legality of two subpoenas targeting the Federal Reserve, after he blocked them last month. In a biting six-page opinion, US District Judge James Boasberg wrote that the …
District judge found to have lashed out at former county clerk for exercising free-speech rights
This is the second federal legislative proposal this year seeking to block Forest Service funding for permitting or review of the Berlaimont Estates project
Attorney General Phil Weiser’s name will appear first on Colorado’s Democratic gubernatorial primary ballot after his overwhelming win Saturday at the party’s state assembly in Pueblo. Weiser joins U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet in the June 30 primary for the office held by term-limited Gov. Jared Polis. ...
As Colorado Democrats prepare to designate candidates to the June primary ballot at the party’s state assembly in Pueblo on Saturday, three candidates appear poised to win top-line designation in downballot statewide races, according to data compiled by the state party. There isn’t much suspense abo...
Julie Gonzales
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John Hickenlooper
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Karen Breslin
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Michael Bennet
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Amanda Gonzalez
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David Seligman
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Phil Weiser
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Jessie Danielson
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Colorado’s state campaign contribution limits, approved by voters in 2002, are among the lowest in the country
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet on Tuesday became the first gubernatorial candidate to qualify for Colorado’s June primary ballot after state election officials determined the three-term Democrat’s campaign submitted enough valid petition signatures. Bennet is facing Attorney General Phil Weiser in the Dem...
Lawmakers and President Trump appear to be edging closer to a framework to wrap up the Department of Homeland Security shutdown — but a breakthrough has remained out of reach. CBS News contacted every House and Senate office to ask what they're doing to end t…
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet is playing an arrogant game of hide-and-seek with Colorado voters as he seeks to abandon his Senate seat to become governor. Bennet insists that if he is elected governor in November, he will wait until he is inaugurated in January 2027 before he resigns from the Senate so h...
"Today, Governor Hochul announced proposed changes to the Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act, New York’s landmark climate law. [...]"
President Donald Trump continues to pressure Colorado's governor to free Tina Peters, who is serving a nine-year sentence for a security breach of voting systems.
Tribal leaders say 10 Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement officers were assigned to the reservation to curb violence. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, along with Rep. Jeff Hurd, are asking why they only have one.
Every single Democrat in the Colorado legislature signed a letter urging Gov. Jared Polis (D) not to grant clemency to Tina Peters. The post Every Democrat in Colorado Legislature Signs Letter Urging Gov. Polis Not to Grant Clemency to Tina Peters first appea…
Colorado's Democratic governor, facing a pressure campaign from President Donald Trump, is signaling his openness to granting clemency to a former county clerk who was convicted in a scheme that attempted to find proof of fraud in the 2020 presidential electi…
Cory Katuna of Longmont was only supposed to be in Doha, Qatar, for a three-hour layover on Saturday. Now, she's been stuck there for five days as military action in the Middle East escalates.
Statements from Colorado’s Democratic congressional delegation in response to President Donald Trump's strike on Iran, are examples of the quiet but powerful hold “Vietnam Syndrome” still exerts on the Democratic Party.
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