Colo. Sen. Bennet jumps into race
No-nonsense lawmaker policy-oriented moderate
DENVER — U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado jumped into the packed Democratic presidential primary on Thursday, announcing a 2020 campaign that had been stalled while he was treated for prostate cancer.
Bennet, a former head of Denver Public Schools who has carved out a reputation as a policy-oriented moderate, made his announcement on “CBS This Morning,” saying the country faces two “enormous challenges,” among others: “One is the lack of economic mobility and opportunity for most Americans, and the other is the need to restore integrity to our government.”
“I think we need to do both of those things,” he said.
The son of a former ambassador to India and a Yale Law School graduate who worked in the Clinton administration, Bennet worked for Republican billionaire Phil Anschutz when he moved to Colorado in the late 1990s. But when he re-entered public life, he did so as a Democrat, serving as chief of staff to then-denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. Hickenlooper went on to become Colorado governor and now is also competing for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The presence of two moderate Coloradans who started their political careers in Denver City Hall reflects how crowded the Democratic presidential field has become.
Bennet’s understated style and distaste for the sound bites required in a political campaign have usually led to speculation that he’d seek a Cabinet position rather than try to become the next president. But he began moving to assemble a presidential bid late last year and planned an announcement in April. He had to pause after being diagnosed with prostate cancer this spring.
In a 4-minute launch video released Thursday morning, Bennet positioned himself as a truth teller willing to level with voters.
“I’m not going to pretend free college is the answer,” he said. “I’m not gonna say there’s a simple solution to a problem if I don’t believe there is one.”
Elsewhere on the campaign trail Thursday:
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’rourke pledged not to take large donations from the fossil fuel industry, an about-face from his star-making run for Senate in oil-rich Texas last year when he was one of the top candidates backed by the sector. O’rourke also said he’d return all donations worth more than $200 from oil-and-gas and coal company executives and outside political groups that he’d received since launching his presidential bid March 14.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference on crime statistics that he will announce this month whether he is joining the growing list of candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for president.
The California Senate voted
27-10 on Thursday to require anyone appearing on the state’s presidential primary ballot to release five years’ worth of income tax returns. The legislature passed a similar law in 2017, but former Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed it, saying he was concerned the law was unconstitutional. California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office hasn’t said whether he’d sign the bill. If the bill reaches Newsom’s desk, “it would be evaluated on its own merits,” spokesman Brian Ferguson said.