DEVELOPING: Democrat Senator Expected To Launch Gubernatorial Run

According to reports, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) will soon announce a bid for Colorado governor.

New: Colorado Democrat Senator Michael Bennet is expected to announce tomorrow he is running for Governor of Colorado in 2026 pic.twitter.com/mefs8njKsJ

— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) April 10, 2025

Axios reports that Bennet could announce his gubernatorial run as early as Friday.

“Bennet’s bid sets up a high-profile showdown with Attorney General Phil Weiser for the state’s chief executive post,” the outlet wrote.

SCOOP: Michael Bennet to launch Colorado governor bid as soon as Fridayhttps://t.co/xXU4lzSgb1

— Axios (@axios) April 10, 2025

Per Axios:

Bennet voted in January to support President Trump’s pick for Energy secretary, Chris Wright, touting the former Denver fracking executive’s “deep expertise.”

Meanwhile, Weiser is positioned as the state’s most prominent Trump adversary, using his powers to file more than a dozen lawsuits challenging the administration.

Bennet, the former Denver Public Schools superintendent, is serving his third full-term in the U.S. Senate after being reelected in 2022.

Weiser is in his second and final term as the state’s top prosecutor.

This is the second time Bennet has looked to leave his Senate post. He ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020 in a crowded field and failed to gain traction.

Bennet is expected to keep his U.S. Senate seat while campaigning for governor.

Michael Bennet to launch bid for Colorado governor https://t.co/AV14q2BjKL

— POLITICO (@politico) April 10, 2025

NEW: U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet is expected to announce as soon as Friday that he will run for Colorado governor, according to multiple media reports. https://t.co/nObTNOzn2x

— The Denver Post (@denverpost) April 10, 2025

From POLITICO:

Bennet, the former Denver Public Schools superintendent who was first appointed to the Senate in 2009, immediately becomes the de facto frontrunner to succeed Democratic Gov. Jared Polis in a solidly blue state.

Before Bennet’s expected entry, the state’s two-term attorney general, Phil Weiser, had been the top candidate in the field, raising $1.9 million in the year’s first quarter.

Bennet now joins a wave of Democratic senators who are leaving Washington, D.C., including Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who all announced their retirements earlier this year.

Bennet himself has grown increasingly frustrated by Congress, telling POLITICO last month that “the answer to that over the next decade is as likely to come from the states as it is from Washington.” He’s stopped short of calling for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to step aside in Senate leadership, but he’s also complained about the Democratic Party lacking a strategy.

After securing a full six-year term by eking out a win over former GOP Rep. Ken Buck in 2010, Bennet easily won reelection twice, in 2016 and 2022, as Colorado turned a darker shade of blue.