Democrats 2020: Michael Bennet

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Fast facts

Who: Michael Bennet

Country: Colorado

Current position: U.S. Senator from Colorado

Campaign website: https://michaelbennet.com/

Background: ON January 3, 2009then-Colorado Governor Bill Ritter sent out a press release announcing that he would nominate then-Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet to replace then-Colorado Senator Ken Salazar, who had just been nominated by former President Obama to be the next Secretary of the Interior. In 2010, Michael Bennet ran for the U.S. Senate for the first time, where he defeated Republican Ken Buck. Bennet was re-elected in 2016.

Before becoming a U.S. senator, Bennet attended Wesleyan University, graduating with honors in history. From 1988 to 1990, before going to Yale Law School, Bennet was a personal assistant to former Ohio Governor Dick Celeste. While in law school, Bennet was editor-in-chief Yale Law Journal. After receiving his J.D. in 1993, Bennet served as a law clerk for the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and from 1995 to 1997 served as an associate attorney general for the United States. After a stint as a special assistant to the U.S. attorney in Connecticut, Bennet entered the business world, where he became managing director of Anschutz Investment Co. in Denver, Colorado. From 2003 to 2005, Bennet served as chief of staff to then-Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, who will also run for president in 2020. In 2005, Bennet became superintendent of Denver Public Schools, where he remained until his nomination to the United States Senate. In April 2019, Bennet had successful surgery in the treatment of prostate cancer.

Campaign and recommendations for 2020

• Announcement date: May 2, 2019

• Fundraising: N/A

• Campaign Management: Shannon Beckham

• Key recommendations:

Political positions

• Healthcare: Bennet is a supporter of the Affordable Care Act. Rather than repeal and replace, Bennet advocates “fight to fixWhile running for election in 2010, Bennet stated that he would be willing to lose his Senate seat because of his support for the bill. According to Denver Post OfficeBennet’s health care idea “doesn’t suffice for Medicare-for-all.” Bennet and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) reintroduced “Medical care“in April 2019, three other Democratic senators running for president are co-sponsors of ‘Medicare X.’
• Immigration: Bennet admits the current immigration system is broken. He called for bipartisan legislation to increase border security and protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
• Environment: According to his campaign website, Bennet “played a central role in crafting and passing bipartisan farm bills in 2014 and 2018,” worked to “protect iconic public lands” and promotes clean energy. Bennet also treats climate change as a “top priority.” On Twitter, Bennet stated that climate change is “national emergency” and that it is “one of the most important challenges we face.” is not a co-sponsor Green New Deal.
• Economy: Bennet definitely againstand I voted against the Republican Party’s tax bill.
• Criminal justice: Bennet was co-sponsor Act of the first degree which he called “a principled compromise many years overdue” and “the first step in a longer effort to reduce mass incarceration and restore faith in our criminal justice system.”
• Gun Control: Bennet is a supporter of gun control and has repeatedly called for strengthening the background check system. In October 2017, Bennet introduced Background Check Expansion Actwhich “would require background checks for the sale or transfer of all firearms, similar to Colorado law.” After the 2018 Parkland mass shooting, during interview Bennet, along with MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski, also supported the idea of ​​banning large-capacity magazines.
• Miscarriage: Bennet is a pro-choice Democrat. In January 2018, he opposed the Senate’s proposal for a 20-week abortion ban, stating that the legislation “threatens a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions.”

Criticism/controversy

• Name Recognition: Many people may not recognize the name Michael Bennet. In his announcement that he was running for president, Bennet stated, “You probably don’t know me because I don’t go on cable news every night.”

This article is part of our Elections 2020 series. Read more about the most talked about Democrats challenging President Trump below.