Michael Bennet | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2022 | |
| United States Senator fromColorado | |
| Assumed office January 21, 2009 Serving with John Hickenlooper | |
| Preceded by | Ken Salazar |
| Chair of theDemocratic Senatorial Campaign Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2015 | |
| Leader | Harry Reid |
| Preceded by | Patty Murray |
| Succeeded by | Jon Tester |
| Superintendent ofDenver Public Schools | |
| In office July 1, 2005 – January 21, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Jerome Wartgow |
| Succeeded by | Tom Boasberg |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Farrand Bennet (1964-11-28)November 28, 1964 (age 60) New Delhi,India |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent |
|
| Relatives | James Bennet (brother) |
| Education | Wesleyan University (BA) Yale University (JD) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Senate website |
Michael Bennet questions witnesses onhemp production for farmers Recorded February 1, 2023 | |
Michael Farrand Bennet (born November 28, 1964) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician serving as theseniorUnited States senator fromColorado, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of theDemocratic Party, he was appointed to the seat when SenatorKen Salazar becameSecretary of the Interior. Bennet previously worked as a managing director for theAnschutz Investment Company, chief of staff toDenver mayor (and his future Senate colleague)John Hickenlooper, andsuperintendent ofDenver Public Schools.
Bennet is the son ofDouglas J. Bennet, a formerState Department official and president ofWesleyan University. Early in his career, Bennet worked forOhio governorRichard Celeste. He received aJuris Doctor degree fromYale Law School, worked as a law clerk, and was counsel to theU.S. deputy attorney general during theadministration ofBill Clinton.
Bennet served then-MayorJohn Hickenlooper as his chief of staff from 2003 to 2005 and became superintendent of the Denver public school system in July 2005. GovernorBill Ritter appointed Bennet to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated byKen Salazar when Salazar becameSecretary of the Interior in January 2009. Bennet was elected in the2010 Senate election, defeatingRepublican nomineeKen Buck. He chaired theDemocratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) for the2014 cycle[1] and was reelected to the Senate in2016 and2022.
On May 2, 2019, Bennet announced his candidacy for theDemocratic nomination forpresident of the United States. He dropped out of the race on February 11, 2020, after a poor showing in theNew Hampshire primary.[2]
Bennet was born inNew Delhi, India. His mother is Susanne Christine Bennet (née Klejman), a retired elementary school librarian[3][4][5] andJewishHolocaust survivor who was born in 1938 inWarsaw,Poland, and immigrated to the United States with her family in 1950.[3][6][7] Her parents survived imprisonment in theWarsaw Ghetto.[3] His father wasDouglas J. Bennet,[3] who was born in New Jersey, and served as an aide toChester Bowles, then the U.S.ambassador to India.[3] Douglas Bennet ran theUnited States Agency for International Development under PresidentJimmy Carter,[8] served as president and the CEO ofNational Public Radio (1983–93), and asAssistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs in the Clinton administration (1993–95). His grandfather Douglas Bennet was an economic adviser inFranklin D. Roosevelt's administration.[8]
Bennet grew up inWashington, D.C.; his father served as an aide to Vice PresidentHubert Humphrey, among other politicians. He was held back in second grade because of hisdyslexia.[3][9][10] He enrolled atSt. Albans School, an elite all-boyspreparatory school, and served as apage onCapitol Hill.[11]
In 1987, Bennet earned hisBachelor of Arts in history fromWesleyan University,[12] the alma mater of his father and grandfather.[13] At Wesleyan he was a member ofBeta Theta Pi. In 1993, Bennet earned hisJuris Doctor fromYale Law School, where he was theeditor-in-chief of theYale Law Journal.[14]
From 1988 until 1990, when he left to attend Yale, he served as an aide toOhio governorRichard Celeste.[13] After law school he served as a law clerk for the4th Circuit Court of Appeals[15] and as an associate toWashington, D.C. attorneyLloyd Cutler.[13] He then served as counsel to theDeputy Attorney General during theBill Clintonadministration.[16] His father,Douglas Bennet, worked in the Clinton Administration as well, asAssistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs. Following a stint as an assistant to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Bennet moved West.[13] After briefly living inMontana, he moved with his fiancée to Colorado in 1997.[13][17] Bennet worked for six years inDenver as managing director for theAnschutz Investment Company, where he led the reorganization of an oil company and helped consolidate three movie theater chains into theRegal Entertainment Group.[18][19]
While working for Anschutz, Bennet befriended fellow Wesleyan alumnusJohn Hickenlooper, informally advising the latter's successful campaign formayor of Denver.[17] Moving back into public service, Bennet served for two years as Hickenlooper's Chief of Staff.
The Denver Board of Education selected Bennet assuperintendent ofDenver Public Schools on June 27, 2005, and he took office on July 1. He had no experience as a school administrator.[13] Under Bennet's leadership, the Denver Public School system grew student enrollment, decreased dropout rates, and improved graduation rates and college enrollment. Those trends have continued since Bennet left the office.[20] Bennet collaborated with educators and community members to develop the Denver Plan, a commitment to increase student success by focusing on higher expectations, better professional learning opportunities for educators, and deeper engagement with the community and stakeholders.[21] Bennet and the City of Denver also partnered with private philanthropists to increase college enrollment and affordability for DPS graduates.[22][23] TheDenver Post said of his tenure, "Bennet has been a force—pushing reforms and steering the state's second-largest district to a culture of success."[24]
In 2008 Bennet persuaded the Denver Board of Education to enter into a 30-year, $750 million financial bond transaction with variable interest rates designed to fluctuate as economic conditions changed. According toThe New York Times, "In short order, the transaction went awry because of stress in the credit markets, problems with the bond insurer and plummeting interest rates." As of 2010 the school system had paid $115 million in interest and other fees, at least $25 million more than it originally anticipated.[25]
Bennet was among the many officials whose names were circulated forUnited States Secretary of Education in theObama administration, a position eventually filled byArne Duncan.[26] He and his wife were early Obama supporters during the2008 Democratic primaries,[27] and he was among those who advised Obama on education issues.[28]
On January 3, 2009, Bennet was named byColorado governorBill Ritter to fill the seat in theUnited States Senate vacated byUnited States Secretary of the InteriorKen Salazar on January 20.[15] Ritter chose Bennet after interviewing several prominent Colorado Democrats, and Bennet took the job with the blessing of Hickenlooper.[13] Upon taking office on January 21, 2009, he became the youngest senator in the111th United States Congress for five days, until the appointment of SenatorKirsten Gillibrand,[29] and he said he would seekelection at the end of Salazar's term in 2010.[30]
In his January 2011 article inTime titled "Shaking Schools Up in an Already Tumultuous Year", Andrew J. Rotherham said of Bennet: "If the federalNo Child Left Behind Act is modified this year, or if anything else of significance happens in Washington on education policy, this Colorado Democrat will be at the center of it."[31]
Bennet ran for election for a full term as senator from Colorado in the 2010 election.[32] On September 16, 2009, formerColorado HouseSpeakerAndrew Romanoff announced his campaign to challenge Bennet for the Democratic nomination.[33] Bennet received endorsements from President Obama, U.S. SenatorMark Udall, and U.S. RepresentativesBetsy Markey,Jared Polis, andJohn Salazar of the Colorado congressional delegation.[32] He raised $7 million and had a four-to-one cash advantage over Romanoff.[34]
On August 10, 2010, Bennet defeated Romanoff in the primary and won his party's nomination,[35] facing Republican candidateKen Buck. The campaign became one of the most expensive in the country, with the candidates spending a reported $15 million combined, and outside groups another $30 million. Bennet portrayed Buck as an extremist conservative opposed toabortion anddirect election of senators, while Buck and the groups supporting him characterized Bennet as a big-spending liberal.[36]
On November 3, the day after polls closed, Bennet was declared the winner and Buck conceded. Bennet won by 851,590 votes (48.1%) to 822,731 (46.4%). He subsequently returned to Washington, D.C. in January 2011 to start a full six-year term. After the election, Obama said Bennet "perfectly reflects the qualities of the ruggedly independent state he has been chosen to serve."[37]
Bennet was reelected to a second term on November 8, 2016, defeating the Republican nominee,El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn. Bennet received 50% of the vote to Glenn's 44%.[38] Following the election, Obama said Bennet was one of the "gifted Democratic politicians" who could lead the party in the future.[39][40]
Bennet was reelected to a third term in 2022, defeating the Republican nominee, businessmanJoe O'Dea, who was notably critical of former President Donald Trump.[41] Bennet received 55.9% of the vote to O'dea's 41.3%.[42] This was the first Senate election in which Bennet received a majority of the vote.
In the wake of the2021 storming of the United States Capitol, Bennet called for theTwenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution to be invoked to remove Trump from office.[43] In 2024, Bennet was one of the first Democratic senators to publicly state that he worried PresidentJoe Biden would lose the presidential race toDonald Trump, saying, "Donald Trump is on track, I think, to win this election, and maybe win it by a landslide, and take with him the Senate and the House. So for me, this isn't a question about polling. It's not a question about politics. It's a moral question about the future of our country."[44]
Source:United States Senate[46]
Most of Bennet's positions are considered liberal.[47] TheAmerican Conservative Union gave Bennet a 6% lifetime conservative rating in 2020.[48] In 2023, the Lugar Center ranked Bennet in the top third of senators for bipartisanship.[49]
Bennet supports abortion rights and has voted to continue federal funding toPlanned Parenthood.[50] AfterRoe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, Bennet said that the "radical majority on the Supreme Court demolished fifty years of precedent" and called it an "activist decision".[51]
In March 2019, Bennet was one of 38 senators to sign a letter toUnited States Secretary of AgricultureSonny Perdue warning that dairy farmers "have continued to face market instability and are struggling to survive the fourth year of sustained low prices" and urging his department to "strongly encourage these farmers to consider the Dairy Margin Coverage program."[52]
Bennet cosponsored the bipartisanSTATES Act, proposed in the115th U.S. Congress by senatorsElizabeth Warren andCory Gardner, which would exempt individuals or corporations in compliance with state cannabis laws from federal enforcement of theControlled Substances Act.[53] He also cosponsored theSAFE Banking Act in 2019, which would provide marijuana businesses with access to banking services.[54]
In 2018 Bennet criticized the Trump administration for attempting to cherry-pick data to misinform the public on marijuana use.[55] In response, the White House'sOffice of National Drug Control Policy committed to be completely objective and dispassionate in its analysis of marijuana.[56]
Bennet cosponsored theMarijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act in 2018 and theMarijuana Justice Act in 2019, a pair of bills that wouldlegalize cannabis at the federal level by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act.[57] He opposed Colorado'sAmendment 64 to legalize cannabis in 2012.[58]
In December 2019, Bennet and SenatorMitt Romney proposed achild allowance.[59]
In 2009, Bennet co-sponsored the Solar Manufacturing Jobs Creation Act, legislation that would have provided a tax credit to support solar manufacturing in the U.S.[60] The legislation was not enacted.[61]
He was one of the handful of Democratic senators who have supported construction of theKeystone XL pipeline, voting for it in 2013,[62] 2014,[63] and 2015.[64]
In February 2021, Bennet was one of seven Democratic senators to join Republicans in blocking a ban ofhydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking.[65]
In October 2017, Bennet was one of 19 senators to sign a letter toAdministrator of the Environmental Protection AgencyScott Pruitt questioning Pruitt's decision to repeal theClean Power Plan, asserting that Pruitt used "mathematical sleights of hand to overstate the costs of industry compliance with the 2015 Rule and understate the benefits that will be lost if the 2017 repeal is finalized", and that science denial and math tricks fail to "satisfy the requirements of the law, nor will it slow the increase in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, the inexorable rise in sea levels, or the other dire effects of global warming that our planet is already experiencing."[66]
In November 2018, Bennet was one of 25 Democratic senators to cosponsor a resolution in response to findings of the Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change report and National Climate Assessment. The resolution affirmed the senators' acceptance of the findings and their support for bold action to address climate change.[67]
In March 2019, Bennet was an original cosponsor of a bipartisan bill intended to mandate that the Environmental Protection Agency declare per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances as hazardous substances that can be addressed with cleanup funds via the EPA Superfund law and require that polluters undertake or pay for remediation within a year of the bill's enaction.[68]
In April 2019, Bennet was one of 12 senators to sign a bipartisan letter to top senators on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development advocating that the Energy Department be granted maximum funding for carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), arguing that American job growth could be stimulated by investment in capturing carbon emissions and expressing disagreement with President Trump's 2020 budget request to combine the two federal programs that do carbon capture research.[69]
In September 2019, Bennet was one of eight senators to sign a bipartisan letter to congressional leadership requesting full and lasting funding of the Land and Water Conservation Act in order to aid national parks and public lands, benefit the $887 billion American outdoor recreation economy, and "ensure much-needed investment in our public lands and continuity for the state, tribal, and non-federal partners who depend on them."[70]
Bennet was a member of the Senate Democrats' Special Committee on the Climate Crisis, which published a report of its findings in August 2020.[71]
In July 2017, Bennet co-sponsored theIsrael Anti-Boycott Act (s. 720), which permits U.S. states to enact laws that require contractors to sign a pledge saying they will not boycott goods from Israel, or their contracts will be terminated.[72]
In March 2018, Bennet voted against tabling[clarification needed] a resolution spearheaded byBernie Sanders,Chris Murphy, andMike Lee that would have required Trump to withdraw American troops either in or influencingYemen within the next 30 days unless they were combatingAl-Qaeda.[73]
In November 2018, Bennet joined senatorsChris Coons,Elizabeth Warren, and a bipartisan group of lawmakers in sending the Trump administration a letter raising concerns about thePeople's Republic of China's undue influence onmedia outlets andacademic institutions in the United States. They wrote: "In American news outlets, Beijing has used financial ties to suppress negative information about the CCP. In the past four years, multiple media outlets with direct or indirect financial ties to China allegedly decided not to publish stories on wealth and corruption in the CCP. In one case, an editor resigned due to mounting self-censorship in the outlet's China coverage. Beijing has also sought to use relationships with American academic institutions and student groups to shape public discourse."[74]
In April 2019, Bennet was one of 34 senators to sign a letter to Trump about cutting aid to Central America. It encouraged Trump "to listen to members of your own Administration and reverse a decision that will damage our national security and aggravate conditions inside Central America," asserting that Trump had "consistently expressed a flawed understanding of U.S. foreign assistance" since becoming president and that he was "personally undermining efforts to promote U.S. national security and economic prosperity" by preventing the use of Fiscal Year 2018 national security funding. The senators argued that foreign assistance to Central American countries created less migration to the U.S. by helping to improve conditions in those countries.[75]
On January 24, 2019, Bennet gave an impromptu 25-minute speech on the Senate floor in response to comments by SenatorTed Cruz. He questioned the authenticity of Cruz's concern about difficulties that the2018–19 government shutdown was causing to first responders,[76] recalling that in 2013 Cruz led ashutdown that lasted 16 days at a time whenColorado was experiencing flooding.[77] In less than eight hours the speech became the most-watched Senate floor speech in C-SPAN history.[78]
As of 2022, Bennet has an "F" grade from theNRA Political Victory Fund.[79] This has fallen from a "C+" grade in 2010.[80] In 2012, Bennet joined then Colorado SenatorMark Udall in asking for stricter gun control, in response to theSandy Hook Elementary School shooting. After the shooting, Bennet said, "In Colorado, we support the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms, we support the ability of people to hunt and recreate and to protect their families and homes, and we want to keep the wrong weapons out of the hands of the wrong people."[81]
Bennet participated in theChris Murphy gun control filibuster, demanding that gun laws be changed in the wake of theOrlando nightclub shooting. During his participation in the filibuster, Bennet talked about the2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting, citing that as a response to the shooting, the state of Colorado closed gun sale loopholes and now requires background checks for any gun purchase.[82]
In response to the2017 Las Vegas shooting, Bennet demandeduniversal background checks regarding gun sales and described the shooting asdomestic terrorism.[83]
In 2013, Bennet voted against a Senate Amendment 711 to S. 649 (The Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act of 2013), an amendment introduced bySenator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) that would have reinstated the federal assault weapons ban. The amendment was defeated 40–60 with one Republican,Mark Kirk, voting in favor and 16 Democrats (including independent SenatorAngus King, who caucuses with Democrats) against.[84] Also in 2013 Bennet voted to strengthen the background check system and to ban high-capacity magazines.[citation needed]
Bennet owns a shotgun, which he has called a "hunting shotgun".[85]
Bennet voted in support of thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed by PresidentBarack Obama on March 23, 2010. In November 2009, when the bill was still working its way through Congress, Bennet said that he would supporthealth care reform even if it meant losing the election.[86] In 2016, describing the healthcare costs in western and central Colorado as among the highest in the United States, Bennet said he "didn't have answers" and called it "next to impossible" to fix the Affordable Care Act given partisan attitudes at that time.[87]
As part of a group of Democrats proposing "more incremental steps to broaden health care coverage", as opposed toBernie Sanders's push for "Medicare for All", Bennet and SenatorTim Kaine have proposed "Medicare X". Medicare X would "create a public option modeled afterMedicare alongside private options on theObamaCaremarketplaces".[88] In 2019 Bennet and Kaine reintroduced the latest version of the plan, which would also "expand access to tax credits."[89]
In January 2019 during the2018–19 United States federal government shutdown, Bennet was one of 34 senators to sign a letter toCommissioner of Food and DrugsScott Gottlieb recognizing the efforts of the FDA to address the shutdown's effect on public health and employees while remaining alarmed "that the continued shutdown will result in increasingly harmful effects on the agency's employees and the safety and security of the nation's food and medical products."[90]
In April 2019 Bennet and Senator Chuck Grassley's Advancing Care for Exceptional (ACE) Kids Act, legislation that creates an option for states and families to provide improved coordination of care for children with complex medical conditions, was signed into law.[91][92]
In September 2009, Bennet cosponsored theDREAM Act (S. 729), which proposed amending theIllegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 by giving residency to immigrants enrolled in higher education programs or serving in the military.[93] In 2013, he was a member of theGang of Eight, a bipartisan group of four Democratic and four Republican U.S. senators who introduced comprehensiveimmigration reform legislation.[94] Their bill, theBorder Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013, passed the U.S. Senate with a vote of 68–32, but stalled in the House due to opposition from the Republican majority.[95] He later cosponsored the Dream Act of 2017.[96] After President Trump ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Bennet worked with a bipartisan group of senators to provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers with stronger border protections.[97]
In August 2018, Bennet was one of 17 senators to sign a letter spearheaded byKamala Harris toUnited States Secretary of Homeland SecurityKirstjen Nielsen demanding that the Trump administration take immediate action in attempting to reunite 539 migrant children with their families, citing each passing day of inaction as intensifying "trauma that this administration has needlessly caused for children and their families seeking humanitarian protection."[98]
In June 2019, Bennet and six other Democratic senators led by Hawaii SenatorBrian Schatz sent letters to the Government Accountability Office and the suspension and debarment official and inspector general at the US Department of Health and Human Services citing recent reports that showed "significant evidence that some federal contractors and grantees have not provided adequate accommodations for children in line with legal and contractual requirements" and urged the officials to determine whether federal contractors and grantees are in violation of contractual obligations or federal regulations and should thus face financial consequences.[99]
In July 2019, following reports that the Trump administration intended to cease protecting spouses, parents and children of active-duty service members from deportation, Bennet was one of 22 senators led byTammy Duckworth to sign a letter arguing that the protection gave service members the ability "to fight for the United States overseas and not worry that their spouse, children, or parents will be deported while they are away" and that its termination would both cause service members personal hardship and negatively affect their combat performance.[100]
Also in July 2019, Bennet and 15 other Senate Democrats introduced the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, which would require, except in special circumstances, that ICE agents get approval from a supervisor before engaging in enforcement actions at sensitive locations, and that agents receive annual training in addition to reporting annually on enforcement actions in those locations.[101]
Bennet supportssame-sex marriage. He lauded theSupreme Court's 2015 decision inObergefell v. Hodges that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, stating on his Senate website "Marriage is a fundamental right that same-sex couples deserve to enjoy, and now they will have the same rights and opportunities that the law grants to Susan [Bennet's spouse] and me."[102]
Bennet is the author of legislation to direct resources to improve the sexual health of older Americans, including LGBTQ+ and rural senior populations.[103] He is an original co-sponsor of theEquality Act. In 2022, Bennet voted for theRespect for Marriage Act.[104]
| Michael Bennet 2020 presidential campaign | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Campaign | U.S. presidential election, 2020 |
| Candidate | Michael Bennet U.S. Senator fromColorado (2009–present) |
| Affiliation | Democratic Party |
| Launched | May 2, 2019 |
| Suspended | February 11, 2020 |
| Headquarters | Denver,Colorado |
| Receipts | US$6,853,752.77[105] (12/31/2019) |
| Slogan | "Building Opportunity Together" |
| Website | |
| michaelbennet.com (archived - January 7, 2020) | |
.jpg)
Bennet's 2020 presidential campaign began on May 2, 2019, when he officially declared his candidacy during an appearance onCBS This Morning.[106] Bennet was previously mentioned as a possible presidential candidate following his viral response to SenatorTed Cruz in January 2019.[76] In February and March 2019 he traveled to early primary states such asIowa andNew Hampshire.[107][108][109] In late March Bennet said he was "very inclined" to run for the presidency.[110]
Following his announcement, Bennet campaigned inIowa on May 5 and 11 andSouth Carolina on May 31. He qualified forthe first set of debates on June 3, and appeared in the June 27 debate, receiving 8.1 minutes of airtime.[111] He appeared inthe second set of debates, on July 26 and 27, this time receiving 10.6 minutes of airtime.[111] He failed to qualify for the remainder of the debates. He also failed to qualify for the Iowa and New Hampshire debate, making him the candidate to fail to qualify for a debate the most times (six).[112]
Bennet received 164 votes in theIowa caucuses, and 958 in theNew Hampshire primary. His best performances were in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, where he garnered 2.31% of the vote, his best result. He had already dropped out on February 11, 2020, the night of the New Hampshire primary.[113]
On October 26, 1997, Bennet marriedEarthjustice Legal Defense Fund attorney Susan Diane Daggett, inMarianna, Arkansas.[114] They have three daughters and reside in Denver'sCongress Park neighborhood.[115]
Though not raised in an observant household, Bennet acknowledges his Jewish roots.[116][117][118] He has said that he was "raised with two different heritages, one [that] was Jewish and one [that] was Christian," and that he believes in God.[3]
His brother,James Bennet, was the editorial page director forThe New York Times.[5]
On April 3, 2019, Bennet announced he had been diagnosed withprostate cancer and underwent surgery later that month.[119][120] Following the surgery, Bennet's office said the procedure was "completely successful" and that he requires no further treatment.[121]
As of 2019[update], according toForbes Magazine, Bennet's net worth was $15 million.[122]
| Year | Office | Party | Primary | General | Result | Swing | Ref. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | % | P. | Total | % | ±% | P. | ||||||||
| 2010 | U.S. Senator | Democratic | 184,714 | 54.15% | 1st | 854,685 | 48.08% | –3.22 | 1st | Won | Hold | [123] | ||
| 2016 | Democratic | 262,344 | 100.0% | 1st | 1,370,710 | 49.97% | +1.89% | 1st | Won | Hold | [124] | |||
| 2022 | Democratic | 516,985 | 100.0% | 1st | 1,397,170 | 55.9% | +5.91% | 1st | Won | Hold | ||||
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.| Educational offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jerome Wargow | Superintendent ofDenver Public Schools 2005–2009 | Succeeded by Tom Boasberg |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by Ken Salazar | United States Senator (Class 3) from Colorado 2009–present Served alongside:Mark Udall,Cory Gardner,John Hickenlooper | Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromColorado (Class 3) 2010,2016,2022 | Most recent |
| Preceded by | Chair of theDemocratic Senatorial Campaign Committee 2013–2015 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | Order of precedence of the United States as United States Senator | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States senators by seniority 24th | |
Statewide political officials ofColorado | ||
|---|---|---|
| U.S. senators |  | |
| State government | ||
| Senate |
| |
| House |
| |
| Supreme Court |
| |
| Class 2 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | ||
| ||
| ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
