Michael Bennet is set to launch his campaign for Colorado governor Friday
The third-term Democrat is planning a “major announcement” in Denver’s City Park on Friday morning. Sources say he will launch his gubernatorial bid then.
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Michael Bennet, Colorado’s senior U.S. senator, is set to launch his 2026 campaign to be governor on Friday.
The third-term Democrat is planning a “major announcement” in Denver’s City Park on Friday morning. Multiple sources, who requested anonymity because they were preempting Bennet’s official launch, say he will announce his gubernatorial bid then.
Bennet will be the second big-name Democrat to jump into the gubernatorial race. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced his candidacy at the start of the year.
A recent poll indicates Bennet will have a big leg up on Weiser.
The survey showed that 45% of likely 2026 voters in Colorado had a favorable opinion of Bennet, while 31% had a negative view of him, 17% said they had no opinion and 8% said they didn’t know him.
As for Weiser, 22% said they had a favorable view of him, while 18% said they had an unfavorable view. A whopping 34% said they had never heard of Weiser, while 26% said they had no opinion of him.
The Colorado Polling Institute Survey was conducted among 615 likely 2026 voters in Colorado from March 27 to 31. It had a margin of error of 3.95 percentage points.
Weiser, however, is a fundraising juggernaut. His gubernatorial campaign raised nearly $2 million in its first three months.
In a written statement Thursday, Weiser took swipes at Bennet for leaving the Senate and hinted that he was out of touch with Colorado issues.
“While Sen. Bennet has been in Washington, I have served Colorado as the people’s lawyer, working directly with people in every county of every background to solve difficult challenges,” Weiser said. “Two years ago, the voters sent Sen. Bennet back to D.C. because we believed he would be there for us no matter what – especially in historically dangerous moments like the one we currently face.”
Bennet is expected to remain in the Senate while he runs for governor. His Senate term doesn’t end until 2029.
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Michael Bennet is “very, very seriously” considering a run for Colorado governor in 2026, senior aides say
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If Bennet wins, he would have the power to hand pick a person to serve out his term.
Bennet has long been interested in an executive political role. He ran for president in 2020, but dropped out after the Democratic primary in New Hampshire.
The Democratic primary for the 2026 gubernatorial race in Colorado won’t be held until June 2026. Whoever wins the primary will likely cruise to victory in the general election.
Current Gov. Jared Polis is term-limited and can’t run for reelection in 2026. He won reelection in 2022 by nearly 20 percentage points. Polis won in 2018 by 10 points.
The Democratic headwinds haven’t stopped a growing crowd of Republicans from getting into the gubernatorial race, including state Rep. Scott Bottoms of Colorado Springs; Sen. Mark Baisley of Woodland Park; and Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell.
