Michael Bennet should resign his U.S. Senate seat to run for governor (Denver Post editorial)

We have not been displeased with U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet’s 16 years in federal office. We are, however, incredulous that he plans to spend 19 months running for Colorado governor while still collecting his salary as a senator.

If Bennet wants to show voters that he truly cares about Colorado, he should resign now to run for governor.

Anything less would be unfair to Coloradans during this time of unprecedented turmoil in Washington, D.C. No one from Colorado is better suited to fight President Donald Trump’s out-of-control agenda than Bennet, but if he has his heart set on coming home to be governor, he must step aside for someone else to fill his seat for the next three years.

Bennet is only 2 years and four months into his six-year term in the U.S. Senate. If he were to resign now, Gov. Jared Polis could appoint someone to serve almost four years in the Senate before the November 2028 election. That is a meaningful term for Coloradans.

All politicians must balance their time in office between the duties of their job and the rigors of the campaign trail. A major shortcoming of the U.S. House is that the two-year terms force politicians to constantly be in campaign mode. The six-year terms of the Senate give our nation’s 100 most powerful legislators a reprieve from the trail to get work done and fight for their constituents.

Bennet says he can easily manage representing Colorado and running a campaign; after all, he’s done it three times before in his bids for re-election. But we see a difference. Incumbents finish off their term — no matter the length — with a campaign blitz that often has an uncontested primary to a general election. Bennet will be pock marking the middle of his term with a grueling primary against Attorney General Phil Weiser in June 2026 and then what could prove to be a challenging general election that November.

Bennet poured salt on the wound of losing a tenured U.S. Senator Friday when he announced his plans to time his resignation so that he could fill his own vacancy were he to win.

If Bennet wants to beat Weiser, starting out his campaign with a political power grab is not a good look.

Bennet must send a clear message to Coloradans that he is in it to win it, and that he won’t play political games with his vacant seat. We are certain the power to appoint his successor would sideline some Democrats on a short list for the appointment who otherwise would be tempted to back Weiser. That alone doesn’t feel like a fair fight.

Colorado Democrats and unaffiliated voters deserve a robust primary between Bennet and Weiser.

Gov. Jared Polis is trustworthy in appointing Bennet’s successor to the U.S. Senate.

Ironically, Bennet himself was an appointment. Gov. Bill Ritter appointed Bennet on Jan. 21, 2009, to fill the seat vacated by Sen. Ken Salazar so he could serve as secretary of the Interior. Bennet quickly faced re-election in 2010. That year, due to both Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Joe Biden leaving for the White House and Sen. Hillary Clinton becoming secretary of State, there were a record number of appointed members serving in the U.S. Senate.

After the corruption involving Obama’s seat – which contributed to the incarceration of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich – many states passed laws either stripping governors of the power of appointment altogether or requiring a special election to be held as quickly as possible following an appointment to give voters a say.

Who can forget the recording of Blagojevich played by prosecutors: “”I mean, I’ve got this thing, and it’s [expletive] golden. And I’m just not giving it up for [expletive] nothing.”

Today 10 states authorize gubernatorial appointments but require a special election quickly, and 5 states don’t allow governors to make an appointment at all but hold the seat empty until a special election can be conducted. Colorado lawmakers should consider adding our state to the list of states that make sure voters get to pick replacements quickly through ad-hoc elections. A federal effort to eliminate the ability for governors to make appointments was introduced, but leadership never let the measure get a vote.

Not all appointments are bad, however. Bennet has served us well, and his first re-election came quickly because Salazar’s term was up in 2010 anyway. We have endorsed Bennet for Senate in all of his bids for re-election because he is competent, honest, and hard working.

Bennet, however, should resign to run.

Trying to have it all – retain his senate seat if he loses and hand-picking his own replacement if he wins — is unfair to Coloradans.

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