Michael Bennet

Michael Bennet
Official portrait, 2022
United States Senator from Colorado
Incumbent
Assumed office January 21, 2009 Serving with John Hickenlooper
Preceded by	Ken Salazar
Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
In office January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2015
Leader	Harry Reid
Preceded by	Patty Murray
Succeeded by	Jon Tester
Superintendent of Denver 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 59) New Delhi, India
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Susan Daggett ​ (m. 1997)​
Children	3
Relatives	Douglas J. Bennet (father) James Bennet (brother)
Education	Wesleyan University (BA) Yale University (JD)
Signature
Website	Senate website
Michael Bennet's voice Michael Bennet questions witnesses on hemp production for farmers Recorded February 1, 2023

Michael Farrand Bennet (born November 28, 1964) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Colorado, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, he was appointed to the seat when Senator Ken Salazar became Secretary of the Interior. Bennet previously worked as a managing director for the Anschutz Investment Company, chief of staff to Denver mayor (and his future Senate colleague) John Hickenlooper, and superintendent of Denver Public Schools.

Bennet is the son of Douglas J. Bennet, a former State Department official and president of Wesleyan University. Early in his career, Bennet worked for Ohio governor Richard Celeste. He received a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School, worked as a law clerk, and was counsel to the U.S. deputy attorney general during the administration of Bill Clinton.

Bennet served then Mayor John Hickenlooper as his chief of staff from 2003 to 2005 and became superintendent of the Denver public school system in July 2005. Governor Bill Ritter appointed Bennet to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Ken Salazar when Salazar became Secretary of the Interior in January 2009. Bennet was elected in the 2010 Senate election, defeating Republican nominee Ken Buck. He chaired the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) for the 2014 cycle^[1] and was reelected to the Senate in 2016 and 2022.

On May 2, 2019, Bennet announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States. He dropped out of the race on February 11, 2020, after a poor showing in the New Hampshire primary.^[2]