Michael
Bennet started his congressional career by being appointed to the Senate
seat in January of 2009 to finish the term ending on January 3rd,
2011. He was then elected to the Senate in 2010 for the term ending on January
3rd, 2017.
According to The
Denver Post, the primary race in 2010 between Bennet and Andrew Romanoff
was “fierce,” with Bennet raising more than $8 million and having an
endorsement from Barack Obama and Romanoff being endorsed by former President
Bill Clinton. Bennet won easily in the primary and led early with returns of
54% to 46%.
Bennet then
went up against Republican Ken Buck in the general election, which became the
most expensive race in the country. Outside spenders contributed more than $32
million plus more than $15 million coming from Buck and Bennet combined. During
the election, Bennet also received visits from former President Bill Clinton
and Michelle Obama, either contributing money or drawing support. Bennet pulled
past Buck and into the lead late, only winning by 0.4% (47.5 percent to 47.1
percent). (http://www.denverpost.com/election2012/ci_16502977)
In 2010,
Bennet did an interview with Colorado
Public Radio and went on record to say that he would like to boost the
economy by “[getting] small business access to credit again.” He also stood for
energy independence and a “break [from] our reliance on oil from the Persian
Gulf” to instead invest money back into the economy and the local energy
sector, which would be “particularly good for Colorado.”
I was unable to find any
information as to the primary elections or the projected outlooks. This could
mean that Bennet is expected to win or it could simply mean that no other
candidates have come forward at this time. Darryl Glenn (R) has been noted to
be entering the race early, but as the distance closes on the general election,
more people are sure to enter the race and run against Bennet.
It was recently announced that Darryl Glenn will be running in
opposition to Michael Bennet in 2016. Glen has a military background and
extensive experience in public service. He is a small business owner (co-owner
of Glenn Law Firm P.C.), an active member in the New Life Church, and a wide
array of other qualifications. Bennet is expected to win in 2016 by ColoradoPols,
which also predicts Hilary Clinton to get 80% of the votes in Colorado.
In
the 2012 Presidential Election, Colorado’s popular vote came out as 51% Obama
and 46% Romney. According to 270 to Win,
Colorado is “a battleground state due to the independent nature of the
electorate.” Colorado has a voting history of mostly red but has voted Democrat
in the last two presidential elections. Because Colorado is such a divided
state, the election could go to anyone. With there no longer being an incumbent
presidential candidate to support either senatorial candidate, the seat is very
open. Bennet won by a very slim margin in the last election even with the
endorsement of the President in office. The 2016 election is a toss-up, but I
believe that, being the incumbent, Bennet will retain his seat in the Senate.
As
of December 31st, 2014, Bennet has raised $15,760,874 and spent
$14,401,316. Oaktree Capital Management is Bennet’s top contributor
contributing a total of $103,650. Other major contributors are Brownstein,
Hyatt et al, Blackstone Group, Hogan Lovells, and Comcast Corp. However, Bennet
still appears to be behind the average senator.
There is no information yet as to Darryl Glenn’s (Bennet’s opposition)
campaign finance status, as he recently joined the race.
Major Issues:
These are all bills or issues that
Bennet has shown support of. These will most likely be a few of the issues that
Bennet uses on his platform, as they are all also very prominent in the media
currently and are sure to be ongoing issues. Because Bennet speaks of them, so
must the other candidates.
