My parents and grandparents raised me to have the highest hopes for our country. My dad was a public servant in Washington D.C. and a college president, and my mom was a school librarian and an immigrant to this country. She and her parents miraculously survived the Holocaust and settled in America to rebuild their shattered lives.
My parents’ childhoods could not have been more different, but their families taught them we have a responsibility to build opportunity for one another and for our country’s future. My wife Susan and I share those values, and they have informed her work as an environmental and land use lawyer and mine as a school superintendent and Colorado’s U.S. Senator. Now I hope to carry on that fight as the next governor of Colorado.
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet jumps into governor’s race, saying he wants “to forge a better politics”
I have worked alongside Coloradans to provide more opportunities in this state. Together, we led the fight to expand the Child Tax Credit, which cut taxes for 96% of Colorado families and reduced our nation’s childhood poverty rate by half. We pushed to end surprise hospital bills, limit seniors’ prescription drug costs, and provide high-speed internet to every household. In the last four years, we brought $12 billion in federal funds to every corner of Colorado to upgrade our infrastructure, produce clean energy, and modernize our water systems. Along the way, we protected many of our treasured landscapes, including Camp Hale, Chimney Rock, Brown’s Canyon, and Camp Amache.
Unlike most Coloradans, President Donald Trump does not believe we have a shared responsibility. He has aimed a wrecking ball at our democracy, asking not “What can I do for my country?” but, instead, “What is in it for me?” His economic policies will make our country even less fair and his rhetoric is intended to divide us so he remains in charge. No president’s values have been more at war with what our parents taught us and their hopes for our country.
Meanwhile, it is getting harder to live in Colorado. Housing, groceries, and child care cost too much. Health care and mental health care aren’t available to everyone. Our schools and small businesses are struggling.
Our best solutions to these challenges will not come from the broken politics practiced in Washington. They will come from us – and that’s why I am running for governor.
Colorado already is a model of leadership for our country. We have passed a robust Child Tax Credit; offered free, full-day kindergarten to Colorado’s families; and fought climate change. But too many Coloradans cannot afford a middle-class life. Those of us who are parents worry that our kids will never be able to raise their own families here.
Colorado’s challenges are not unique. They are shared by people living all over America and result from unfair, trickle-down economic decisions our country has pursued since the 1980s. In Colorado and across the country, we need to strengthen our middle class and build an economy that works better for everyone.
The answers to our economic challenges will not come from Washington’s chaos. Firing federal workers will never bring down the price of eggs. Endless fighting over government shutdowns will not help us build more housing. Cutting taxes for the wealthy will never fix our education system.
Colorado can provide the vision our country needs. We can build a future focused on the well-being of all of us, not just the few. That starts with building more reasonably priced housing so Coloradans of every income level can live near their work, and making health care, mental health care, and child care more affordable and accessible for every Coloradan. We must bring our education system into the 21st century so Coloradans can thrive in our economy, whether they graduate from high school or college. We should make it easier for small businesses, our engines of innovation, to start, grow, and stay in Colorado. We must protect our public lands and build on Colorado’s leadership in the fight against climate change and for energy independence.
As I work to earn your vote for governor, I will keep fighting every day for Colorado in the Senate. I will continue challenging President Trump’s dangerous, unqualified nominees, as I did Robert Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard. I will stand up for our democratic values here and abroad, as I have for Ukraine. I will fight Trump’s disastrous plan to take away your health care to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy. I will lead those battles throughout this campaign, in the Senate, and as the next governor of Colorado.
Colorado, I am asking for your help to build a brighter future for our kids and grandkids and reclaim the idea that America stands for freedom and opportunity for all. I hope you will join us in this fight.
Michael Bennet announced Friday he will run for governor in the 2026 Democratic Party primary. Bennet has served in the U.S. Senate since he was appointed in 2009.
Sign up for Sound Off to get a weekly roundup of our columns, editorials and more.
To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail.