Sen. Michael Bennet Loses Colorado Governor Primary After Being Cast As A Dc Insider

Sen. Michael Bennet lost the Democratic primary for Colorado governor Tuesday, a stunning loss for one of Colorado’s most prominent Democrats and the latest sign of boiling anti-establishment rage among the electorate.

State Attorney General Phil Weiser’s victory marks a remarkable upset in a contest Bennet allies only weeks ago believed he was heavily favored to win.

Weiser worked to reframe the race around a message that has increasingly resonated with Democratic voters, casting Bennet as a D.C. insider and himself as the best candidate to fight President Donald Trump, highlighting the many lawsuits he’d lobbed at the administration.

In the end, that message won over Bennet’s massive fundraising advantage and lead in name recognition and public polling.

Weiser, who has served as attorney general since 2019, has sued the Trump administration dozens of times since the president’s return to office, including over cuts to funding in the state and efforts to restrict voter eligibility and mail voting. He made his legal battles with the White House a centerpiece of his campaign while arguing Bennet had become too much a product of Washington and wasn’t fighting back enough.

Bennet, who ran for president in 2020 as a staunch centrist, countered that he had since then embraced a more progressive agenda, broken with Democratic leadership when necessary and repeatedly stood up to both Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. But it wasn't enough.

Weiser’s win comes as establishment Democrats have struggled to hold their seats throughout the election cycle, with Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) facing similar primary threats from the left Tuesday.

The primary result validated warnings Democrats had been voicing privately for weeks that anti-establishment anger inside the party had become a far more potent force than many in Washington appreciated.

“There’s a lot of anti-establishment momentum because voters are so angry,” said Doug Friednash, a longtime Colorado Democratic strategist and former Hickenlooper gubernatorial chief of staff, in the lead up to Election Day. “They want fighters.”

Bennet won’t be gone — his Senate term runs through 2028. But his loss is a striking result, and calls into question his political future.