Phil Weiser is asking Colorado Democrats to keep Michael Bennet in the Senate, even as the two men fight for the same governor’s seat. Weiser says Colorado would lose power in Congress if Bennet leaves, and that the state would be better off with him staying put.
The pitch lands now because the Colorado Democratic governor primary goes to voters on Tuesday, and the race has tightened into a neck-and-neck fight. Weiser, who has served as attorney general since 2019 and announced his bid last January, is trying to make Bennet’s Senate job part of the case for his own campaign.
Weiser said Bennet would be chair of the Agricultural Committee if Democrats take the Senate, a post he cast as important to Colorado. He also said that if Colorado elects a new senator in 2027, voters would have to wait until 2045 to get another senator with Bennet’s seniority and experience. In Weiser’s telling, the choice is not just about who runs Colorado next, but about whether the state keeps leverage in Congress.
That argument is sharper because Weiser and Bennet agree on most of the usual Democratic ground, including tax policy, nuclear power and the Western water debate. To separate himself, Weiser has leaned hard on Trump. He said he has filed 66 lawsuits against Donald Trump while attorney general, and he criticized Bennet for voting to approve Brooke Rollins, Chris Wright and Doug Burgum for Trump administration Cabinet posts.
Bennet has stood by those votes, except for Chris Wright, which he said he regrets. He said the state needs the resources those departments can give it. That leaves the contest on a narrow seam: both men want to be the party’s nominee for governor, but one is arguing the other should stay in Washington because Colorado is stronger with him there. The vote on Tuesday will tell Democrats which version of that case lands.
Colorado has moved over the past decade from a purple state to one that mostly elects Democrats, which is part of why the governor primary now carries so much weight. The Trump administration has also become the central contrast in the race after actions involving federal money, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funds, a climate research center and Space Command in Alabama. For Weiser, the closing argument is plain enough: Bennet may be his opponent for governor, but Colorado, he says, is better off keeping him in the Senate.
