Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado won re-election Tuesday, NBC News projects, defeating Republican Joe O’Dea in a competitive race.
Bennet, 57, a former chief of staff to his Senate colleague John Hickenlooper, is seen as a moderate, although he has championed marijuana reform and environmental issues. In the Senate since 2009, Bennet ran for president in 2020, joining a crowded Democratic field that also included Hickenlooper, but he dropped out after the New Hampshire primary.
O’Dea was seen by many as an ideal Republican candidate — so much so that Democrats tried to stop him from winning the GOP nomination — but national polarization and Colorado’s leftward shift proved impossible for him to overcome.
O’Dea, a construction company CEO who had never run for office before, distanced himself from former President Donald Trump and campaigned as a commonsense conservative who supports abortion rights and same-sex marriage. He said his philosophy was “You live your life, I’ll live mine.”
After O’Dea defeated a Trump-aligned candidate in the Republican primary, Trump swiftly labeled O’Dea a “RINO” (Republican in Name Only) and said on his social media platform Truth Social: “MAGA doesn’t Vote for stupid people with big mouths. Good luck Joe!”
Notably, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential rival to Trump for the 2024 presidential nomination, made a point of endorsing O’Dea, prompting criticism from Trump.
Colorado was a red state, then purple and now increasingly blue as it attracts well-educated transplants from places like California drawn to its natural beauty and strong economy. Bennet’s re-election should give Democrats cause for optimism as they look to hold the state in 2024.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
