Who is Michael Bennet? A look at one of the many Democratic presidential hopefuls
LOS ANGELES - Michael Bennet is one of the many Democratic candidates running for president in 2020.
The American businessman and lawyer has been a U.S. Senator from Colorado since 2009. He also served as superintendent of Denver Public Schools.
Bennet served as chief of staff to John Hickenlooper, who was also part of the 2020 pool and eventually dropped out. He served while Hickenlooper was mayor of Denver.
Since education is in his background, Bennet said he’s the first former superintendent to run for president and has focused on a proposal for free preschool. But while he backs a plan to allow students to graduate from college debt-free, he also believes Americans are “a hell of a lot more interested in free preschool than free college.”
Another main focus of his campaign is offering a more moderate solution to the health care issue. He is pushing for what he calls Medicare X. Instead of pushing for single-payer health care like many other Democrats in the race, he has proposed a bill that would allow consumers to buy into insurance exchanges.
He also proposed a bill called the American Family Act, which would reduce poverty among children from about 15 percent to 9.5 percent.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.