Sen. Michael Bennet may be the incumbent in Colorado, but he’s been running his campaign like an outsider. And though both Michelle Obama and Bill Clinton have recently stumped for him in the state, yesterday he explained to CNN why he doesn’t think President Obama’s presence would be helpful.
“I think that the personal reaction by the independent voters that you’ve described, based on a lot of, you know, the political rhetoric that’s gone back and forth, might not make it helpful,” Bennet said. “And I think the President should be in place around the country where he, where it will be helpful, and we are running this race on the facts on the ground in Colorado, what people are really interested in working on.”
The morning after his primary win in August, Bennet went on the Today show and downplayed the role that Obama’s presence on the campaign trail had played in his hard-fought victory over Andrew Romanoff. At the time, he said “we’ll have to see” when asked if he wanted Obama to return to Colorado in the general.
Watch Bennet yesterday:
The TPM Poll Average for this race shows Republican Ken Buck leading Bennet 47.9%-45.4%.
Eric Lach
Eric Lach is a reporter for TPM. From 2010 to 2011, he was a news writer in charge of the website’s front page. He has previously written for The Daily, NewYorker.com, GlobalPost and other publications. He can be reached at ericl(at)talkingpointsmemo.com
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