Bennet Wins Close Senate Race

By Chelsea Metheny

FORT COLLNS, Colo. — On Tuesday, the Senate race was too close to call, leaving both Colorado and the nation on tip toes.

Ken Buck, the Republican candidate for the Senate, seemed to have a small lead going into the election, according to some polls. Republican supporters hoped Buck would add to the historic surge of the GOP in the Senate.

Late afternoon on Wednesday, however, Democratic candidate Michael Bennet won the race with a lead of more than 15,000 votes.

“I am humbled by your support and I’m inspired by it, and I will not let you down. I’m not going back to Washington to play politics,” U.S. Sen. Bennet said.

Bennet delivered his victory speech in Denver’s City Park, surrounded by his wife, Susan Daggett, and their three children. Bennet was also encircled with an enthusiastic crowd of a couple hundred supporters, staff, and media personnel.

Bennet started off his speech by thanking Gov. Ritter for appointing him to fill the shoes of former Sen. Ken Salazar, who accepted the position as Secretary of the Interior for the Obama administration.

Bennet expressed that he would carry out the promises he made during his campaign.

“I’m going to fight for jobs, for the clean energy economy, for education for every child, to fight so that every American has access to quality health care that they can afford,” Bennet said to the applauding crowd.

“This morning the prognosticators and the pundits are dissecting this election, dividing our country into red and blue, winners and losers. They will go state by state arguing who deserves the blame,” Bennet declared. “When they get to Colorado, let me tell you they are not going to know what happened.”

Bennet stated that Colorado’s sharply divided voters and politicians need to set aside their differences and “make sure this state and this country lead in the 21st century.”

Ken Buck called Bennet to congratulate him on his victory Wednesday. While the final margin was extremely small, he wished Sen. Bennet the best.

“My Senate campaign has been the experience of a lifetime. I will be forever grateful to the thousands of Coloradans who helped make this grassroots journey possible,” Buck said.

Bennet reiterated the fact that the election “was about rolling up our sleeves and getting to work to rebuild our state and our country.”

In an email sent out to supporters today, Bennet will keep his sleeves rolled up and look at government in a new light.

“We must take a fresh approach to our system of government so we ensure our generation lives up to the promise of America: That we leave more opportunity, not less, to those who come after us,” Bennet declared. “That is not a Democratic idea, or a Republican idea- it is an American idea, and one that I am dedicated to serving.”