June 27, 2022

In Colorado, the fight for a seat in the U.S. Senate is on, where incumbent Senator Michael Bennet, a Democrat who is running in his primary unopposed, is seeking re-election to his third full term. Senator Bennet was initially appointed to the Senate seat in 2009 – when Senator Ken Salazar resigned to become U.S. Secretary of the Interior. He was elected in the 2010 Senate election and reelected in 2016. Before serving in the Senate, Bennet worked as chief of staff to then-Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper (now his Senate colleague) and as superintendent of the Denver Public Schools.

As noted by our Jewish Political Guide – below are some of Senator Bennet’s voting record and public positions on issues important to the Jewish community.

• Senator Bennet supported the Iran nuclear deal. He supports reentering the existing nuclear agreement with Iran.

• Senator Bennet supported a resolution that objected UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which claims that Israel’s settlements have no legal validity. He supports the two-state solution and believes that the right of return for Palestinians should be decided during direct negotiations. 

• Senator Bennet did not support the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, expressing concern that the decision would “undermine the prospect for negotiations and risk destabilizing an already volatile region.” Yet, he later argued that he “would keep the embassy in Jerusalem, although the terms of that should have been part of the negotiated two-state solution.”

• Senator Bennet cosponsored the United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act, a legislation that supported full funding of security assistance to Israel as outlined in the 2016 U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding. He cosponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act and the Combating BDS Act of 2017, two bills that aim to fight discriminatory boycotts that target Israel.

• In 2019, he voted for the Strengthening America’s Middle East Security Act which, among other things, strengthened Israel’s security and allowed a state or local government to adopt measures to divest its assets from entities that boycott Israel. 

• Senator Bennet has stated that the U.S. should maintain its current level of security aid to Israel. When asked in October 2019 whether he supported conditioning aid to pressure Israel to stop its settlements, Senator Bennet said he did not endorse using security aid as leverage.

• Senator Bennet is a cosponsor of the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2019, which aims to provide for the consideration of a definition of anti-Semitism for the enforcement of Federal antidiscrimination laws concerning education programs or activities. 

On the GOP side, Bennett will be flanked by two main candidates vying for the Republican nomination. They include businessman Joe O’Dea and state Rep. Ron Hanks.

As described by the Denver Channel, “O’Dea has owned his own construction company for 34 years. He was given up for adoption at birth and raised by a Denver police officer. He attended Colorado State University, but dropped out to start his constriction business in his basement. It now employs more than 300 people. O’Dea has never been elected to political office, but has promised to bring his business background and ability to work with those he disagrees with to find a compromise.” 

The same outlet also highlighted his opponent, and sitting Colorado State Representative, Ron Hanks. The Denver Channel said that “State Rep. Ron Hanks is a 32-year Air Force veteran and state legislator. He was elected in 2020 to represent House District 60, which covers Chaffee, Custer, Fremont, and Park counties. He sits on the Energy and Environment, Appropriations, and Public and Behavioral Health and Human Services committees. During his time in office, Hanks has introduced a total of six bills — constitutional carry of a handgun, one to repeal the ban on high-capacity magazines, a water storage tank grant program, an income tax credit for non-public education, a bill to require specialized paper for ballots and one that would require all voting to be done in person and for votes to be counted by hand within 24 hours of the election.” 

It appears that neither candidate for the GOP primary has issued public positions or statements on issues of major Jewish importance. With that, we will be watching this race closely to keep our audiences up to date and track the potential composition of the 118th Congress, and its upper chamber.