ADVERTISEMENT

Democratic Senator Michael Bennet Announces Cancer Diagnosis

Democratic Senator Michael Bennet Announces Cancer Diagnosis

(Bloomberg) -- Senator Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat and possible presidential candidate, said he has prostate cancer and will undergo surgery when the Senate recesses later this month.

“Late last month, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. While hearing news like this is never easy, I am fortunate it was detected early, and as a result, my prognosis is good,” he said in a statement on Wednesday evening. “During the upcoming Senate recess, I will have surgery in Colorado and return to work following a brief recovery.”

Democratic Senator Michael Bennet Announces Cancer Diagnosis

He did not mention running for president in the statement, but did say of his future plans: “This unanticipated hurdle only reinforces how strongly I feel about contributing to the larger conversation about the future of our country.”

Bennet, 54, told the Colorado Independent Wednesday that he was committed to entering the race if he was free of cancer after the surgery.

“The idea was to announce sometime in April,” Bennet said in an interview with the news site. “That was the plan.” He added that after the diagnosis, “I found myself hoping that I could run. That’s what the doctors have said. That’s what John Kerry and others learned.”

In 2003, Kerry, then a Massachusetts senator, was diagnosed with prostate cancer while contending for the Democratic presidential nomination. His surgery was successful and he went on to win the nomination in 2004.

On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on March 28, Bennet said he was “very inclined” to run for president because “the American people need somebody who’s going to run and tell them the truth in 2020.’’

--With assistance from Mark Niquette.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chelsea Mes in Sydney at cmes@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kasia Klimasinska at kklimasinska@bloomberg.net, John Harney

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.