Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet will conduct a town hall Sunday at the Skirball Cultural Center in his first trip to the Los Angeles area since declaring his candidacy for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
At the town hall, Bennet will "continue to set himself apart from the other candidates in the race, demonstrating that his distinct experience and record of winning tough races uniquely prepare him to beat Donald Trump," according to the campaign.
Bennet announced his candidacy May 2 during an appearance on "CBS This Morning."
"This country faces two enormous challenges," Bennet said. "One is the lack of economic mobility and opportunity for most Americans and the other is the need to restore integrity to our government.''
Bennet said writing "The Land of Flickering Lights: Restoring America in an Age of Broken Politics," which was released June 4, convinced him "that if we keep going down this path, we're going to be the first generation of Americans to leave less opportunity, not more, for the next generation. I just need to do everything I can do to make sure that we don't do that."
When he declared his candidacy, Republican National Committee communications director Michael Ahrens called Bennet "just another tax-and-spend liberal with no chance of becoming president" who "hasn't gotten anything done after more than a decade in the Senate."
In mid-April, Bennet underwent what an aide described as successful surgery for prostate cancer.
News
Top news of the day
"In the context of getting the diagnosis, my reaction was disappointment at the idea I couldn't run," Bennet told then- "CBS This Morning" host John Dickerson.
"It would have been a great excuse to say this is just some adolescent fantasy and I shouldn't run. That's not how I reacted."
Bennet has pledged that if elected president he would take immediate steps to increase wages, lower the costs of a middle-class life and deliver a quality education for every American. He has said he will overhaul and expand the Child Tax Credit, expand the Earned Income Tax Credit, enact paid family and medical leave and raise the minimum wage.
Bennet has released a plan to deal with climate change based on reducing emissions while increasing job opportunities; conserving resources to improve economic opportunities for farmers, ranchers, and foresters; and investing in infrastructure, innovation and science domestically and globally.
His plan includes making a commitment to conserve 30% of the nation's lands and oceans by 2030; require power providers to offer zero-emission energy to every household and business; requiring every U.S. vehicle manufacturer to sell at least one affordable zero-emission vehicle and one flexible fuel passenger vehicle model; and establishing a Climate Bank to create new markets for American businesses domestically and internationally.
Bennet was born Nov. 28, 1964, in New Delhi while his father was as an aide to Chester Bowles, then the U.S. ambassador to India. Bennet was raised Washington, D.C., received a bachelor's degree in history from Wesleyan University and is a graduate of Yale Law School.
He was an assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs during the Clinton administration.
Bennet was managing director for the Denver-based Anschutz Investment Company for six years, chief of staff for then-Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, a fellow candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, for two years and superintendent of Denver Public Schools from 2005-09, before being appointed to the Senate in 2009.
Bennet is seeking to be the first Democratic presidential nominee from west of the Central Time Zone.
