Denver Schools Chief Will Succeed Salazar

Colo. governor taps Bennet to serve out Senate term

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 2, 2009 4:27 PM CST

(Newser) – Bill Ritter has chosen Michael Bennet to fill the US Senate seat vacated by Ken Salazar, President-elect Obama’s choice for secretary of the Interior, the Denver Post reports. Bennet, superintendent of the Denver public school system, reportedly was an education secretary candidate. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper had sought to succeed Salazar but was passed over in favor of Bennet, his former chief of staff. Ritter is expected to announce his choice tomorrow.

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Michael Bennet, Gov. Bill Ritter's pick to replace Ken Salazar in the US Senate, is shown in this photo from the Denver Public School system. (Denver Public Schools)

Interior Secretary-designate, Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo. smiles as he his introduced by President-elect Barrack Obama, not shown, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008, during a news conference in Chicago. (AP Photo)

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I think it's an interesting pick. I think it's a pick that goes with the changing times in Congress. - Colorado Senate president Peter Groff

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Denver Schools Chief Will Succeed Salazar