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As Michael Bennet weighs whether to run for governor, his fellow Colorado Democratic senator is offering some advice.
“He could win,” John Hickenlooper told Semafor, and “could be a great” chief executive of their state. Hickenlooper has also warned Bennet that being a governor is “more granular” than being a senator, and that “I think he might be bored.”
Hickenlooper speaks from experience, having served two terms in the job Bennet is now considering a bid for. And if Bennet decides to leave Congress to seek his home state’s governorship, he might not be alone.
Two Republican senators, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, are also eyeing gubernatorial campaigns in 2026 — Blackburn appears ready to launch her campaign any day now. After former Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., gave up a safe seat last year to run for governor, the long-running governor-to-Senate pipeline may be starting to reverse.
It’s a reasonable time for senators to reassess their power, with Trump strong-arming Congress in his second term as the ideological middle of both parties shrinks. Governors, by contrast, deal with constituents’ daily lives in a way that can feel more gratifying than the Senate’s arcane fights over legislative processes.
In evaluating whether to leave the Senate, Braun reasoned it would take too long to accomplish the big things he wanted to do. Asked this week which job is superior, an aide to the governor said Braun “certainly likes this one better.”
As for his future plans, the third-term Bennet would only say he’s “thinking about where I can be the most help to Colorado and make the biggest difference for Colorado.”
Congress is also objectively harder to navigate from the party out of power, a condition Bennet is now looking at for at least two years (and maybe more; both Tuberville and Blackburn exited minority-party status just weeks ago).
Tuberville was candid about his experience in the Senate so far.
“I was sick of the first four years,” Tuberville told Semafor. He said being in the majority is a “lot better” and said “wherever I can help people in Alabama the most is what I’m going to do. I could go either way.”
While none of the three have made official decisions yet, Blackburn sounds the closest to jumping in.
“I’m finalizing my plans to run for governor and will be the strongest conservative candidate in the race,” Blackburn told Semafor. “This is our time to prove what conservative leadership can do as power for education, regulation, health care and benefits return to the states. This is the time for Tennessee to be America’s conservative leader.”
Even if the trio leaves the Senate for governorships, the trend will still cut against them. A dozen former governors are serving in the Senate, with just three former senators serving as governor. Two of them lost Senate seats before winning governorships.
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Senators often consider gubernatorial runs. They rarely follow through.
Sens. John Kennedy, R-La., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, both kicked the tires on the idea. So did former Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va, who had already served as governor. Just recently, Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., looked at a gubernatorial race before concluding his seniority and influence was more impactful in D.C.
“I realize what a privileged place I have here, to be able to do good things for the state of New Mexico. And it’s not a state where your senator doesn’t matter. It’s a state where it really matters,” Heinrich said after deciding he wanted to stay in the Senate.
Still, the Senate can be a tough place for people with ambition but no room to move up. Bennet still isn’t in line to chair a top committee and is not in party leadership. He already ran for president and chaired the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
So Hickenlooper gets where Bennet’s coming from.
“He understands what this building deals with at a deeper level than almost any other senator. So he’d have to be pretty frustrated and unhappy, and he clearly is,” Hickenlooper said.
For the two Republican senators, it could also boil down to what Trump wants. Tuberville said he plans to talk to the president before making his decision — which is slightly more weighty than Blackburn’s and Bennet’s, because his Senate term is also up next year.
Alabama Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth may also run for governor, even if Tuberville does too. A Trump endorsement for Tuberville would probably be decisive in any primary, though his fellow Alabama Sen. Katie Britt said a departure from Congress would “be completely his choice.”
Unlike Tuberville, both Bennet and Blackburn could run with no immediate risk to their Senate seats, which are up in 2028 and 2030, respectively. Blackburn seems to be on a collision course with Rep. John Rose, R-Tenn., who’s made no secret of his gubernatorial aspirations — and a Trump endorsement could also change those dynamics.
“She’ll decide what’s best for her and what’s best for the state,” said Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., of Blackburn. “She’s an extremely strong political force in Tennessee.”
Burgess’s view
It’s hard to imagine all three senators running for governor next year — but not impossible.
Bennet will get the most pressure to stay given his convincing win in 2022 and his potential to eventually chair the Finance or Agriculture Committee.
Blackburn seems ready to make a move: Her statement to Semafor about “finalizing” a campaign is as close as you can get without officially launching. And Tuberville sounds legitimately undecided.
No matter what they choose, I am not surprised that people are itching to get out of the Senate — it’s not exactly a bastion of dealmaking at the moment. For people like Blackburn and Bennet, who have been commuting to Washington for years, returning home must be appealing.
Room for Disagreement
Manchin famously said being governor was the best job he ever had. Yet another governor-turned-senator politely disagreed.
“When people say ‘Hey, what do you like more, senator or governor?’ I say, ‘You forgot one.’ I kind of cling to mayor,” said Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, a former mayor of Richmond, governor of Virginia, Democratic Party chair and vice presidential nominee.
“If I hadn’t been mayor, I wouldn’t be governor,” Kaine added. “And if I’m good at anything in politics, it’s because I was a mayor.”
Kaine, who has embraced a role in shaping global policy as a senator, said legislating brings significant benefits.
“A lot of times governors become senators, and then they’re not happy — they like governor better,” Kaine said. “You trade off not being an executive, but you get handed the super important national security portfolio.”
Notable
- After spurning past entreaties, former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu might run for the Senate; current Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear doesn’t seem super interested, according to The Hill and local WSAZ, respectively.
- When former Sen. David Vitter ran for Louisiana governor, he lost — and then retired as senator, as Politico reminds us.