WASHINGTON: US Senator Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat who has worked to build bipartisan consensus, announced Thursday he is running for president, just weeks after successfully undergoing surgery for prostate cancer.
His entry in the race brings to 21 the number of Democrats seeking to challenge Donald Trump in 2020, making for a sprawling fight for the party's nomination.
"We cannot be the first generation to leave less to our kids, not more. That's why I'm running for President," Bennet said on Twitter.
"Let's build opportunity for every American and restore integrity to our government."
Bennet, 54, had said in March he was contemplating a run, but those plans were put on hold after he revealed he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
He underwent surgery in mid-April, and a spokesperson told Politico at the time that his doctors had said it was "completely successful and he requires no further treatment."
In an interview Thursday on CBS's "This Morning," Bennet called the outcome "very clarifying."
"I feel incredibly lucky -- because I got a diagnosis and... after an operation I was cleared with a clean bill of health," he said.
The congenial Bennet is not known for fiery floor speeches, but a Senate address in January brought him national attention when he derided Republican Senator Ted Cruz's "crocodile tears" during the US government shutdown.
But Bennet, who touts his reputation for bipartisanship in a swing state with a large presence of independent voters, has a long way to go to catch up with better-known candidates.
He follows Joe Biden, who has taken a commanding poll lead with 39 percent since joining the fray Friday as the 20th Democratic candidate.
The CNN poll that showed Biden's surge had Senator Bernie Sanders a distant second at 15 percent.
Progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg and former congressman Beto O'Rourke were bunched together with eight, seven, and six percent respectively.
In an online campaign launch video, Bennet acknowledged he was likely unknown to most Americans, saying he preferred to "pay attention" to the needs of constituents rather than "get attention" through political preening.
"When campaigning never stops, governing never begins," he said.
Bennet's signature issues include fixing the nation's health care insurance system, although the centrist Democrat breaks with several of his more progressive 2020 rivals on how to get there.
"That's not Medicare For All," he said of the single-payer system that has gained traction in this election cycle, "because I don't think 180 million Americans want to give up the insurance they already have through their work or their union."
Bennet, who served as superintendent of Denver public schools before winning a Senate seat in 2008, also has proposed expanding tax cuts for parents, which he says would slash US child poverty by 40 percent.
He is the second Coloradan to run for the 2020 nomination, along with ex-governor John Hickenlooper, Bennet's former boss.
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