Meet Michael
Michael’s parents and grandparents raised him to have the highest hopes for our country. Michael’s dad was a public servant who worked for the federal government. His mom was a school librarian and an immigrant to this country. Born in Poland just before Hitler invaded, she and her parents survived the Holocaust and made their way to the United States to rebuild their shattered lives.
Michael believes that, as Americans, we have a responsibility to build opportunity for one another and the next generation. This core belief informed Michael’s work as the Superintendent of Denver Public Schools and, for the last sixteen years, as Colorado’s U.S. Senator.
When Michael arrived to the Senate in 2009, he quickly established himself as an independent leader – who stands up for what is right and delivers results for Colorado.
Driven by an obligation to create an economy that works for everyone, not just the few at the top, Michael has delivered once-in-a-generation economic policies like the expanded Child Tax Credit, which cut our nation’s childhood poverty rate nearly in half and gave a tax cut to 96% of Colorado families with kids.
Michael helped pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and secured over $8 billion for more than 1,000 Colorado projects to improve our roads, bridges, transportation, and water infrastructure. He also wrote the bill which would become the single largest investment in high-speed internet in American history, and led the fight to limit prescription drug costs for seniors.
Michael was instrumental in passing the Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant climate legislation in the planet’s history, and played a critical role in writing the bill’s clean energy provisions that are creating jobs and lowering energy costs, especially in rural communities. As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Michael has brought Western water and wildfire challenges to the forefront of the national conversation, securing billions of dollars for forest health, conservation, and drought in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. He also has worked to protect many of Colorado’s treasured landscapes including Camp Hale, Camp Amache, the Thompson Divide, Hermosa Creek, and Browns Canyon.
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s reckless decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade, Michael continues to fight for a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions and will stand up against any Trump Administration action that infringes on Colorado’s constitutional right to choose.
As the Trump Administration attacks our fundamental American values of equality, freedom, and opportunity for all, Michael is running for Governor to protect Colorado from Trump’s damage and to build a brighter future in Colorado – a future focused on the well-being of all of us, not just the few.
Michael lives in Denver with his wife Susan Daggett, their cat Captain Flint, and their dog Bandit.
They have three daughters, Caroline, Halina, and Anne.
U.S. Senators write and vote on federal laws. Each state has two senators, who serve six-year terms. Only the Senate confirms the President's nominees for judges and the cabinet, approves treaties, and holds impeachment trials.
