WASHINGTON — Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado says he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer as he considers a 2020 Democratic presidential bid.
The 54-year-old senator told the Colorado Independent Wednesday that he had intended to announce his presidential bid in April and decided to get a physical beforehand. He says he plans to have surgery to remove his prostate gland after the congressional spring recess, which begins next week.
He told the website he still intends to run for president if he’s cancer-free after surgery.
Unlike several candidates in the 2020 race, Bennet opposes single-payer government health care. But he says in the wake of his cancer diagnosis that “the idea that the richest country in the world hasn’t figured out how to have universal health care is beyond embarrassing.”
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