U.S. Senate candidate Mike Johnston says he wants a $10,000 raise for every teacher in the country.

“If we don’t take action now to raise wages for teachers, we will lose a generation of great teachers simply because they can’t thrive on current teachers’ wages,” he said Aug. 19.

The Democrat is also proposing that every teacher start at a base salary of $40,000, and teachers who work in the highest-need classrooms to be awarded a $20,000 bonus every five years.

Johnston has a long history with education reform through his time as a state senator and as a policy adviser to former President Barack Obama.

In 2010, he successfully backed legislation that required Colorado teachers to be evaluated based on student’s test scores, affecting their employment and tenure, despite a lack of support from teacher unions.

In 2013, Johnston supported an unsuccessful tax increase that would have boosted education budgets, which he later called the “biggest failure” of his career.

When he ran for governor last year, ultimately losing the nomination to Jared Polis, one of his other opponents was endorsed by the Colorado Education Association.

Now, as a candidate for Senate, Johnston has raised a total of $3.4 million since launching his campaign in January and received endorsements from those who say he can be a champion in education reform.

U.S. Sen. Gary Hart called Johnston “one of the most creative and thoughtful leaders on education” in the country and said he “avoids the partisanship that is handcuffing political progress at the state and national level and will seek bipartisan innovation at every opportunity.”

Johnston said in his release that making sure children have access to good teachers is a “moral issue” and there is “no greater priority.”

“We all have a shared financial and civic interest in ensuring students in every state are getting the education they need to be good citizens and productive members of society,” he said. “We have a responsibility to make sure not just that every child has access to an adequate education, but an equitable education.”

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