One wonders how the quartet of ‘smartest people in the room,’ all Democratic office holders, determines who’s the smartest person in the room when they’re in the same room at the same time. Do Gov. Jared Polis, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and Attorney General Phil Weiser play One Potato-Two Potato or Rock, Paper, Scissors?

Another prominent politician, U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, up for re-election in 2026, shares with Bennet his Wesleyan University alumni status (one from Ohio, the other from Connecticut). But though Hickenlooper is known as a shrewd businessman, he’s perceived more for his luck and pluck than for his brilliance. To be fair, he’s no doubt smart enough for his Senate work, although at 73 years old, he should retire.

The Democratic Party has a thrilling game of musical chairs going on among these elected, smartest-in-the-room office holders. Bennet at 60 years old is currently the dominant player hogging up two chairs as he’s running for governor while sitting as senator. If he wins as governor, he will replace his Senate seat probably with one of the quartet with whom he’s playing musical chairs.

It’s unseemly to consider this potential chair-swapping: Bennet wins the governor’s seat and appoints the sitting Gov. Polis to the Senate seat.

These men have many common traits. Let’s begin with their fashion, as that’s often the starting point for observations when women run for office. Bennet and Mayor Johnston usually wear blue dress shirts with khaki pants or blue jeans. They’re separated by their shoes with Johnston typically in western cowboy boots. Bennet, a little less identified with the western ethos, wears nice walking shoes. AG Weiser goes for the blue shirt. Polis is quirkier in his attire. He uses gym shoes as his marker. None will make the front cover of Vogue or Vanity Fair.

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Three of these men have the inside track on campaign money. The governor usually funds his own campaigns to the necessary winning degree. His path from state Board of Education to U.S. representative to governor is paved with his own bank account. Johnston can call on his many east coast connections and west coast connections in the tech and finance industry as can Bennet.

Bennet recently appeared in an “End Citizens United” event at the University of Denver. He partnered with former U.S. Sen. Jon Tester from Montana. Tester voted with those who think Bennet is the smartest man in the room because he said so at this event. Tester noted money spent in his first Senate race in 2006 was $27 million, which seems like a lot for that year. In the recent race he lost, the total was $270 million to persuade a million Montana voters.

According to news reports in 2022, Bennet collected about $22 million for his race against Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joe O’Dea, the construction company executive who’d never run for office. Though it’s not close to $270 million, it’s a lot for a shoo-in contest. The $22 million earned Bennet a 14.5-point victory margin.

Three of the politicians with established voting records come up as moderate. Polis is out of the Democratic box on income taxes which he’d eliminate. Johnston worked with the business community to establish compensation “accountability” for public school employees.

Bennet, an attorney, worked early in his career as a finance and business turnaround guy for railroad and entertainment entrepreneur Phil Anschutz. He then worked as Hickenlooper’s wingman when the now-senator was mayor of Denver. Bennet moved on to Denver Public Schools in an out-of-the-box pick as superintendent that only seems to come to people with extensive connections. There, he advocated for Denver’s transformation into a charter school mecca, closing Denver’s historic public schools such as Manual High School in favor of charters that were supposed to mirror Bennet’s successful business turnaround results. Manual has since been re-opened as a traditional public school, much to the community’s delight.

Bennet also exercised his financial acumen in one of the bigger financial fiascos in DPS history. He persuaded the Denver School Board to swap variable-rate pension obligations into 5% plus fixed rate debt. In 2008 when the stock and bond market crashed, interest rates sank leaving DPS holding high-rate bonds in a low-rate market. The district paid somewhere between $100 million and $150 million in extra interest expense and another $81 million unwinding the swap. As governor, Bennet would manage a $44 billion budget.

Meanwhile, Bennet moved on because of a lucky U.S. Senate appointment courtesy of then-Gov. Bill Ritter in January 2009. Bennet then managed to pass his DPS baton to Tom Boasberg who expanded the charter school revolution. Along with Johnston and Polis, Bennet continues to support so-called “reform” charter school policies.

Two of Bennet’s U.S. Senate sponsored bills promote charter school financing. But he’s running for governor with about 85% of Colorado’s students in traditional public schools. If he wins the Democratic nomination, Colorado can expect more listless financial help for public schools and vigorous support for charters. This political bias creates an opening for blue-shirted Weiser. Will he step through it?

Paula Noonan owns Colorado Capitol Watch, the state’s premier legislature tracking platform.