ARI SHAPIRO, Host:
You're listening to Weekend Edition from NPR News. In Colorado, Governor Bill Ritter has reportedly made up his mind on who will be the state's new U.S. senator. Later today, he's expected to name Michael Bennett, who's now superintendent of the public schools in Denver. Bennett would replace Senator Ken Salazar, who's leaving Congress to be Barack Obama's secretary of the interior. Bennett was widely regarded as the dark horse for the Senate spot, and he was surrounded by some political thoroughbreds who wanted the job. From Denver, Deanna Garcia of member station KUNC reports.
DEANNA GARCIA: Here in Colorado, the choice of Michael Bennett comes as a surprise to some because of his lack of legislative experience plus a long list of much bigger political players were being considered. Among the other Democrats said to be in the running for the vacancy were term-limited state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff and 7th District Congressman Ed Perlmutter. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper also asked to be considered. Former Denver Mayor Federico Pena and Congresswoman Diana DeGette were also mentioned but told the governor they weren't interested.
Denver political consultant Floyd Ciruli says Bennett could be a risky choice for Democrats, who'll have to spend millions of dollars defending that seat in two years.
FLOYD CIRULI: This is going to be a very competitive seat. Republicans are gearing up. Once it was an open seat they knew they had a better chance, and of course, now I think they're quite ecstatic about the fact that it looks like the appointment is going to go to somebody with no statewide base or a name identification or a political experience.
GARCIA: Bennett is a Yale-educated lawyer who in 2003 was tapped to be chief of staff for Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. Two years later, with the mayor's encouragement, he applied for and got the job of superintendent of Denver's public school system. Although he's not a political name, Ciruli says Bennett's freshness may be the thing that persuaded the governor to pick him.
CIRULI: It could be really out of the ball park. It could be a very good choice, and Ritter could look like - that he made a sort of brilliant decision here of bringing in somebody new, independent, nonpartisan.
GARCIA: Colorado's relatively undramatic selection process of finding a replacement senator is a marked departure from the scandal in Illinois and the star search in New York. For now, Colorado Senator Ken Salazar will remain in his seat until he's confirmed as interior secretary, which could take several weeks. From Greeley, I'm Deanna Garcia reporting for NPR News.