Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado on Wednesday said Democratic presidential rival John Hickenlooper has to make his own political decisions, amid a new report that said Mr. Hickenlooper is seriously weighing dropping his long-shot presidential bid in favor of a U.S. Senate run in Colorado.

“The last person John Hickenlooper needs advice from is me… any advice I have for John, I’ll give to John,” Mr. Bennet said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” when asked if Mr. Hickenlooper, a former governor of Colorado, should run for the Senate.

“He was a phenomenal governor, he was a phenomenal mayor, so I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t be a phenomenal senator,” Mr. Bennet said. “But he’s got to make his own decisions.”

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Mr. Hickenlooper is giving serious consideration to ending his run for the White House and instead running for U.S. Senate in Colorado, where GOP Sen. Cory Gardner is up for re-election next year.

The paper reported that Mr. Hickenlooper and Mr. Bennet — who was the former governor’s chief of staff when Mr. Hickenlooper was mayor of Denver — took a car ride on Friday when both men were campaigning in Iowa to talk about the decision.

Both candidates are in danger of being left off the next Democratic presidential debate stage in September, though Mr. Bennet said on Wednesday he plans to continue his own presidential run even if he doesn’t qualify.

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