Derek Draplin | The Center Square 

(The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado held on to his seat in Tuesday’s general election, fending off Republican challenger Joe O’Dea.

NBC, CNN and Fox News called the race less than an hour after polls closed Tuesday night in Colorado.

Bennet has held his seat representing Colorado since 2009 and briefly ran to be the Democratic nominee for president in the 2020 election.

Bennet is poised to win the race by a comfortable margin, according to early and unofficial election results. 

The race for Colorado’s U.S. Senate seat was closely watched nationally, with the Cook Political Report rating it as “lean Democrat.” 

Bennet appeared alongside President Joe Biden in a Colorado event last month, despite the president’s poor approval rating.

O’Dea got an endorsement from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis but not former President Donald Trump.