run. He left the Colorado House after 2008 due to term limits. In 2010, members of the Colorado Latino Forum criticized Romanoff in a Denver Post op-ed for his support of legislation affecting immigrants, including one law that “denied basic government services to individuals who couldn’t immediately prove they were legal residents.” 2010 U.S. Senate election In early 2009, U.S. Senator Ken Salazar was nominated and confirmed as United States Secretary of the Interior. Romanoff was on a short list of possible candidates for appointment to Salazar's seat, but Governor Bill Ritter chose Denver schools' superintendent Michael Bennet. Romanoff opted to challenge Bennet for the Senate seat in the Democratic primary. The Washington Post'''' reported, "Many Democrats here and in Washington think Romanoff decided to challenge Bennet purely out of pique, resentful that Gov. Bill Ritter (D) did not appoint him to the Senate seat left vacant when Obama named former senator Ken Salazar interior secretary." Romanoff made campaign finance and ethics a key issue of his campaign, declining to take Political Action Committee (PAC) money for his Senate campaign. He had taken PAC money as a member of the Colorado legislature. A preference poll taken March 16 at precinct caucuses showed Romanoff with 51 percent support, Bennet with 42 percent, and the remaining uncommitted. Delegates at each stage of the Democratic caucus-assembly process are not pledged to a candidate but are selected based on candidate preference. Romanoff defeated Bennet in the Democratic State Assembly, with 60.4% of the vote to Bennet's 39.6%, thereby earning the first spot on the August primary ballot. On September 16, 2009, Romanoff officially announced his campaign to challenge Bennet for the 2010 Democratic Senate nomination. Bill Clinton endorsed him on June 29, 2010. President Barack Obama endorsed Bennet shortly after Romanoff announced his candidacy. On August 10, 2010, Romanoff was defeated by Bennet in the Democratic primary. Job offer from the Obama administration On September 27, 2009, Michael Riley of the Denver Post reported that Romanoff had been offered a position in the Obama administration in exchange for not running for U.S. Senate against Michael Bennet. According to Riley, Obama's deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina called Romanoff to offer him various positions in the administration, including a position at the United States Agency for International Development. Romanoff turned down the offer. On June 2, 2010, Romanoff issued a statement confirming that Messina had