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Denver – 48 hours after announcing he’s running for president, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., is speaking with Fox 31 about his decision to announce and his effort to get on the debate stage in June.

Bennet made an appearance at his daughter’s history day performance at Denver’s Auraria Campus before catching a flight to Iowa.

Fox 31 political reporter Joe St. George asked about running against Bennet’s friend – and former boss – John Hickenlooper.

“Do you feel you betrayed your friend at all by running against him?”

“Not at all this is a huge field of Democrats,” Bennet said.

“John and I are both going to have to contend with a lot of challenges other than the two of us running,” Bennet said.

“What’s one policy difference between you and former Governor Hickenlooper?” St. George asked.

“That’s a good question I don’t know the answer to that,” Bennet said.

Bennet was asked about his fundraising following the announcement.

In order to qualify for the first debate in June, Bennet will need 65,000 donors or 1 percent in national polls.

“How much have you raised thus far?” St. George asked.

“I actually haven’t checked yet but I hear we are doing well,” Bennet said.

“You think you’ll be on the debate stage the end of June?” St. George

“This timing issue that I have because of the cancer that I was diagnosed with and then had to get an operation that did slow us down a little bit and we are scrambling to meet one of the two or both metrics for getting into the debate,” Bennet said.

St. George also asked Bennet about his judicial voting record – having voted for more of President Trump’s judicial nominees than any other Democratic nominee.

“I think it’s standing up for American institutions which is what I try to do every single day so in the unlikely circumstance that a judge is qualified and non ideological and competent to do the job I am going to vote for them even if they have been nominated by Donald Trump,” Bennet said.

During the interview Saturday with Fox 31 Bennet also addressed Senator Ted Cruz’s Twitter attack on his presidential campaign.