Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet says a 2020 run is hinging on his prostate cancer diagnosis

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Co.) just dropped two big announcements in one big interview.

First, the senior senator told The Colorado Independent he'd decided to run for president in 2020. But then, he said that decision was dependent on one thing: A cancer-free prognosis after surgery for prostate cancer.

The interview published Wednesday night was the first time Bennet had mentioned he had prostate cancer. He said he was diagnosed after getting a physical in preparation for his 2020 run. The 54-year-old's risk is "low," and given his age, doctors recommended he get surgery, he said. That surgery is scheduled for a Senate recess that begins in a week.

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Yet despite the fact that his "biopsy showed malignancy," and that Bennet would be "the umpteenth senator to announce," The Colorado Independent writes that this hasn't deterred his 2020 hopes. He had previously hoped to "announce sometime in April," Bennet said, but now will hold off until he's delivered a cancer-free conclusion after surgery. He went on to cite how 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry went through the same surgery and was campaigning again two weeks later.

Bennet, usually a quiet force on the Senate floor, has been noticeably louder in recent months. His explosive takedown of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) over the government shutdown definitely raised suspicions that he might be running in 2020. Read Bennet's whole interview with The Colorado Independent here.