Colorado's junior senator has a new responsibility - helping Democrats maintain their hold on the U.S. Senate in 2014.

Sen. Michael Bennet will chair the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. That from a committee announcement Tuesday. Bennet is a soft-spoken centrist who defied the Republican wave in 2010 and won re-election in a bitter campaign run by the political strategist who is now the DSCC's executive director.

Bennet will be responsible for raising money and helping draw up national strategy for Democratic senators. Bennet will also continue to serve in the Senate. Twenty Democrats are up for re-election in 2014, while 13 Republicans are up. The Democrats include Colorado's senior senator, Mark Udall.

Democrats and the two independents who often vote with them currently hold a 55-45 majority in the Senate.