Daniel Brooks Baer[1] (born January 6, 1977) is an American politician and former diplomat from Colorado currently serving as Senior Vice President for Policy Research at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

[5][6] In May 2018 Baer was appointed by Governor John Hickenlooper to serve as Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education.

[3] In April 2019, Baer announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate seat held by Cory Gardner in the 2020 election.

[7] Baer entered the primary with a field of nine Democratic candidates seeking the party's nomination, running against John F. Walsh, Andrew Romanoff, Mike Johnston, Ellen Burnes, Alice Madden, and others.

[8] In September 2019, Baer dropped out of the primary and endorsed John Hickenlooper, who entered the race after ending his 2020 U.S. presidential bid.