[7] Bennett moved to Florida in 1955 when he was 10 years old, joining the U.S. Navy in 1963 fresh out of high school, serving four tours during the Vietnam War.

[8] After his military career, Bennett earned his bachelor of arts degree from Drake University in 1975, and his masters of business administration a year later.

[9] Bennett also ran unopposed in 2004, last seeing an opponent in his first run for the Senate in 2002 when he faced Mark G. Flanagan in the Republican primary, and Democrat C.J.

614 in November the same year, which would have required water and wastewater utilities to submit tariffs reflecting the surcharge to the Florida Public Service Commission for approval.

[11] A year later, he was calling for no oil drilling off Florida's coast, instead encouraging the state to pursue alternative energy sources, including biofuels.

[12] Bennett said Florida's economic success depends on environmental preservation and not oil profits, and that drilling could have detrimental effects to the state's ecosystem.

In May 2010, Bennett was checking e-mail during debate on the Senate floor when he was photographed opening a picture on his laptop computer depicting four women in bikinis.