The 2004 United States Senate election in Arizona took place on November 2, 2004 alongside other elections to the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John McCain

John McCain

John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....

 won re-election to a fourth term.

Campaign

Since 1998, McCain had an eventful third term. He challenged Texas Governor George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 in the Presidential primary and despite winning the New Hampshire primary, he lost the nomination. Solidifying his image as a maverick, he voted against the Bush tax cuts

Bush tax cuts

The Bush tax cuts refers to changes to the United States tax code passed during the presidency of George W. Bush and extended during the presidency of Barack Obama that generally lowered tax rates and revised the code specifying taxation in the United States...

. He supported limits on Stem cell research. He had a lopsided favorable ratings of 39% to 9% unfavorable in the most recent New York Times/CBS News

CBS News

CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...

 poll.

Stuart Starky, an eighth-grade teacher in South Phoenix

South Phoenix

South Phoenix, also known as the South Mountain Village, South Mountain District or SoMo, is a neighborhood in Phoenix, Arizona. It has the boundaries of 27th Avenue to the west, 48th Sreet to the east, the Salt River to the north and South Mountain Park to the south...

, was widely known as a long-shot challenger. Starky stated that "I truly believe he's going to run for president again." Starky was called by The Arizona Republic

The Arizona Republic

The Arizona Republic is a daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. It was ranked tenth in US daily newspapers by circulation in 2007.-Early years:The newspaper was founded...

a sacrificial lamb, put on ballot because there were no chances to beat McCain. During his campaign, he debated McCain twice, once in Tucson and once in Flagstaff. He was also featured on the cover of Teacher Magazine, dubbed the "Unsinkable Stu Starky." Starky was defeated in a landslide

Landslide

A landslide or landslip is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments...

. But, despite the relatively low percentage, he gained the highest vote per dollar amount in the country, spending only about $15,000 for his campaign.

Overall

By county

County	Starky #	Starky %	Hancock #	Hancock %	McCain #	McCain %	Total
Apache Apache County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*23.3% White*0.2% Black*72.9% Native American*0.3% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.0% Two or more races*1.3% Other races*5.8% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	9,588	40.95%	905	3.86%	12,923	55.19%	23,416
Cochise Cochise County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*78.5% White*4.2% Black*1.2% Native American*1.9% Asian*0.3% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*4.0% Two or more races*9.6% Other races*32.4% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	9,555	21.80%	1,394	3.18%	32,879	75.02%	43,828
Coconino Coconino County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*61.7% White*1.2% Black*27.3% Native American*1.4% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.1% Two or more races*5.2% Other races*13.5% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	13,520	26.58%	1,504	2.96%	35,849	70.47%	50,873
Gila Gila County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*76.8% White*0.4% Black*14.8% Native American*0.5% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.0% Two or more races*5.4% Other races*17.9% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	4,291	20.96%	632	3.09%	15,551	75.95%	20,474
Graham Graham County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*72.1% White*1.8% Black*14.4% Native American*0.5% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.8% Two or more races*8.3% Other races*30.4% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	2,000	19.06%	322	3.07%	8,171	77.87%	10,493
Greenlee Greenlee County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*77.2% White*1.1% Black*2.3% Native American*0.5% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.8% Two or more races*15.0% Other races*47.9% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	746	25.03%	68	2.28%	2,166	72.68%	2,980
La Paz La Paz County, Arizona La Paz County is a county in the western part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census its population was 20,489. The county seat is Parker...	965	19.51%	156	3.15%	3,826	77.34%	4,947
Maricopa Maricopa County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*73.0% White*5.0% Black*2.1% Native American*3.5% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.5% Two or more races*12.7% Other races*29.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	216,124	18.58%	29,769	2.56%	917,527	78.86%	1,163,420
Mohave Mohave County, Arizona Mohave County is located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 200,186, an increase of 45,154 people since the 2000 census count of 155,032. The county seat is Kingman...	10,423	18.44%	1,686	2.98%	44,402	78.57%	56,511
Navajo Navajo County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*49.3% White*0.9% Black*43.4% Native American*0.5% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.5% Two or more races*3.3% Other races*10.8% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	7,434	23.42%	1,222	3.85%	23,091	72.73%	31,747
Pima Pima County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*74.3% White*3.5% Black*3.3% Native American*2.6% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.7% Two or more races*12.4% Other races*34.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	89,483	25.17%	7,980	2.24%	258,010	72.58%	355,473
Pinal Pinal County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*72.4% White*4.6% Black*5.6% Native American*1.7% Asian*0.4% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.8% Two or more races*11.5% Other races*28.5% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	13,595	21.45%	1,692	2.67%	48,094	75.88%	63,381
Santa Cruz Santa Cruz County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*73.5% White*0.4% Black*0.7% Native American*0.5% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.0% Two or more races*22.9% Other races*82.8% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	3,583	31.60%	252	2.22%	7,502	66.17%	11,337
Yavapai Yavapai County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*89.3% White*0.6% Black*1.7% Native American*0.8% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.5% Two or more races*5.0% Other races*13.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	14,852	17.41%	3,160	3.70%	67,312	78.89%	85,324
Yuma Yuma County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*70.4% White*2.0% Black*1.6% Native American*1.2% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.8% Two or more races*20.8% Other races*59.7% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	8,348	22.28%	1,056	2.82%	28,069	74.90%	37,473
Arizona Arizona Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...	404,507	20.62%	51,798	2.64%	1,505,372	76.74%	1,961,677