United States Senate election in Colorado, 2004
Encyclopedia
The 2004 United States Senate election in Colorado took place on November 2, 2004 alongside other elections to the United States Senate
in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives
and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell
decided to retire instead of seeking a third term. Democratic nominee Ken Salazar
won the open seat.
and heartburn
. Before Campbell's retirement, no prominent Democrat had entered the race, with educator Mike Miles and businessman Rutt Bridges
pursuing the Democratic nomination. After Campbell's retirement, many expected popular Republican Governor Bill Owens to enter the race, however he declined to run. Campbell's retirement and Owens' decision not to run prompted a number of prominent Democrats to reexamine the race.
entered the race. The next day, state Attorney General Ken Salazar
entered the race, leading Udall to immediately withdraw and endorse him. Salazar lost to Mike Miles at the State nominating convention. In spite of this loss, the national Democratic Party backed Salazar with contributions from the DSCC
and promotion of Salazar as the only primary candidate.
and lesbian
employees, in addition to promoting its beer in gay bar
s. Coors defended himself by saying that he was opposed to same-sex marriage
, and supported a constitutional amendment
to ban it, although he noted that he supported civil unions for gay couples. According to the Rocky Mountain News, Coors described his company's pro-LGBT
practices as "good business, separate from politics."
, ran as a moderate conservative. However, Salazar was also a moderate and a highly popular State Attorney General. Coors is also a great-grandson of Adolph Coors
, founder of the brewing company. His father is Joseph Coors
, President of the company and founding member of the conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation
. Salazar narrowly won the open seat. It was one of only two Democratic pickups in the 2004 Senate elections (Illinois was the other).
(CPS), Coors gave his own campaign $1,213,657 and received individual donations of $60,550 from other Coors family members.
A state record total of over $11 million was raised during the election.
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 Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Benjamin Nighthorse Campbell is an American politician. He was a U.S. Senator from Colorado from 1993 until 2005 and was during his tenure the only American Indian serving in the U.S. Congress. Campbell was a three term U.S. Representative from 1987 to 1993, when he was sworn into office as a...
decided to retire instead of seeking a third term. Democratic nominee Ken Salazar
Ken Salazar
Kenneth Lee "Ken" Salazar is the current United States Secretary of the Interior, in the administration of President Barack Obama. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United States Senator from Colorado from 2005 to 2009. He and Mel Martinez were the first Hispanic U.S...
won the open seat.
Background
On March 3, 2004, incumbent Republican Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell announced that he would not seek reelection due to health concerns, having recently been treated for prostate cancerProstate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
and heartburn
Heartburn
Heartburn, also known as pyrosis or acid indigestion is a burning sensation in the chest, just behind the breastbone or in the epigastrium...
. Before Campbell's retirement, no prominent Democrat had entered the race, with educator Mike Miles and businessman Rutt Bridges
Rutt Bridges
Rutt Bridges is an American geophysicist and politician from Colorado and a member of the Democratic Party.-Business success:Bridges began his career with Chevron Corporation, then founded Advance Geophysical in 1980. He achieved success with the software products MicroMAX and ProMAX, both used...
pursuing the Democratic nomination. After Campbell's retirement, many expected popular Republican Governor Bill Owens to enter the race, however he declined to run. Campbell's retirement and Owens' decision not to run prompted a number of prominent Democrats to reexamine the race.
Campaign
On March 10, the same day Owens announced he would not run, U.S. Congressman Mark UdallMark Udall
Mark Emery Udall is the senior United States Senator from Colorado and a member of the Democratic Party. From 1999 to 2009, Udall served in the United States House of Representatives, representing . He also served a term in the Colorado House of Representatives.Born in Tucson, Arizona, he is the...
entered the race. The next day, state Attorney General Ken Salazar
Ken Salazar
Kenneth Lee "Ken" Salazar is the current United States Secretary of the Interior, in the administration of President Barack Obama. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United States Senator from Colorado from 2005 to 2009. He and Mel Martinez were the first Hispanic U.S...
entered the race, leading Udall to immediately withdraw and endorse him. Salazar lost to Mike Miles at the State nominating convention. In spite of this loss, the national Democratic Party backed Salazar with contributions from the DSCC
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States Senate. It is the only organization solely dedicated to electing Democrats to the United States Senate. The DSCC's current chair is Sen. Patty Murray, who succeeded Sen. Robert Menendez following...
and promotion of Salazar as the only primary candidate.
Results
Candidates
- Pete CoorsPete CoorsPeter Hanson Coors is a U.S. businessman and entrepreneur. He currently is the Chairman of the Molson Coors Brewing Company and Chairman of MillerCoors, a joint operating venture, announced October 9, 2007 and completed June 30, 2008. Molson Coors headquarters are located in Colorado and...
, former CEO and Chairman of Coors Brewing CompanyCoors Brewing CompanyThe Coors Brewing Company is a regional division of the world's fifth-largest brewing company, the Canadian Molson Coors Brewing Company and is the third-largest brewer in the United States... - Bob SchafferBob SchafferRobert Warren "Bob" Schaffer was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from the State of Colorado in the 105th Congress and the two succeeding Congresses . In 2004, Schaffer lost in the primary election to be the Republican nominee for a U.S. Senate seat...
, U.S. Congressman
Campaign
The two candidates got into an ideological battle, as Schaffer attacked Coors because his company had provided benefits to the partners of its gayGay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
employees, in addition to promoting its beer in gay bar
Gay bar
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender clientele; the term gay is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT and queer communities...
s. Coors defended himself by saying that he was opposed to same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage in the United States
The federal government does not recognize same-sex marriage in the United States, but such marriages are recognized by some individual states. The lack of federal recognition was codified in 1996 by the Defense of Marriage Act, before Massachusetts became the first state to grant marriage licenses...
, and supported a constitutional amendment
Constitutional amendment
A constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state.Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation...
to ban it, although he noted that he supported civil unions for gay couples. According to the Rocky Mountain News, Coors described his company's pro-LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
practices as "good business, separate from politics."
Results
Coors defeated Schaffer with 61% of the vote in the primary, with many analysts citing his high name recognition in the state as a primary factor.Major
- Pete CoorsPete CoorsPeter Hanson Coors is a U.S. businessman and entrepreneur. He currently is the Chairman of the Molson Coors Brewing Company and Chairman of MillerCoors, a joint operating venture, announced October 9, 2007 and completed June 30, 2008. Molson Coors headquarters are located in Colorado and...
(R), former CEO and Chairman of Coors Brewing CompanyCoors Brewing CompanyThe Coors Brewing Company is a regional division of the world's fifth-largest brewing company, the Canadian Molson Coors Brewing Company and is the third-largest brewer in the United States... - Ken SalazarKen SalazarKenneth Lee "Ken" Salazar is the current United States Secretary of the Interior, in the administration of President Barack Obama. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United States Senator from Colorado from 2005 to 2009. He and Mel Martinez were the first Hispanic U.S...
(D), State Attorney General
Minor
- Douglas Campbell (C)
- Victor Good (Re)
- Finn Gotaas (I)
- John Harris (I)
- Richard Randall (L)
Campaign
Pete Coors, Chairman of Coors Brewing CompanyCoors Brewing Company
The Coors Brewing Company is a regional division of the world's fifth-largest brewing company, the Canadian Molson Coors Brewing Company and is the third-largest brewer in the United States...
, ran as a moderate conservative. However, Salazar was also a moderate and a highly popular State Attorney General. Coors is also a great-grandson of Adolph Coors
Adolph Coors
Adolph Herman Joseph Coors, Sr. was a brewman who started the Adolph Coors Company in Golden, Colorado in 1873.-Early years:...
, founder of the brewing company. His father is Joseph Coors
Joseph Coors
Joseph Coors, Sr. , was the grandson of Adolph Coors and president of Coors Brewing Company. -Birth and education:...
, President of the company and founding member of the conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation
Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...
. Salazar narrowly won the open seat. It was one of only two Democratic pickups in the 2004 Senate elections (Illinois was the other).
Finances
According to the non-partisan Center for Responsive PoliticsCenter for Responsive Politics
The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
(CPS), Coors gave his own campaign $1,213,657 and received individual donations of $60,550 from other Coors family members.
A state record total of over $11 million was raised during the election.
Polling
| Poll Source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of Error |
Pete Coors (R) |
Ken Salazar (D) |
Unde- cided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Survey USA | October 30 | 705 | ± 3.8% | 47% | 51% | 3% |
| Zogby Zogby International IBOPE Zogby International is an international market research, opinion polling firm founded in 1984 by John Zogby. The company polls and consults for a wide spectrum of business media, government, and political groups, and conducts public opinion research in more than 70 countries... |
October 28 | 600 | ± 4.1% | 46% | 52% | 4% |
| Rocky Mountain News | October 27 | 500 | ± 4.3% | 42% | 48% | 4% |
| Mason-Dixon | October 25 | 625 | ± 4.8% | 46% | 46% | 7% |
| Survey USA | October 20 | 596 | ± 4.1% | 50% | 46% | 1% |
| Ciruli Assoc | October 19 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 43% | 47% | 10% |
| Rasmussen Reports Rasmussen Reports Rasmussen Reports is an American media company that publishes and distributes information based on public opinion polling. Founded by pollster Scott Rasmussen in 2003, the company updates daily indexes including the President's job approval rating, and provides public opinion data, analysis, and... |
October 18 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 49% | 48% | 1% |
| Gallup The Gallup Organization The Gallup Organization, is primarily a research-based performance-management consulting company. Some of Gallup's key practice areas are - Employee Engagement, Customer Engagement and Well-Being. Gallup has over 40 offices in 27 countries. World headquarters are in Washington, D.C. Operational... /CNN CNN Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States... /USA Today USA Today USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003... |
October 14 | 666 | ± 4.0% | 48% | 49% | 3% |
| Rocky Mountain News Rocky Mountain News The Rocky Mountain News was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As of March 2006, the Monday-Friday circulation was 255,427... |
October 13 | 400 | ± 4.9% | 45% | 40% | 6% |
| Survey USA | October 5 | 594 | ± 4.1% | 48% | 48% | 1% |
| Mason-Dixon | October 4 | 630 | ± 5.0% | 44% | 46% | 9% |
| Gallup The Gallup Organization The Gallup Organization, is primarily a research-based performance-management consulting company. Some of Gallup's key practice areas are - Employee Engagement, Customer Engagement and Well-Being. Gallup has over 40 offices in 27 countries. World headquarters are in Washington, D.C. Operational... /CNN CNN Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States... /USA Today USA Today USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003... |
October 3 | 667 | ± 5.0% | 43% | 54% | 3% |
| Survey USA | Sept. 24 | 625 | ± 4.0% | 51% | 46% | - |
| Ciruli Assoc | Sept. 14 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 45% | 46% | 9% |
| Rasmussen Reports Rasmussen Reports Rasmussen Reports is an American media company that publishes and distributes information based on public opinion polling. Founded by pollster Scott Rasmussen in 2003, the company updates daily indexes including the President's job approval rating, and provides public opinion data, analysis, and... |
Sept. 16 | 500 | ± 4.3% | 49% | 48% | 1% |
| Tarrance Group (R) | Sept. 14 | - | ± 4.5% | 44% | 46% | - |
| RMN/News 4 | Sept. 14 | 500 | ± 4.3% | 42% | 53% | 4% |
| Tarrance Group (R) | August 24 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 43% | 47% | 10% |
| Rasmussen Reports Rasmussen Reports Rasmussen Reports is an American media company that publishes and distributes information based on public opinion polling. Founded by pollster Scott Rasmussen in 2003, the company updates daily indexes including the President's job approval rating, and provides public opinion data, analysis, and... |
August 19 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 45% | 49% | 4% |
| Survey USA | August 14 | 618 | ± 4.0% | 48% | 47% | 5% |