United States Senate election in Colorado, 2004

United States Senate election in Colorado, 2004

November 2, 2004

Nominee Ken Salazar Pete Coors Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,081,188 980,668 Percentage 51.3% 47.4%

County results

U.S. senator before election Ben Nighthorse Campbell Republican Elected U.S. Senator Ken Salazar Democratic

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.

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 cancer 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.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Ken Salazar, Attorney General of Colorado
• Mike Miles, educator

Campaign

On March 10, the same day Owens announced he would not run, U.S. Congressman Mark Udall 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.

Results

Democratic Primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ken Salazar	173,167	73.02
	Democratic	Mike Miles	63,973	26.98
Total votes			237,140	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Pete Coors, former CEO and Chairman of Coors Brewing Company
• Bob Schaffer, U.S. Representative

Campaign

The two candidates got into an ideological battle, as Schaffer attacked Coors because his company had provided benefits to the partners of its gay and lesbian employees, in addition to promoting its beer in gay bars. 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."

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.

Republican Primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Pete Coors	203,157	60.57
	Republican	Bob Schaffer	132,274	39.43
Total votes			335,431	100.00

General election

Candidates

Major

• Pete Coors (R), former CEO and Chairman of Coors Brewing Company
• Ken Salazar (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 Company, 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).

Finances

According to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics (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	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	October 18	500	± 4.5%	49%	48%	1%
Gallup/CNN/USA Today	October 14	666	± 4.0%	48%	49%	3%
Rocky Mountain News	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/CNN/USA Today	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	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	August 19	500	± 4.5%	45%	49%	4%
Survey USA	August 14	618	± 4.0%	48%	47%	5%

Results

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Ken Salazar	1,081,188	51.30%	+16.29%
	Republican	Pete Coors	980,668	46.53%	-15.96%
	Constitution	Douglas Campbell	18,783	0.89%	+0.15%
	Libertarian	Richard Randall	10,160	0.48%
	Independent	John R. Harris	8,442	0.40%
	Reform	Victor Good	6,481	0.31%
	Independent	Finn Gotaas	1,750	0.08%
Majority			100,520	4.77%	-22.70%
Turnout			2,107,472
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing