Posted on 11/04/2004 5:17:00 PM PST by cilbupeR_eerF
Ken Salazar's campaign plan put him in position to overcome a GOP voter-registration edge and beat out Republican Pete Coors for Colorado's U.S. Senate seat.
Coors, a political neophyte, entwined himself with the policies and rhetoric of President Bush, stressing tax cuts, a strong national defense and "conservative Colorado family values."
Salazar, the state attorney general, shunned most associations with John Kerry yet echoed his populist message, vowing to help the working class and rural communities.
"Coors needs Bush to win really big so he can ride on his coattails, and Salazar needs to look independent so he isn't pegged as a liberal like Kerry," said Jennifer Duffy, a Senate analyst with the Cook Political Report.
Additionally, both candidates needed to win over a significant number of unaffiliated voters.
Because registered Democrats trail Republicans by about 180,000 voters in the state, Coors had a built-in advantage. He also had tremendous name recognition and the benefit of presidential and vice-presidential visits. But his campaign said he needed more than a 20,000-vote edge coming out of Arapahoe and Jefferson counties to offset Salazar's numbers in Boulder.
Early exit polling, however, suggested Coors was significantly trailing Salazar in Arapahoe and Jefferson counties.
And Kerry, despite Salazar's arms-length attitude toward him, ultimately may have helped Salazar - by not hurting him.
Salazar only appeared with Kerry on one of the Massachusetts senator's six forays to Colorado. But on Election Day, it appeared that Kerry was staying competitive in the state, meaning that Salazar didn't have to rely on large numbers of Bush voters crossing over to help him.
Salazar needed not only the unaffiliated voters, but about 8 percent to 10 percent of moderate Republicans, according to his campaign. He also had to win big in metro Denver and win converts in rural communities that tend to vote Republican. As a result, he traveled throughout the state, talking to farmers and ranchers and portraying himself as a moderate.
Early exit polling showed Salazar way ahead of Coors among unaffiliated voters, as well as siphoning off some Republicans. He clearly made a dent in rural Colorado.
Additionally, despite Coors' attempts to emphasize his family in the last days of the campaign, Salazar clobbered the Republican among female voters.
We're still trying to figure it out too.
I'm not a Coloradan, but I heard about Salazar running a campaign commercial that said Coors (the company) sponsored some kind of gay festival in Canada. Basically, it was guilt by association.
Wasnt Coors going to do something out there regarding taxes that was not a good move? I am not sure, am asking...
It was so close too.
One last push in the final days of the election could have done it.
To be honest, I watch his debate on Meet the Press, he just didn't have it upstairs. His answers were not thought out and he couldn't articulate a reason to vote for him.
Salazar's career is in public service, Coor's is not - a business heir, little more. Folks just didn't buy it.
Maybe conservatives took a look at some of the filthy Coors ads and saw what kind of 'conservative' he is.
Did I not read earlier in the campaign that he did not know the name of the Chief Justice of the US, or something along those lines? Sounds a little embarrassing. Maybe they would have been better off if Bob Schaffer had won the primary.
Coors sponsored a lesbian bash in Canada recently. Considering the gay bashing that went on by the American voters this last tuesday, I'd say that played a large part.
He's viewed as one of the "super-rich" elite, even though he isnt quite in that category. His company has very liberal policies such as benefits covering same-sex partners and I even believe covering abortion. If this was a "values" election there's some reasons you could find in there.
Plus, Denver has a huge hispanic population now and they probably went 1 and all for Salazar. It's a bad loss for us, but Salazar cant stray too far to the left in this state so it's not as bad as it could have been.
As I understand it from a weekend host on 850 KOA Denver, Pete Coors'brewing company associated with alcohol, Coors Brewing sponsoring Gay Pride marches around the country and in Canada, and his wanting to lower the drinking age to 18 played a small part in his loss. It basically turned off the morality vote.
Coors Brewing is a big sponsor of Gay causes/events. That's why I stopped drinking their beer.
Salazar will be just another Tom Daschle. Presumed Conservative at home and Liberal as all hell in DC.
Uh, because his beer tastes like liquid feces?
Cause the other guy got more votes?
1,009,616 votes for Salazar (51%)
936,682 votes for Coors (47%)
I wasn't aware of "gay bashing" but did witness 11 states overwhelmingly declare that marriage is to be between a man and a woman. 8 of those states also banned so-called "civil unions" of same sex couples.
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