Upon reflection after the election, I agree with you that Coors was a poor choice. At the time though we really thought he was the only one that had a chance against Salazar. I still believe Salazar would have beaten Schaffer. There are a minority of Republicans (mainly ranchers and rural voters) that have supported him throughout his career and some even know him and are friends with him. I think they'll regret their votes someday.
Let me clarify. Last year at this time we were wishing Owens would run. If he did not we thought Coors was our best hope.