That is a good question. I thought people in Colorado were smarter.
I worked on the campaign, and this is what I observed:
1.A lot of conservative Christians I knew would not vote for Coors because he was a liquor guy!,
2. Also a Catholic- don't underestimate the Protestant/Catholic divide, especially in the privacy of the voting booth,
3. A lot of conservative Hispanics I talked to voted for Salazar because he was Hispanic, no other reason,
4. there was some particulary nasty campaign literature (put out by Bob Schafer,a Republican) in the primary, accusing Coors Beer Company of being a homosexual-friendly company
5. he said he was a conservative Democrat...