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2004 United States Senate election in Georgia

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The 2004 United States Senate election in Georgia 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. This election was the fifth consecutive even-number year in which a senate election was held in Georgia after elections in 1996, 1998, 2000, and 2002. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Zell Miller decided to retire instead of seeking a first full term in office, leaving an open seat.

2004 United States Senate election in Georgia
← 2000 (special) November 2, 2004 2010 →
 
Nominee Johnny Isakson Denise Majette
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,864,205 1,287,695
Percentage 57.88% 39.98%
Isakson:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Majette:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tie:      40–50%      50%
     No data
U.S. senator before election

Zell Miller
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Johnny Isakson
Republican

Representative Johnny Isakson, a Republican, won the open seat, marking the first time in history that Republicans held both of Georgia's Senate seats. Democratic nominee Denise Majette became both the first African American and the first woman to be nominated for Senate in Georgia. Isakson would remain in the Senate until his resignation on December 31, 2019. This election was the first open-seat United States Senate election in Georgia for this seat since 1956.

Democratic primary

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Following reports that Miller would retire, Democratic leaders unsuccessfully tried to convince outgoing Governor Roy Barnes to run for Senate. Max Cleland, a former Senator who lost his seat in the 2002 election, was also considered a possible candidate before choosing not to run.[1]

Majette's announcement that she would seek to replace Miller caught Democrats by surprise, as she was not on anyone's call list when Democrats began seeking a candidate to replace Miller. Further skepticism among Democrats about the viability of her candidacy surfaced when she announced that God had told her to run for the Senate.[citation needed]

Nominee:

Eliminated in Runoff:

  • Cliff Oxford, Businessman

Eliminated in Primary:

Declined to run:

Initial results

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Results[3] for the first round showed that since Denise Majette did not win a majority of the vote, a runoff was held between her and Cliff Oxford.

2004 Georgia U.S. Senate Democratic primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Denise Majette 258,480 41.3%
Democratic Cliff Oxford 128,540 20,6%
Democratic Jim Boyd 87,702 14.3%
Democratic Mary Squires 55,046 8.1%
Democratic Leigh Baier 47,487 7.6%
Democratic Sid Cottingham 16,200 2.9%
Democratic Govind N. Patel 9,166 1.4%
Total votes 493,226 100.0%

Runoff

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2004 Georgia U.S. Senate Democratic primary election -runoff
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Denise Majette 161,733 59.4%
Democratic Cliff Oxford 110,526 40.6%

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Nominee

Defeated in primary

Declined to run

Campaign

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Positioning himself as a political outsider, businessman Herman Cain spent nearly $1 million of his own money on his Senate campaign.[6] To discredit Cain, Isakson's campaign dropped campaign mail pieces noting that Cain had donated to Democrats in the past, such as Hillary Clinton and Ted Kennedy.[7]

Results

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Primary results by county.
Map legend
  •   Isakson—100%
  •   Isakson—80–90%
  •   Isakson—70–80%
  •   Isakson—60–70%
  •   Isakson—50–60%
  •   Isakson—40–50%
  •   Isakson—30–40%
  •   Cain—60–70%
  •   Cain—50–60%
  •   Cain—40–50%
  •   Collins—70–80%
  •   Collins—60–70%
  •   Collins—50–60%
  •   Collins—40–50%
  •   Collins—30–40%
Republican Primary Election[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Johnny Isakson 346,765 53.2%
Republican Herman Cain 170,464 26.2%
Republican Mac Collins 134,053 20.6%

General election

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Candidates

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  • Allen Buckley (Libertarian)
  • Johnny Isakson, U.S. Representative from Marietta (Republican)
  • Denise Majette, U.S. Representative from Decatur (Democratic)

Campaign

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Majette received important endorsements from U.S. Senators Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, along with many others in Washington who campaigned and raised money for Majette. Her Senate campaign slogan was "I'll be nobody's Senator, but yours."

A number of factors led to Majette's loss. These include her late start, her valuable time and money spent in the runoff, larger conservative turnout from a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages (which Majette opposed), the popularity of President George W. Bush in Georgia, and her lack of experience (being a one-term congresswoman).

Debates

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Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[9] Safe R (flip) November 1, 2004

Polling

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Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Johnny
Isakson (R) 		Denise
Majette (D) 		Other /
Undecided
SurveyUSA[10] October 28–30, 2004 624 (LV) ± 4.0% 56% 40% 5%

Results

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2004 United States Senate election, Georgia[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Johnny Isakson 1,864,205 57.88% +19.97%
Democratic Denise Majette 1,287,695 39.98% −18.22%
Libertarian Allen Buckley 69,051 2.14% +2.14%
Majority 576,510 17.90%
Turnout 3,220,951
Republican gain from Democratic Swing

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear

References

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  1. ^ "Miller Signals Exit". Roll Call. January 8, 2003. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  2. ^ "Democrats Fail to Entice Nunn Into Senate Race". Roll Call. October 24, 2003. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ "Three Republicans battling for spots in Georgia's likely Senate runoff". New.accessnorthga.com. March 27, 2004. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
  5. ^ "Georgia's Miller won't seek re-election - Jan. 8, 2003". CNN. January 8, 2003. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  6. ^ Ball, Molly (October 14, 2011). "Herman Cain for Senate? The Inside Story of His First Insurgent Campaign". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  7. ^ Blake, Aaron (October 18, 2011). "Herman Cain's sleepy Senate campaign". Washington Post.
  8. ^ "United States Senator". Sos.georgia.gov. Archived from the original on October 21, 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  9. ^ "The Final Predictions". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  10. ^ SurveyUSA
  11. ^ "United States Senator". Georgia of Secretary of State. December 21, 2005. Archived from the original on November 28, 2008. Retrieved December 3, 2008.
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