A Candidate I Would Consider Voting For - nsr
First Denver elected Hickenlooper, brewpub owner, as mayor, now Colorado has a chance to send Pete Coors to the Senate.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drm...789521,00.html
Coors to run for Senate
By Jim Tankersley, Rocky Mountain News
April 7, 2004
Brewery giant Pete Coors will enter Colorado's U.S. Senate race today, according to Gov. Bill Owens. The candidacy potentially gives Republicans a well-known and well-financed candidate to challenge Ken Salazar, the Democratic attorney general.
Coors, CEO of Coors Brewing in Golden, will face former U.S. Rep. Bob Schaffer and Colorado Springs lawyer Dan O'Bryant in the Republican primary to replace retiring Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell. Coors has given nearly $90,000 in political donations since 2000, mostly to Republicans.
Several big-name Republicans have passed on the Senate run, including Owens and five members of Congress.
Owens confirmed Coors has decided to seek the Senate seat and said he would confer with Schaffer before deciding which Republican candidate he will support.
During a briefing on the upcoming wildfire season, Owens was asked about Coors' candidacy and said it will "lead to a very competitive race" for the Republican nomination.
"I think Pete Coors would make an oustanding senator," Owens said. "He is an outstanding public servant who has served Colorado well in a number of capacities."
"I told Bob Schaffer that I would support him. I'll need to talk to Bob Schaffer to make sure he is going to stay in the race and I'll make a judgement between these two candidates shortly," Owens said.
Schaffer announced his candidacy last month and has waited for weeks to see if a big-name primary opponent would emerge. Real estate magnate Dave Liniger flirted with a run but nixed it this week.
Some Republican leaders have publicly expressed doubts about Schaffer's chances against Salazar, the state's most popular Democrat, and they refused to call the field set on Tuesday.
Ironically, Schaffer scheduled a party "unity" event on the steps of the State Capitol this afternoon.
