# 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.
Representative Johnny Isakson, a Republican, won the open seat, defeated 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 and marked the first time in history that Republicans held both of the state’s Senate seats.

## Democratic primary

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.
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.
Nominee:
* Denise Majette, U.S. Representative from Decatur
Eliminated in Runoff:
* Cliff Oxford, Businessman
Eliminated in Primary:
* Jim Boyd, Perennial candidate
* Mary Squires, Former State Senator
* Leigh Baier
* James N. Filkelstein
* Sid Cottingham
* Govind N. Patel
Declined to run:
* Roy Barnes, former Governor of Georgia
* Max Cleland, former Senator
* Zell Miller, incumbent Senator
* Michelle Nunn, nonprofit executive and daughter of former Senator Sam Nunn

### Initial results

Results 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 | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 493,226 | 100.0% |

### Runoff

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

## Republican primary
### Candidates

Nominee
* Johnny Isakson, U.S. Representative from Marietta and candidate for the United States Senate in 1996.
Defeated in primary
* Herman Cain, former CEO of Godfather's Pizza
* Mac Collins, U.S. Representative from Butts County
Declined to run
* Ralph Reed, chair of the Georgia Republican Party

### Campaign

Positioning himself as a political outsider, businessman Herman Cain spent nearly $1 million of his own money on his Senate campaign. 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.

### Results

Republican Primary Election :
| 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
### Candidates

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

### Campaign

Majette received extremely 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

* Complete video of debate, October 31, 2004

### Predictions

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

### Polling

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

### Results

2004 United States Senate election, Georgia :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 576,510 | 17.90% | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,220,951 | | |
| | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Swing | | |

#### Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

* Atkinson (Largest city: Pearson)
* Baldwin (Largest city: Milledgeville)
* Ben Hill (Largest city: Fitzgerald)
* Berrien (Largest city: Nashville)
* Brooks (Largest city: Quitman)
* Butts (Largest city: Jackson)
* Chatham (Largest city: Savannah)
* Chattooga (Largest city: Summerville)
* Clinch (Largest city: Homerville)
* Cook (Largest city: Adel)
* Crawford (Largest city: Roberta)
* Crisp (Largest city: Cordele)
* Decatur (Largest city: Bainbridge)
* Dodge (Largest city: Eastman)
* Early (Largest city: Blakely)
* Elbert (Largest city: Elberton)
* Emanuel (Largest city: Swainsboro)
* Grady (Largest city: Cairo)
* Greene (Largest city: Greensboro)
* Hart (Largest city: Hartwell)
* Heard (Largest city: Franklin)
* Irwin (Largest city: Ocilla)
* Jasper (Largest city: Monticello)
* Jenkins (Largest city: Millen)
* Johnson (Largest city: Wrightsville)
* Lamar (Largest city: Barnesville)
* Lanier (Largest city: Lakeland)
* Long (Largest city: Ludowici)
* Marion (Largest city: Buena Vista)
* Miller (Largest city: Colquitt)
* Montgomery (Largest city: Mount Vernon)
* Polk (Largest city: Cedartown)
* Pulaski (Largest city: Hawkinsville)
* Putnam (Largest city: Eatonton)
* Schley (Largest city: Ellaville)
* Screven (Largest city: Sylvania)
* Seminole (Largest city: Donalsonville)
* Sumter (Largest city: Americus)
* Taylor (Largest city: Butler)
* Treutlen (Largest city: Soperton)
* Turner (Largest city: Ashburn)
* Wheeler (Largest city: Alamo)
* Wilcox (Largest city: Abbeville)
* Wilkes (Largest city: Washington)
* Burke (largest municipality: Waynesboro)
* Chattahoochee (largest municipality: Cusseta)
* McIntosh (largest municipality: Darien)
* Meriwether (largest municipality: Manchester)
* Mitchell (largest municipality: Camilla)
* Peach (largest municipality: Fort Valley)
* Telfair (largest municipality: McRae-Helena)
* Washington (largest municipality: Sandersville)
* Wilkinson (largest municipality: Gordon)
* Bibb (largest city: Macon)
* Jefferson (largest city: Louisville)
* Warren (largest city: Warrenton)
* Dooly (largest city: Vienna)
* Cobb (largest city: Marietta)
* Gwinnett (largest city: Peachtree Corners)
* Henry (largest city: Stockbridge)
* Rockdale (largest town: Conyers)
* Bacon (largest town: Alma)
* Banks (largest town: Baldwin)
* Bartow (largest town: Cartersville)
* Bleckley (largest town: Cochran)
* Brantley (largest town: Nahunta)
* Bryan (largest town: Richmond Hill)
* Bulloch (largest town: Stateboro)
* Camden (largest town: St. Marys)
* Candler (largest town: Metter)
* Carroll (largest town: Carrollton)
* Catoosa (largest town: Fort Oglethorpe)
* Charlton (largest town: Folkston)
* Coffee (largest town: Douglas)
* Colquitt (largest town: Moultrie)
* Dade (largest town: Trenton)
* Dawson (largest town: Dawsonville)
* Douglas (largest town: Douglasville)
* Echols (largest town: Statenville)
* Effingham (largest town: Rincon)
* Evans (largest town: Claxton)
* Fannin (largest town: Blue Ridge)
* Floyd (largest town: Rome)
* Franklin (largest town: Lavonia)
* Glascock (largest town: Gibson)
* Gordon (largest town: Calhoun)
* Habersham (largest town: Cornelia)
* Hall (largest town: Gainesville)
* Gilmer (largest town: Ellijay)
* Harris (largest town: Pine Mountain)
* Haralson (largest town: Bremen)
* Houston (largest town: Warner Robins)
* Jones (largest town: Gray)
* Jackson (largest town: Jefferson)
* Jeff Davis (largest town: Hazlehurst)
* Lincoln (largest town: Lincolnton)
* Lowndes (largest town: Valdosta)
* Lumpkin (largest town: Dahlonega)
* Madison (largest town: Comer)
* McDuffie (largest town: Thomson)
* Monroe (largest town: Forsyth)
* Murray (largest town: Chatsworth)
* Newton (largest town: Covington)
* Oconee (largest town: Watkinsville)
* Oglethorpe (largest town: Crawford)
* Paulding (largest town: Dallas)
* Morgan (largest town: Madison)
* Pike (largest town: Zebulon)
* Pickens (largest town: Jasper)
* Rabun (largest town: Clayton)
* Spalding (largest town: Griffin)
* Stephens (largest town: Toccoa)
* Tattnall (largest town: Glennville)
* Tifton (largest town: Tifton)
* Towns (largest town: Young Harris)
* Troup (largest town: LaGrange)
* Union (largest town: Blairsville)
* Upson (largest town: Thomaston)
* Walton (largest town: Monroe)
* Ware (largest town: Waycross)
* Walker (largest town: Lafayette)
* Wayne (largest town: Jesup)
* White (largest town: Cleveland)
* Whitfield (largest town: Dalton)
* Worth (largest town: Sylvester)
* Appling (largest town: Baxley)
* Thomas (largest town: Thomasville)
* Laurens (largest town: Dublin)