2004 United States Senate election in Georgia

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. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Zell Miller decided to retire, leaving an open seat. Majette became both the first African American and the first woman to be nominated for the U.S. Senate in Georgia. Republican Johnny Isakson won the open seat.

The results were almost a complete reversal from the previous election in 2000.

Major candidates

Democratic 
 Denise Majette, U.S. Representative

Republican 
 Johnny Isakson, U.S. Representative
 Herman Cain, former CEO of Godfather's Pizza
 Mac Collins, U.S. Representative

Campaign 
Majette's announcement that she would seek to replace Miller also 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. She 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
Complete video of debate, October 31, 2004

Results

References 

Category:2004 Georgia (U.S. state) elections
Georgia
2004