Get Our Extension

2004 United States Senate election in Oklahoma

From Wikipedia, in a visual modern way
2004 United States Senate election in Oklahoma

← 1998 November 2, 2004 2010 →
  Tom Coburn official portrait 112th Congress.jpg BradCarson OfficialPortrait.jpg No image.svg
Nominee Tom Coburn Brad Carson Sheila Bilyeu
Party Republican Democratic Independent
Popular vote 763,433 596,750 86,663
Percentage 52.8% 41.2% 6.0%

2004 United States Senate election in Oklahoma results map by county.svg
County results
Coburn:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Carson:      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. senator before election

Don Nickles
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Tom Coburn
Republican

The 2004 United States Senate election in Oklahoma took place on November 2, 2004. The election was concurrent with elections to the United States House of Representatives and the presidential election. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Don Nickles decided to retire instead of seeking a fifth term. Republican nominee Tom Coburn won the open seat.

Discover more about 2004 United States Senate election in Oklahoma related topics

United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together, they comprise the national bicameral legislature of the United States.

2004 United States presidential election

2004 United States presidential election

The 2004 United States presidential election was the 55th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. The Republican ticket of incumbent President George W. Bush and his running mate incumbent Vice President Dick Cheney were elected to a second term, defeating the Democratic ticket of John Kerry, a United States senator from Massachusetts and his running mate John Edwards, a United States senator from North Carolina. As of 2020, this is the only presidential election since 1988 in which the Republican nominee won the popular vote. Due to the higher turnout, both major party nominees set records for the most popular votes received by a major party candidate for president; both men surpassed Reagan's record from 20 years earlier. At the time, Bush's 62,040,610 votes were the most received by any nominee for president, although this record would be broken four years later by Barack Obama. Bush also became the only incumbent president to win re-election after losing the popular vote in the previous election as Rutherford Hayes did not seek re-election, and John Quincy Adams, Benjamin Harrison, and Donald Trump were each defeated when they sought re-election.

Don Nickles

Don Nickles

Donald Lee Nickles is an American politician and lobbyist who was a Republican United States Senator from Oklahoma from 1981 to 2005. He was considered both a fiscal and social conservative. After retiring from the Senate as the longest-serving senator from Oklahoma up until that point, he founded the Nickles Group, a lobbying firm.

Tom Coburn

Tom Coburn

Thomas Allen Coburn was an American politician and physician who served as a United States senator for Oklahoma from 2005, until his resignation in 2015. A Republican, he previously served as a United States representative.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[1]
Margin
of error
Brad
Carson
Carroll
Fisher
Jim
Rogers
Monte
Johnson
W. B. G.
Woodson
Undecided/
Other
SurveyUSA June 25–27, 2004 563 (LV) ± 4.2% 61% 15% 6% 4% 1% 13%
Wilson Research Strategies May 20–21, 2004 300 (RV) ± 5.7% 45% 7% 3% 45%

Results

Democratic primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Brad Carson 280,026 79.37%
Democratic Carroll Fisher 28,385 8.05%
Democratic Jim Rogers 20,179 5.72%
Democratic Monte E. Johnson 17,274 4.90%
Democratic W. B. G. Woodson 6,932 1.96%
Total votes 352,796 100.00%

Discover more about Democratic primary related topics

Brad Carson

Brad Carson

Brad Rogers Carson is an American lawyer and politician from the state of Oklahoma who served as the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness from 2015 to 2016. In that role, he initiated a number of notable reforms to include opening up all combat positions to women, open service by transgender service members, and new recruiting and retention practices.

United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together, they comprise the national bicameral legislature of the United States.

Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner

Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner

The Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner is an elected executive officer of the state of Oklahoma. The Insurance Commissioner serves as the head of the Oklahoma Insurance Department. The Oklahoma Insurance Department is charged with executing all laws relating to insurance and insurance companies doing business in the State.

Democratic Party (United States)

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1828, it was predominantly built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled politicians in every state behind war hero Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party. Its main political rival has been the Republican Party since the 1850s, with both parties being big tents of competing and often opposing viewpoints. Modern American liberalism — a variant of social liberalism — is the party's majority ideology. The party also has notable centrist, social democratic, and left-libertarian factions.

Republican primary

Candidates

Campaign

Humphreys, the former Mayor of Oklahoma City, ran for the United States Senate with institutional conservative support, namely from Senators Don Nickles and Jim Inhofe, as well as former Congressman J. C. Watts. However, Coburn received support from the Club for Growth and conservative activists within Oklahoma. Humphreys noted, "[Coburn is] kind of a cult hero in the conservative portion of our party, not just in Oklahoma. You can't get right of the guy."[3] Much of Coburn's celebrity within the Republican Party came from his tenure in Congress, where he battled House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who he argued was moving the party to the center of the political spectrum due to their excessive federal spending.[4] Coburn's maverick nature culminated itself in 2000 when he backed conservative activist Alan Keyes for President rather than George W. Bush or John McCain.

Ultimately, Coburn triumphed over Humphreys, Anthony, and Hunt in the primary, winning every county in Oklahoma except for tiny Harmon County.

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[1]
Margin
of error
Tom
Coburn
Kirk
Humphreys
Bob
Anthony
Jay Richard
Hunt
Linda
Murphy
Undecided/
Other
SurveyUSA July 23–25, 2004 517 (LV) ± 4.4% 54% 25% 13% 8%
SurveyUSA July 16–18, 2004 436 (LV) ± 4.8% 46% 32% 12% 10%
Club for Growth (R) July 11–12, 2004 500 (LV) ± 4.4% 51% 22% 8% 19%
Consumer Logic July 8–12, 2004 291 (RV) ± 5.9% 37% 34% 7% 1% 21%
SurveyUSA June 25–27, 2004 408 (LV) ± 5% 38% 34% 16% 12%
CMA Strategies (R) June 6–8, 2004 400 (LV) ± 5% 34% 36% 10% 20%
Wilson Research Strategies May 20–21, 2004 300 (RV) ± 5.7% 21% 21% 11% 5% 42%
Consumer Logic Mar 26–Apr 5, 2004 ± 5.9% 34% 22% 12% 32%

Results

Republican primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Tom Coburn 145,974 61.23%
Republican Kirk Humphreys 59,877 25.12%
Republican Bob Anthony 29,596 12.41%
Republican Jay Richard Hunt 2,944 1.23%
Total votes 238,391 100.00%

Discover more about Republican primary related topics

Kirk Humphreys

Kirk Humphreys

Kirk Humphreys is an American politician who served as Mayor of Oklahoma City from April 9, 1998, to November 3, 2004. He was considered a favorite candidate of the Republican party establishment for U.S. Senator in 2004, losing to former Congressman Tom Coburn, MD in the primary. Humphreys was appointed to The Oklahoma City Public Schools Board as Chairman, but was later unseated by former state Sen. Angela Monson.

Bob Anthony

Bob Anthony

Robert Anthony is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Anthony is serving his fifth consecutive six-year term on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, where he has served since 1989. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate in 2004, and unsuccessful candidate for United States Congress running against Glenn English in 1990. Anthony is term-limited in 2024.

Oklahoma Corporation Commission

Oklahoma Corporation Commission

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is the public utilities commission of the U.S state of Oklahoma run by three statewide elected commissioners. Authorized to employ more than 400 employees, it regulates oil and gas drilling, utilities and telephone companies.

Don Nickles

Don Nickles

Donald Lee Nickles is an American politician and lobbyist who was a Republican United States Senator from Oklahoma from 1981 to 2005. He was considered both a fiscal and social conservative. After retiring from the Senate as the longest-serving senator from Oklahoma up until that point, he founded the Nickles Group, a lobbying firm.

Jim Inhofe

Jim Inhofe

James Mountain Inhofe is a former American politician who served as a United States senator from Oklahoma from 1994 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he is the longest serving U.S. senator from Oklahoma. He served in various elected offices in the state of Oklahoma for nearly sixty years, between 1966 and 2023.

J. C. Watts

J. C. Watts

Julius Caesar Watts Jr. is an American politician, clergyman, and athlete. Watts was a college football quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners and later played professionally in the Canadian Football League. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003 as a Republican, representing Oklahoma's 4th Congressional District.

Club for Growth

Club for Growth

The Club for Growth is a 501(c)(4) conservative organization active in the United States, with an agenda focused on tax cuts and other economic policy issues.

Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich

Newton Leroy Gingrich is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. representative for Georgia's 6th congressional district serving north Atlanta and nearby areas from 1979 until his resignation in 1999. In 2012, Gingrich unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination for president of the United States.

Alan Keyes

Alan Keyes

Alan Lee Keyes is an American politician, political activist, author, and perennial candidate who served as the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from 1985 to 1987. A member of the Republican Party, Keyes sought the nomination for President of the United States in 1996, 2000, and 2008.

George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American retired politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he previously served as the 46th governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000.

John McCain

John McCain

John Sidney McCain III was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms in the United States House of Representatives and was the Republican nominee for president of the United States in the 2008 election, which he lost to Barack Obama.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New Mexico on the west, and Colorado on the northwest. Partially in the western extreme of the Upland South, it is the 20th-most extensive and the 28th-most populous of the 50 United States. Its residents are known as Oklahomans and its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City.

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Carson and Coburn engaged each other head-on in one of the year's most brutal Senate contests. Coburn and the National Republican Senatorial Committee attacked Carson for being too liberal for Oklahoma and for being a vote in lockstep with John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and Ted Kennedy. To drive the point home, one television advertisement aired by the Coburn campaign accused Carson of being "dangerously liberal" and not supporting the War on Terrorism.[6] Coburn was aided in this effort by the fact that the Kerry campaign did not contest the state of Oklahoma and that incumbent President George W. Bush was expected to win Oklahoma comfortably. This was compounded by the fact that Vice-President Dick Cheney campaigned for Coburn and appeared in several television advertisements for him.[7] Carson countered by emphasizing his Stilwell roots[8] and his moderation, specifically, bringing attention to the fact that he fought for greater governmental oversight of nursing home care for the elderly.[9] Carson responded to the attacks against him by countering that his opponent had committed Medicaid fraud years prior, in an event that reportedly left a woman sterilized without her consent.[10] Ultimately, however, Carson was not able to overcome Oklahoma's conservative nature and Senator Kerry's abysmal performance in Oklahoma, and he was defeated by Coburn by 11.5%. As of 2022, the result remains the closest the Democrats have come to winning a Senate election in Oklahoma since David Boren won a landslide reelection victory in 1990.

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[11] Lean R November 1, 2004

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[1]
Margin
of error
Tom
Coburn (R)
Brad
Carson (D)
Sheila
Bilyeu (I)
Undecided/
Other
SurveyUSA October 28–30, 2004 656 (LV) ± 3.9% 47% 39% 8% 6%
Sooner Poll October 27–28, 2004 498 (LV) ± 4.4% 44.4% 35.1% 4.2% 16.3%
Wilson Research Strategies October 22–24, 2004 500 (LV) ± 4.5% 41% 38% 6% 15%
Sooner Poll October 20–21, 2004 500 (LV) ± 4.4% 38.0% 36.8% 5.8% 19.4%
Rasmussen Reports October 20, 2004 500 (LV) ± 4.5% 48% 43% 9%
SurveyUSA October 18–20, 2004 625 (LV) ± 4% 47% 41% 8% 4%
Global Strategy Group (D) August 18–20, 2004 600 (LV) ± 4% 44% 45% 11%
Consumer Logic October 14–19, 2004 750 (RV) ± 3.6% 40% 47% 13%
Wilson Research Strategies October 15–17, 2004 500 (LV) ± 4.4% 42.2% 39.0% 3.6% 14.4%
Sooner Poll October 14, 2004 300 (LV) ± 5.7% 40.6% 43.3% 2.0% 14.1%
Cole, Hargrave, Snodgrass & Associates (R) October 10–11, 2004 500 (RV) ± 4.3% 46% 41% 3% 10%
Wilson Research Strategies (p. 2) October 8–10, 2004 500 (LV) ± 4.5% 37.8% 40.0% 7.2% 15.0%
Sooner Poll October 7, 2004 330 (LV) ± 5.4% 39.2% 39.8% 21.0%
SurveyUSA October 4–6, 2004 609 (LV) ± 4.1% 46% 44% 5% 5%
Wilson Research Strategies (p. 2) October 1–3, 2004 500 (LV) ± 4.5% 41.2% 42.6% 2.4% 13.8%
Sooner Poll September 28–29, 2004 553 (LV) ± 4.1% 37.2% 44.1% 18.7%
Basswood Research (R) September 27, 2004 ± 4.4% 41.0% 39.6% 2.4% 17.0%
Wilson Research Strategies (p. 2) September 24–26, 2004 500 (LV) ± 4.5% 39.2% 44.2% 3.2% 13.4%
Global Strategy Group (D) September 24, 2004 600 (LV) ± 4% 40% 44% 16%
Sooner Poll September 22, 2004 394 (LV) ± 4.9% 37.0% 39.8% 23.2%
SurveyUSA September 20–22, 2004 610 (LV) ± 4% 45% 45% 6% 4%
Wilson Research Strategies September 17–19, 2004 500 (LV) ± 4.4% 40% 41% 2% 17%
Sooner Poll September 15, 2004 412 (LV) ± 4.8% 35% 42% 23%
Wilson Research Strategies September 10–12, 2004 500 (LV) ± 4.4% 37% 39% 6% 18%
Wilson Research Strategies September 3–5, 2004 500 (LV) ± 4.4% 42% 36% 5% 17%
Westhill Partners September 1–2, 2004 400 (LV) ± 5% 42% 44% 1% 13%
SurveyUSA August 16–18, 2004 586 (LV) ± 4.1% 47% 43% 10%
Wilson Research Strategies August 15–18, 2004 300 (LV) ± 5.6% 46% 37% 2% 15%
Cole, Hargrave, Snodgrass & Associates (R) August 10–12, 2004 500 (RV) ± 4.3% 47% 39% 14%
Global Strategy Group (D) August 8–11, 2004 600 (LV) ± 4% 45% 43% 12%
Basswood Research (R) July 29, 2004 600 (LV) ± 4% 43.5% 31.8% 24.7%
Consumer Logic July 8–12, 2004 825 (RV) ± 3.4% 39% 42% 21%
Wilson Research Strategies June 28–29, 2004 500 (LV) ± 4.4% 37% 35% 1% 27%
Wilson Research Strategies May 20–21, 2004 500 (RV) ± 4.4% 41% 39% 20%
Consumer Logic Mar 26–Apr 5, 2004 825 (RV) ± 3.4% 35% 37% 28%
Hypothetical polling
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[1]
Margin
of error
Kirk
Humphreys (R)
Brad
Carson (D)
Sheila
Bilyeu (I)
Undecided/
Other
Consumer Logic July 8–12, 2004 825 (RV) ± 3.4% 38% 47% 15%
Wilson Research Strategies June 28–29, 2004 500 (LV) ± 4.4% 34% 41% 2% 23%
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[1]
Margin
of error
Bob
Anthony (R)
Brad
Carson (D)
Sheila
Bilyeu (I)
Undecided/
Other
Wilson Research Strategies June 28–29, 2004 500 (LV) ± 4.4% 34% 39% 2% 25%

Results

2004 United States Senate election in Oklahoma[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Tom Coburn 763,433 52.77% −13.62%
Democratic Brad Carson 596,750 41.24% +9.97%
Independent Sheila Bilyeu 86,663 5.99%
Majority 166,683 11.52% −23.58%
Turnout 1,446,846
Republican hold Swing

Discover more about General election related topics

Brad Carson

Brad Carson

Brad Rogers Carson is an American lawyer and politician from the state of Oklahoma who served as the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness from 2015 to 2016. In that role, he initiated a number of notable reforms to include opening up all combat positions to women, open service by transgender service members, and new recruiting and retention practices.

Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district

Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district

Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district is one of five United States congressional districts in Oklahoma and covers approximately one-fourth of the state in the east. The district borders Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas and includes a total of 24 counties.

Tom Coburn

Tom Coburn

Thomas Allen Coburn was an American politician and physician who served as a United States senator for Oklahoma from 2005, until his resignation in 2015. A Republican, he previously served as a United States representative.

National Republican Senatorial Committee

National Republican Senatorial Committee

The National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC) is the Republican Hill committee for the United States Senate, working to elect Republicans to that body. The NRSC was founded in 1916 as the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. It was reorganized in 1948 and renamed the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

John Kerry

John Kerry

John Forbes Kerry is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 under Barack Obama and as a United States senator from Massachusetts from 1985 to 2013. He was the Democratic nominee for president of the United States in the 2004 election, losing to incumbent President George W. Bush.

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 67th United States secretary of state under president Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senator representing New York from 2001 to 2009, and as the first lady of the United States as the wife of President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the party's nominee for president in the 2016 presidential election, becoming the first woman to win a presidential nomination by a major U.S. political party; Clinton won the popular vote, but lost the Electoral College vote, thereby losing the election to Donald Trump.

Ted Kennedy

Ted Kennedy

Edward Moore Kennedy was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and the prominent political Kennedy family, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died. He is ranked fifth in United States history for length of continuous service as a senator. Kennedy was the younger brother of President John F. Kennedy and U.S. attorney general and U.S. senator Robert F. Kennedy. He was the father of Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy.

George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American retired politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he previously served as the 46th governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000.

Dick Cheney

Dick Cheney

Richard Bruce Cheney is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U.S. vice president, following the death of Walter Mondale in 2021.

Stilwell, Oklahoma

Stilwell, Oklahoma

Stilwell is a city and county seat of Adair County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,700 as of the 2020 U.S. census, a decline of 6.7 percent from the 3,949 population recorded in 2010. The Oklahoma governor and legislature proclaimed Stilwell as the "Strawberry Capital of the World” in 1949, but the role of strawberries in the local economy has diminished significantly since then. Today, residents of Stilwell are among the poorest and most impoverished in the United States. Stilwell also serves as a gateway to Lake Tenkiller and Adair Park, formerly called Adair State Park before it was defunded.

Medicaid

Medicaid

In the United States, Medicaid is a program that provides health insurance for some people with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by state governments, which also have wide latitude in determining eligibility and benefits, but the federal government sets baseline standards for state Medicaid programs and provides a significant portion of their funding.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New Mexico on the west, and Colorado on the northwest. Partially in the western extreme of the Upland South, it is the 20th-most extensive and the 28th-most populous of the 50 United States. Its residents are known as Oklahomans and its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City.

Source: "2004 United States Senate election in Oklahoma", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 1st), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_United_States_Senate_election_in_Oklahoma.

Enjoying Wikiz?

Enjoying Wikiz?

Get our FREE extension now!

Notes
References
  1. ^ a b c d e Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  2. ^ a b "Oklahoma State Election Board - Primary Election 2004". Archived from the original on 2010-08-30. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  3. ^ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (19 September 2004). "A Senate Race in Oklahoma Lifts the Right". The New York Times.
  4. ^ "Tom Coburn–The real maverick in the Senate | Political Realities". Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
  5. ^ Krehbiel, Randy "Former Oklahoma City TV journalist Abby Broyles files to take on Sen. Jim Inhofe" Tulsa World Apr. 9, 2020 Accessed Oct. 11, 2021.
  6. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Tom Coburn 2004 U.S. Senate "Dangerously Liberal"". YouTube.
  7. ^ http://www3.nationaljournal.com/members/adspotlight/2004/10/1007oksen1.htm
  8. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Brad Carson U.S. Senate 2004 "Stilwell"". YouTube.
  9. ^ "Carson's First Stand Should Feds Examine Nursing Homes? | News OK". newsok.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Okla. Senate Candidate Is Accused of Fraud (washingtonpost.com)". The Washington Post.
  11. ^ "The Final Predictions". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  12. ^ Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 2004" (PDF).

The content of this page is based on the Wikipedia article written by contributors..
The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence & the media files are available under their respective licenses; additional terms may apply.
By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use & Privacy Policy.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization & is not affiliated to WikiZ.com.