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%

County results Precinct results 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

Elections in Georgia
Federal government Presidential elections 1788–89 1792 1796 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Presidential primaries Democratic 2000 2004 2008 2016 2020 2024 Republican 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 U.S. Senate elections 1789 1792 1793 1794 1795 1798 1799 1800 1804 1806 1813 1816 1818 1819 1823 1824 1825 1828 1834 1837 1840 1843 1846 1847 1852 1858 1867 1871 1873 1877 1879 1883 1885 1888 1891 1894 1896 1900 1902 1909 1913 1914 1918 1920 1924 1926 1930 1932 1936 1938 1942 1944 1948 1950 1954 1956 1960 1962 1966 1968 1972 1974 1978 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 2020 2022 2026 2028 U.S. House elections 1789 1791 1792 1794 1796 1798 1800 1802 1804 1806 1808 1810 1812 1814 1816 1818 1820 1822 1824 1826 1828 1830 1832 1834 1836 1838 1840 1842 1844 1846 1848 1851 1853 1855 1857 1859 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 6 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 4 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 Special elections Senate 1796 1806 1807 1809 1813 1816 1818 1819 1821 1824 1828 1829 1833 1835 1837 1845 1880 1882 1894 1907 1911 1914 1922 1932 1972 2000 2020 House At-large 1801 1802 1803 1806 1812 1813 1816 1819 1824 1829 1831 1835 1836 1837 1841 1843 1844 1st 1792 1827 1879 1906 1931 2nd 1827 1910 1913 1953 3rd 1846 1896 1932 4th 1871 1872 1918 1939 5th 1870 1929 1946 1977 2020 6th 1870 1932 1999 2017 7th 1958 1983 8th 1873 1882 1917 1940 9th 1875 1877 2010 10th 1895 1933 2007
State government State elections 2000 2006 2008 2010 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 Gubernatorial elections 1825 1827 1829 1831 1833 1835 1837 1839 1841 1843 1845 1847 1849 1851 1853 1855 1868 1871 (sp) 1872 1876 1880 1882 1883 (sp) 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1946 1948 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 Lieutenant gubernatorial elections 1990 1994 1998 2002 2018 2022 Secretary of State elections 2018 2022 Attorney General elections 2022 State Senate elections 2010 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 House of Representatives elections 2010 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 Special elections Governor 1871 1883 1948
Ballot measures 2004 Flag referendum Amendment 1 2020 Amendment 1 Amendment 2 Tax referendum
Atlanta City elections 2009 Mayoral elections 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021
Savannah Mayoral elections 2015 2019 2023
Mableton Mayoral elections 2023
v t e

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, 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

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.

Nominee:

• Denise Majette, U.S. Representative from Decatur

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 ^[2]

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 ^[3]
• Mac Collins, U.S. Representative from Butts County

Declined to run

• Ralph Reed, chair of the Georgia Republican Party ^[4]

Campaign

Positioning himself as a political outsider, businessman Herman Cain spent nearly $1 million of his own money on his Senate campaign. ^[5] 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. ^[6]

Results

Republican Primary Election ^[7]

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 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 [8]	Safe R (flip)	November 1, 2004

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	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 ^[9]

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

See also

• 2004 United States Senate elections

Notes

References