United States Senate election in Florida, 2004
Encyclopedia
The 2004 United States Senate election in Florida 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 Bob Graham
decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. The primary elections were held on August 31, 2004. Republican Mel Martinez
won the open seat.
.
and Bob Graham
, and subsequently posted much higher fundraising numbers over the summer. Online grassroots techniques devised for the Dean campaign (Castor became a Dean Dozen
candidate in August) were one contributing factor: another was the support of EMILY's List
, which named Castor as its highest-rated candidate for the 2004 election cycle, even when her support for banning intact dilation and extraction (D&X) abortions was not in line with the EMILY's List support for woman's issues. The latter was a source of criticism during the August primary heat - a complaint was filed by a Deutsch supporter with the Federal Election Commission accusing inappropriate coordination with EMILY's List. The complaint was dismissed by the Federal Election Commission in 2005.
Castor's handling of Sami Al-Arian
became another source of criticism during the campaign. In June, The American Democracy Project, a 527 group
founded by Bernie Friedman
, began attacking Castor's handling of the incident, alleging that she had sufficient evidence to fire Al-Arian in the mid-1990s. Castor responded by stating that she never had sufficient evidence to fire Al-Arian, who was a tenured professor
at the time. On June 29, Senator Graham, who had previously remained outside of the Al-Arian controversy, released a statement that "Betty Castor acted appropriately as President of the University of South Florida to deal with Sami Al-Arian": later, Graham and Senator Bill Nelson brokered an agreement between the Democratic candidates to refrain from negative campaigning against each other, although this agreement appeared to break down in the final weeks of the race, when Deutsch launched attack ads on television.
Despite these controversies, Castor won the Democratic nomination on August 31. She was defeated, however, by Republican candidate Mel Martinez
in a close race on November 2, 2004. The overwhelming support for Martinez among Latinos effectively counterbalanced Castor's relatively high popularity among swing voters throughout the state.
There was some speculation that Castor would run for Governor of Florida in 2006 to replace Jeb Bush
, who was ineligible for re-election due to term limits, but she announced in 2005 that she would not be a candidate.
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
U.S. Senator Bob Graham
Bob Graham
Daniel Robert "Bob" Graham is an American politician. He was the 38th Governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senator from that state from 1987 to 2005...
decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. The primary elections were held on August 31, 2004. Republican Mel Martinez
Mel Martinez
Melquíades Rafael Martínez Ruiz, usually known as Mel Martinez , is a former United States Senator from Florida and served as Chairman of the Republican Party from November 2006 until October 19, 2007, the first Latino to serve as chairman of a major party...
won the open seat.
Candidates
- Betty CastorBetty CastorBetty Castor , neeElizabeth Bowe, is an American educator and former politician and elected officeholder. Castor was elected to the Florida Senate and the Florida Education Commissioner, and she later served as the President of the University of South Florida, and President of the National Board...
, former President of the University of South FloridaUniversity of South FloridaThe University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, one of the state's three flagship universities for public research, and is located in Tampa, Florida, USA...
, former Education Commissioner of Florida, and former State Senator - Peter DeutschPeter DeutschPeter R. Deutsch is an American politician from the U.S. state of Florida. Deutsch was a Democratic Representative from Florida's 20th congressional district from 1993 until 2005.- Background :...
, U.S. Congressman - Bernard KleinBernard KleinBernard Klein is an American businessman from Hollywood, Florida.He unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination in the United States Senate primary in 2004, although his fundraising and polling numbers lagged far behind rivals Betty Castor, Peter Deutsch and Alex Penelas in the primary Bernard...
, businessman - Alex PenelasAlex PenelasAlexander "Alex" Penelas is the former mayor of Miami-Dade County, Florida.-Schooling and personal life:Penelas, an American of Cuban descent, attended college at St. Thomas University...
, Mayor of Miami-Dade County
Results
Republican primary
Martinez was supported by the Bush AdministrationGeorge W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
.
Candidates
- Johnnie ByrdJohnnie ByrdJohnnie B. Byrd, Jr. served a member of the Florida House of Representatives from District 62 representing Eastern Hillsborough County from 1996 through 2004. He was speaker of the House from 2002-2004. In 2004, Byrd made an unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by retiring Senator Bob...
, State Representative - Doug Gallagher, businessman
- Larry KlaymanLarry KlaymanLarry Elliot Klayman is an American attorney and activist. He is known as the founder and former Chairman of Judicial Watch, a public interest and non-profit law firm, which attained notoriety through the initiation of 18 civil lawsuits against the Clinton Administration, and later an unsuccessful...
, attorney - William Kogut
- Sonya March
- Mel MartinezMel MartinezMelquíades Rafael Martínez Ruiz, usually known as Mel Martinez , is a former United States Senator from Florida and served as Chairman of the Republican Party from November 2006 until October 19, 2007, the first Latino to serve as chairman of a major party...
, former Secretary of Housing and Urban DevelopmentUnited States Secretary of Housing and Urban DevelopmentThe United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the President's Cabinet, and thirteenth in the Presidential line of succession. The post was created with the formation of the Department of Housing... - Bill McCollumBill McCollumIra William "Bill" McCollum, Jr. is a former Florida Attorney General. A Republican, he was Florida's 36th attorney general, taking office in 2007...
, former U.S. Congressman - Karen Saull
Results
Candidates
- Dennis Bradley (V), activist
- Betty CastorBetty CastorBetty Castor , neeElizabeth Bowe, is an American educator and former politician and elected officeholder. Castor was elected to the Florida Senate and the Florida Education Commissioner, and she later served as the President of the University of South Florida, and President of the National Board...
(D), former State Senator - Mel MartinezMel MartinezMelquíades Rafael Martínez Ruiz, usually known as Mel Martinez , is a former United States Senator from Florida and served as Chairman of the Republican Party from November 2006 until October 19, 2007, the first Latino to serve as chairman of a major party...
(R), Secretary of Housing and Urban DevelopmentUnited States Secretary of Housing and Urban DevelopmentThe United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the President's Cabinet, and thirteenth in the Presidential line of succession. The post was created with the formation of the Department of Housing...
Campaign
Until the spring of 2004, Castor's fundraising was much slower than her Democratic and Republican rivals. In the spring, the campaign hired fundraising staff from the defunct presidential campaigns of Howard DeanHoward Dean
Howard Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from Vermont. He served six terms as the 79th Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Although his U.S...
and Bob Graham
Bob Graham
Daniel Robert "Bob" Graham is an American politician. He was the 38th Governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senator from that state from 1987 to 2005...
, and subsequently posted much higher fundraising numbers over the summer. Online grassroots techniques devised for the Dean campaign (Castor became a Dean Dozen
Dean Dozen
The "Dean Dozen" in American politics, was the collective term for six groups of 12 candidates endorsed by Democracy for America, the political action committee led by former Vermont governor and presidential candidate Howard Dean, in the 2004 elections....
candidate in August) were one contributing factor: another was the support of EMILY's List
EMILY's List
EMILY's List is a political action committee in the United States that aims to help elect female candidates to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1984....
, which named Castor as its highest-rated candidate for the 2004 election cycle, even when her support for banning intact dilation and extraction (D&X) abortions was not in line with the EMILY's List support for woman's issues. The latter was a source of criticism during the August primary heat - a complaint was filed by a Deutsch supporter with the Federal Election Commission accusing inappropriate coordination with EMILY's List. The complaint was dismissed by the Federal Election Commission in 2005.
Castor's handling of Sami Al-Arian
Sami Al-Arian
Dr. Sami Amin Al-Arian , is a former resident of Temple Terrace, Florida, now living in Northern Virginia, who is a Muslim activist, and former University of South Florida professor of computer engineering...
became another source of criticism during the campaign. In June, The American Democracy Project, a 527 group
527 group
A 527 organization or 527 group is a type of American tax-exempt organization named after "Section 527" of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code...
founded by Bernie Friedman
Bernie Friedman
Bernie Friedman is an attorney in Hollywood, Florida, and a major political figure in South Florida, often called the "sixth commissioner" of Hollywood. Formerly president of the College Democrats of America, he worked for Rep...
, began attacking Castor's handling of the incident, alleging that she had sufficient evidence to fire Al-Arian in the mid-1990s. Castor responded by stating that she never had sufficient evidence to fire Al-Arian, who was a tenured professor
Tenure
Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...
at the time. On June 29, Senator Graham, who had previously remained outside of the Al-Arian controversy, released a statement that "Betty Castor acted appropriately as President of the University of South Florida to deal with Sami Al-Arian": later, Graham and Senator Bill Nelson brokered an agreement between the Democratic candidates to refrain from negative campaigning against each other, although this agreement appeared to break down in the final weeks of the race, when Deutsch launched attack ads on television.
Despite these controversies, Castor won the Democratic nomination on August 31. She was defeated, however, by Republican candidate Mel Martinez
Mel Martinez
Melquíades Rafael Martínez Ruiz, usually known as Mel Martinez , is a former United States Senator from Florida and served as Chairman of the Republican Party from November 2006 until October 19, 2007, the first Latino to serve as chairman of a major party...
in a close race on November 2, 2004. The overwhelming support for Martinez among Latinos effectively counterbalanced Castor's relatively high popularity among swing voters throughout the state.
There was some speculation that Castor would run for Governor of Florida in 2006 to replace Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush
John Ellis "Jeb" Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is a prominent member of the Bush family: the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush; the younger brother of former President George W...
, who was ineligible for re-election due to term limits, but she announced in 2005 that she would not be a candidate.
Polling
| Poll Source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of Error |
Mel Martinez (R) |
Betty Castor (D) |
Unde- cided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zogby International Zogby International IBOPE Zogby International is an international market research, opinion polling firm founded in 1984 by John Zogby. The company polls and consults for a wide spectrum of business media, government, and political groups, and conducts public opinion research in more than 70 countries... |
October 31 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 46% | 46% | 7% |
| Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in Hamden, Connecticut, United States at the foot of Sleeping Giant State Park... |
October 31 | 1098 | ± 3.0% | 49% | 44% | 6% |
| CNN CNN Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States... /USA Today USA Today USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003... /Gallup Gallup Gallup can refer to:*Gallup, New Mexico*Gallup, South Dakota *George Gallup, American pollster*Elizabeth Wells Gallup, American educator and scholar... |
October 28 | 1138 | ± 4.0% | 46% | 48% | 5% |
| Mason Dixon | October 26 | 625 | ± 4.0% | 47% | 46% | 6% |
| New York Times | October 23 | 802 | ± 3.0% | 44% | 47% | 10% |
| Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in Hamden, Connecticut, United States at the foot of Sleeping Giant State Park... |
October 22 | 944 | ± 3.2% | 49% | 46% | 5% |
| Insider Advantage | October 22 | 400 | ± 5.0% | 46% | 44% | 4% |
| Survey USA | October 22 | 741 | ± 3.7% | 47% | 50% | 12% |
| Miami Herald | October 19 | 800 | ± 3.5% | 44% | 44% | - |
| Research 2000 | October 18 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 48% | 48% | 4% |
| Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in Hamden, Connecticut, United States at the foot of Sleeping Giant State Park... |
October 15 | 808 | ± 3.5% | 47% | 47% | 5% |
| Survey USA | October 15 | 596 | ± 4.1% | 49% | 47% | 1% |
| Mason-Dixon | October 14 | 625 | ± 4.0% | 45% | 45% | 9% |
| UNF | October 10 | 641 | ± 4.0% | 35% | 38% | 12% |
| Mason-Dixon | October 4 | 625 | ± 4.0% | 46% | 41% | 12% |
| Mason-Dixon | October 4 | 625 | ± 4.0% | 46% | 41% | 12% |
| Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in Hamden, Connecticut, United States at the foot of Sleeping Giant State Park... |
October 1 | 706 | ± 3.8% | 48% | 47% | 5% |
| Survey USA | October 1 | 706 | ± 3.8% | 50% | 46% | 1% |
| Gallup Gallup Gallup can refer to:*Gallup, New Mexico*Gallup, South Dakota *George Gallup, American pollster*Elizabeth Wells Gallup, American educator and scholar... |
Sept. 18 | 674 | ± 4.0% | 45% | 51% | 4% |
| Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in Hamden, Connecticut, United States at the foot of Sleeping Giant State Park... |
Sept. 18 | 819 | ± 3.4% | 42% | 43% | 13% |
| Survey USA | Sept. 12 | 602 | ± 4.1% | 45% | 49% | 1% |
| Rasmussen Reports Rasmussen Reports Rasmussen Reports is an American media company that publishes and distributes information based on public opinion polling. Founded by pollster Scott Rasmussen in 2003, the company updates daily indexes including the President's job approval rating, and provides public opinion data, analysis, and... |
August 24 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 44% | 44% | - |