The 2004 United States Senate election in Arizona 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 Republican U.S. Senator John McCain won re-election to a fourth term with his largest victory as a U.S. senator."Election 2004: U.S. Senate – Arizona – Exit Poll", CNN. Retrieved December 23, 2007. As of , this was the last time the counties of Apache and Santa Cruz voted for the Republican candidate.

General election Candidates Ernest Hancock (Libertarian) John McCain, incumbent U.S. Senator (Republican) Stuart Starky, teacher (Democratic)

Campaign Since 1998, McCain had an eventful third term. He challenged Texas Governor George W. Bush in the Presidential primary and despite winning the New Hampshire primary, he lost the nomination. Solidifying his image as a maverick, he voted against the Bush tax cuts. He supported limits on stem cell research. He had a lopsided favorable ratings of 39% to 9% unfavorable in the most recent The New York Times/CBS News poll.

Stuart Starky, an eighth-grade teacher in South Phoenix, was widely known as a long-shot challenger. Starky stated that "I truly believe he's going to run for president again." Starky was called by The Arizona Republic a "sacrificial lamb" put on the ballot because there were no chances to beat McCain. During his campaign, he debated McCain twice, once in Tucson and once in Flagstaff. He was also featured on the cover of Teacher Magazine, dubbed the "Unsinkable Stu Starky." Starky was defeated in a landslide. Despite the relatively low percentage, he gained the highest vote per dollar amount in the country, spending only about $15,000 for his campaign (Starky's campaign may have been aided by John Kerry running for president). Complete video of debate, October 15, 2004

Predictions Source Ranking As of Sabato's Crystal Ball November 1, 2004

Results

By county County Starky # Starky % Hancock # Hancock % McCain # McCain % Total Apache 9,588 41.0% 905 3.9% 12,923 55.2% 23,416 Cochise 9,555 21.8% 1,394 3.2% 32,879 75.0% 43,828 Coconino 13,520 26.6% 1,504 3.0% 35,849 70.5% 50,873 Gila 4,291 21.0% 632 3.1% 15,551 76.0% 20,474 Graham 2,000 19.1% 322 3.1% 8,171 77.9% 10,493 Greenlee 746 25.0% 68 2.3% 2,166 72.7% 2,980 La Paz 965 19.5% 156 3.2% 3,826 77.3% 4,947 Maricopa 216,124 18.6% 29,769 2.6% 917,527 78.7% 1,163,420 Mohave 10,423 18.4% 1,686 3.0% 44,402 78.6% 56,511 Navajo 7,434 23.4% 1,222 3.9% 23,091 72.7% 31,747 Pima 89,483 25.2% 7,980 2.2% 258,010 72.6% 355,473 Pinal 13,595 21.5% 1,692 2.7% 48,094 75.9% 63,381 Santa Cruz 3,583 31.6% 252 2.2% 7,502 66.2% 11,337 Yavapai 14,852 17.4% 3,160 3.7% 67,312 78.9% 85,324 Yuma 8,348 22.3% 1,056 2.8% 28,069 74.9% 37,473 Arizona 404,507 20.6% 51,798 2.6% 1,505,372 76.7% 1,961,677

See also 2004 United States Senate elections

References

External links Campaign website links (archived) John McCain (R) for Senate Stu Starky (D) for Senate