Peter Hanson Coors (September 20, 1946 - ) is a U.S. businessman and Republican politician from the state of Colorado.
Born in Golden, Colorado, Coors graduated from Cornell University with a degree in engineering, and received his MBA from the University of Denver in 1970. He has worked since then in various positions at his family's Coors Brewing Company. In 1993 Coors became vice chairman and CEO of the company, and in 2002 he was named Chairman of Coors Brewing Company and Adolph Coors Company. Coors is married and has six children. He is the great-grandson of Adolph Coors , the brewing entrepreneur.
Senate run
In 2004, U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell declared that he was retiring; Coors jumped into the race. His opponent in the primary election was Bob Schaffer ; both men were considered conservative. Despite this, the two got into an ideological battle, as Schaffer attacked Coors because his company had provided benefits to the partners of its gay and lesbian employees, in addition to promoting its beer in gay bars. Coors defended himself by saying that he was opposed to same-sex marriage, and supported a constitutional amendment to ban it. He defeated Schaffer with 61% of the vote in the primary, with many analysts citing his high name recognition in the state as a primary factor. Coors faced Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar in the November 2004 election, but Coors was defeated by a margin of 50% to 47%.
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