Marilyn Musgrave

In 2002, after Congressman Bob Schaffer retired, Musgrave ran for and won the Republican nomination to succeed him. Her opponent was businessman Jeff Bedingfield.[8] She received a big boost in the primary when she gained the endorsements of Schaffer and former Senator William Armstrong.

In November 2002 Musgrave defeated Democratic State Senate President Stan Matsunaka 55% to 42%. She had been favored most of the way due to her large campaign war chest and the district's traditional Republican lean (it had been in Republican hands since 1973).

In 2004, Musgrave faced Matsunaka again. Matsunaka attacked Musgrave as a "one-trick pony," referring to her focus on outlawing same-sex marriage (see below). He also claimed that Musgrave neglected the 4th's needs and provided poor constituent services.

In the end, Musgrave held her seat by taking 51% of the vote to Matsunaka's 45%. Musgrave won most of the counties in this large and mostly rural district by margins of 2-to-1 or more. However, 85% of the district's vote is cast in two counties which account for only a third of its land—Larimer (home to Fort Collins) and Weld (home to Greeley). Musgrave lost Larimer County by 4,100 votes. She also lost the district's share of Boulder County, including Longmont. She was only able to hold onto her seat by winning Weld County by 15 points (almost 10,000 votes)—far larger than the overall margin of victory. She was also undoubtedly helped by George W. Bush's 58% win in the district.

While Matsunaka only entered the race in May and raised around $800,000, Musgrave was heavily targeted by a 527 group funded by Colorado activists such as Tim Gill. The ads featured an actress dressed up like Musgrave picking a corpse's pocket and stealing from a soldier in combat.

In 2006, Musgrave faced Democratic state representative Angie Paccione. Also running was Reform Party candidate Eric Eidsness, who had previously considered a Republican Party primary challenge to Musgrave but later decided to become a Democrat.

The election was even tighter than the last. Musgrave won a third term by only 5,984 votes, taking 45.61% of the vote to Paccione's 43.12% and Eidsness' 11.28%.[9] She lost Larimer County by an even larger margin than in 2004. However, Musgrave won Weld County by just under 6,700 votes/[9]

Musgrave ran for a fourth term in the 2008 election, held on November 4, 2008. Her opponent was Betsy Markey, the regional director for Senator Ken Salazar in the 4th.

Musgrave was soundly defeated, taking only 44 percent of the vote to Markey's 56 percent—the second-largest margin of defeat for a Republican incumbent in the 2008 cycle, after Florida's Tom Feeney. In a repeat of 2004 and 2006, she easily won most of the rural counties in her district while losing badly in Larimer County—this time by 32,300 votes. She lost Weld County by 5,700 votes after having carried it in her previous bids, sealing her defeat.[10]

After her defeat, Musgrave would not comment on the election results with the media, nor would she concede the race or contact Markey to congratulate her.[11] She later recorded a robocall for Republican Georgia senator Saxby Chambliss, saying that she was defeated by "leftist special interests" who "smothered the truth with vicious attacks and lies."[11]

Musgrave sponsored of the unsuccessful Federal Marriage Amendment in the 108th and 109th Congresses, originally drafted by the Alliance for Marriage. This proposed constitutional amendment would define marriage as "the union of a man and a woman" and bar any recognition of same-sex marriage or "legal incidents thereof" in the United States.

In a September 2006 speech to the Family Research Council's "Values Voters Summit", Musgrave said, "as we face the issues that we are facing today, I don't think there's anything more important out there than the marriage issue."[16] Musgrave later distanced herself from these claims during the 2006 election.[17]

Musgrave (left) receives an anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony Award from Jane Abraham.

Musgrave is anti-abortion, staunchly opposing elective abortion. At the national level, she has supported the Partial Birth Abortion Ban and the Child Custody Protection Act. Musgrave is an original cosponsor of the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act. She received the support of the Susan B. Anthony List as a candidate and now works for the organization.[5]

Musgrave opposes public funding for embryonic stem cell research on abortion-related grounds,[18] and was a vocal proponent of the 2005 congressional intervention into the Terri Schiavo case:[19]

When we talk about a permanent vegetative state, I am offended by that. Terri smiles and acknowledges the people that love her when they come to see her. She cries when they leave. How heartless are we to call somebody like Terri Schiavo a vegetable? What are we thinking?
When we think about this case, we need to think about the message that we are sending to our children and our grandchildren. What we do in this Chamber tonight is as important as anything we have done in defending our Nation, in doing the things that we do as Members of Congress.

Musgrave weighed in on the Emergency Contraception controversy. On July 25, 2005, Musgrave criticized a witness at a congressional subcommittee hearing who had claimed she was "humiliated and discriminated against" at a pharmacist's refusal to fill a prescription for emergency contraception, claiming that it was only an issue of "inconvenience" to be denied emergency contraception.[20] In 2003, a Musgrave submitted an amendment to the Runaway, Homeless, and Missing Children Protection Act, which would have prevented distribution of contraception to runaway teen. The amendment was not part of the final legislation[21]

Musgrave strongly opposes gun control and successfully passed an amendment prohibiting the enforcement of a federal requirement to sell trigger locks with all handguns.[16] She is the founder of the 2nd Amendment Caucus and is working to protect gun manufacturers and dealers from certain types of lawsuits.

Musgrave is a close ally of the Gun Owners of America (GOA). Another close ally of Musgrave's from her state legislative days is Dudley Brown, who directs the Colorado wing of the GOA, the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners.[22] On September 25, 2004, Musgrave was a special guest speaker at the 19th annual Gun Rights Policy Conference awards luncheon, where she was named "Gun Rights Legislator of the Year."[23]

Musgrave advocates changing the laws to lend more support to families who home-school their children. According to her website, she believes that government intrudes too much on family affairs.[24] Musgrave home schooled one of her children, as well.

Musgrave is closely linked to the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). Also, members of Generation Joshua, an HSLDA branch that tries to involve youth in politics, were sent to Musgrave's district in the final hours of the 2006 campaign.

Musgrave is one of the staunchest proponents of national Right to Work legislation,[25] and was a cosponsor of The National Right to Work Act.[26] Musgrave was heavily targeted by labor unions in the 2006 election. National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation president Mark Mix held a fundraiser for Musgrave at New York's Harvard Club in 2006. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Musgrave helped lead the effort to urge President Bush to suspend "Davis-Bacon" prevailing wage protection in the Gulf Coast region. (Bush was quickly forced to rescind this suspension.)

Musgrave is a strong supporter of income tax cuts, and supports making the 2001 federal tax cuts permanent.[27] She also supports the elimination of the Estate tax[28] and has voted to reduce tariffs on imported goods.[29]

In June 2006, Musgrave sponsored a resolution in Congress to declare 2007 as "National Year of the Bible".[30] The resolution text requested that President Bush issue a proclamation calling on all citizens to "rediscover and apply the priceless and timeless message of the Bible" and encourage them to join the U.S. Federal government in celebrating the year with Bible "programs, ceremonies, and activities." The resolution died in committee.

In June 2005, Musgrave cited Coral Ridge Ministries founder D. James Kennedy, a minister, evangelist and Christian social conservative leader, as one of her inspirations to enter politics:[14]

When I first started listening to D. James Kennedy on Truths That Transform," she said, "I was so encouraged that there was a minister of the Gospel that said what was right and what was wrong, and what our responsibility was as Christians in this great nation. Those kind of things just grew in me through the years, and then, here I am [today] voting on moral issues. I just want to say to the Christian Statesman staff, Dr. Kennedy is a hero for me.

In the 2002 Republican primary debate with opponent Jeff Beddingfield in Greeley, Colorado, Musgrave stated that the First Amendment does not offer "freedom from religion." In a 2003 interview with Today's Pentecostal Evangel, Musgrave explained how her religious beliefs play a key function in her public position:[31]

The problems in our culture are just symptoms of spiritual problems in our nation. We must return to God and biblical principles for answers. There are limitations to what we can do, but I'm so thankful I have a voice and a vote.

In March 2007, Musgrave joined the Congressional Prayer Caucus, which is chaired by J. Randy Forbes. Forbes states the organization's purpose is to "build a spiritual wall around America."[32]

In May 2007, Musgrave participated in a "Bible Reading Marathon" event on the West Front of the US Capitol.[33]

Musgrave is a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online poker. In 2006, she cosponsored H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.[34] In June 2008, Musgrave voted with the House Democrats and a minority of Republicans to save energy though the use of public transportation.[35]