DENVER, April 7 (UPI) -- Gov. Bill Owens said Wednesday brewery executive Peter Coors will be a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Colorado.
Coors candidacy would give the GOP a high-profile candidate in the race for the seat of retiring Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., the Rocky Mountain News reported.
Coors, a fourth-generation member of the Colorado brewing family, would face former Rep. Bob Schaffer and Colorado Springs lawyer Dan O'Bryant in the Republican primary. Owens announced earlier he would not be a candidate.
Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar is the leading candidate for the Democratic Senate nomination.
Coors is the great-grandson of Adolph Coors, who founded the Golden brewery in 1873. He has been chairman of Coors Brewing Co. and chairman of Adolph Coors Co. since 2002.
