During the lead up to the 2004 presidential election, O'Reilly said that the Democratic Party has been taken over by the "far-left" in a conversation with former Democratic Congressman Brad Carson. Shortly following the election, O'Reilly ridiculed a message in which Democratic challenger John Kerry thanked his supporters for their support as well as opposing "the attacks from big news organizations such as Fox, Sinclair Broadcasting, and conservative talk radio." O'Reilly shot back, calling Kerry a "sissy" six times. Kerry himself stated publicly in a 2006 interview that he always felt he'd have a "fair shot" at conveying his views on "The O'Reilly Factor" and regrets not doing an interview prior to the election.