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2004 United States presidential election

The 2004 United States presidential election was the 55th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. The Republican ticket of incumbent President George W. Bush and his running mate incumbent Vice President Dick Cheney were elected to a second term, defeating the Democratic ticket of John Kerry, a United States senator from Massachusetts and his running mate John Edwards, a United States senator from North Carolina.

2004 United States presidential election

← 2000 November 2, 2004 2008 →

538 members of the Electoral College
270 electoral votes needed to win
Turnout60.1%[1] 5.9 pp
 
Nominee George W. Bush John Kerry
Party Republican Democratic
Home state Texas Massachusetts
Running mate Dick Cheney John Edwards
Electoral vote 286 251[a]
States carried 31 19 + DC
Popular vote 62,040,610 59,028,444
Percentage 50.7% 48.3%

2004 United States presidential election in California2004 United States presidential election in Oregon2004 United States presidential election in Washington (state)2004 United States presidential election in Idaho2004 United States presidential election in Nevada2004 United States presidential election in Utah2004 United States presidential election in Arizona2004 United States presidential election in Montana2004 United States presidential election in Wyoming2004 United States presidential election in Colorado2004 United States presidential election in New Mexico2004 United States presidential election in North Dakota2004 United States presidential election in South Dakota2004 United States presidential election in Nebraska2004 United States presidential election in Kansas2004 United States presidential election in Oklahoma2004 United States presidential election in Texas2004 United States presidential election in Minnesota2004 United States presidential election in Iowa2004 United States presidential election in Missouri2004 United States presidential election in Arkansas2004 United States presidential election in Louisiana2004 United States presidential election in Wisconsin2004 United States presidential election in Illinois2004 United States presidential election in Michigan2004 United States presidential election in Indiana2004 United States presidential election in Ohio2004 United States presidential election in Kentucky2004 United States presidential election in Tennessee2004 United States presidential election in Mississippi2004 United States presidential election in Alabama2004 United States presidential election in Georgia2004 United States presidential election in Florida2004 United States presidential election in South Carolina2004 United States presidential election in North Carolina2004 United States presidential election in Virginia2004 United States presidential election in West Virginia2004 United States presidential election in the District of Columbia2004 United States presidential election in Maryland2004 United States presidential election in Delaware2004 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania2004 United States presidential election in New Jersey2004 United States presidential election in New York2004 United States presidential election in Connecticut2004 United States presidential election in Rhode Island2004 United States presidential election in Vermont2004 United States presidential election in New Hampshire2004 United States presidential election in Maine2004 United States presidential election in Massachusetts2004 United States presidential election in Hawaii2004 United States presidential election in Alaska2004 United States presidential election in the District of Columbia2004 United States presidential election in Maryland2004 United States presidential election in Delaware2004 United States presidential election in New Jersey2004 United States presidential election in Connecticut2004 United States presidential election in Rhode Island2004 United States presidential election in Massachusetts2004 United States presidential election in Vermont2004 United States presidential election in New Hampshire
Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Bush/Cheney and blue denotes those won by Kerry/Edwards. Numbers indicate electoral votes cast by each state and the District of Columbia.
Faithless elector: John Edwards 1 (MN)

President before election

George W. Bush
Republican

Elected President

George W. Bush
Republican

Bush and Cheney were renominated by their party with no difficulty. Former Vermont governor Howard Dean emerged as the early front-runner in the 2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, but Kerry won the first set of primaries in January and clinched his party's nomination in March after a series of primary victories. Kerry chose Edwards, who had himself sought the party's 2004 presidential nomination, to be his running mate.

Foreign policy was the dominant theme throughout the election campaign, particularly Bush's handling of the war on terror and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Bush presented himself as a decisive leader and attacked Kerry as a "flip-flopper". Kerry criticized Bush's conduct of the Iraq War, despite having voted for it himself. Domestic issues were debated as well, including the economy and jobs, health care, abortion, same-sex marriage and embryonic stem cell research.

Bush won by a narrow margin of 35 electoral votes and took 50.7% of the popular vote. Bush swept the South and the Mountain States and took the crucial swing states of Ohio, Iowa, and New Mexico, the latter two flipping Republican. Although Kerry flipped New Hampshire, Bush won both more electoral votes and states than in 2000. Ohio was the tipping-point state, and was considered to be the state that allowed Bush to win re-election. Some aspects of the election process were subject to controversy, but not to the degree seen in the 2000 presidential election.

Background edit

George W. Bush won the presidency in 2000 after the Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore remanded the case to the Florida Supreme Court, which declared there was not sufficient time to hold a recount without violating the U.S. Constitution.

Just eight months into his presidency, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, suddenly transformed Bush into a wartime president. Bush's approval ratings surged to near 90%. Within a month, the forces of a coalition led by the United States entered Afghanistan, which had been sheltering Osama bin Laden, suspected mastermind of the September 11 attacks. The Taliban had been removed by December, although a long reconstruction would follow.

The Bush administration then turned its attention to Iraq and argued the need to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq had become urgent. Among the stated reasons were that Saddam's regime had tried to acquire nuclear material and had not properly accounted for biological and chemical material it was known to have previously possessed. Both the possession of these weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and the failure to account for them, would violate the UN sanctions. The assertion about WMD was hotly advanced by the Bush administration from the beginning, but other major powers including China, France, Germany, and Russia remained unconvinced that Iraq was a threat and refused to allow passage of a UN Security Council resolution to authorize the use of force.[2] Iraq permitted UN weapon inspectors in November 2002, who were continuing their work to assess the WMD claim when the Bush administration decided to proceed with war without UN authorization and told the inspectors to leave the country.[3] The United States invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003, along with a "coalition of the willing" that consisted of additional troops from the United Kingdom, and to a lesser extent, from Australia and Poland. Within about three weeks, the invasion caused the collapse of both the Iraqi government and its armed forces. However, the U.S. and allied forces failed to find any weapon of mass destruction in Iraq. Nevertheless, on May 1, George W. Bush landed on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, in a Lockheed S-3 Viking, where he gave a speech announcing the end of "major combat operations" in the Iraq War.

Nominations edit

Republican nomination edit

 
Republican Party (United States)
2004 Republican Party ticket
George W. Bush Dick Cheney
for President for Vice President
 
 
43rd
President of the United States
(2001–2009)
46th
Vice President of the United States
(2001–2009)
Campaign
 

Bush was able to ward off any serious challenge to the Republican nomination. Senator Lincoln Chafee from Rhode Island considered challenging Bush on an anti-war platform in New Hampshire, but decided not to run after the capture of Saddam Hussein in December 2003.[4]

On March 10, 2004, Bush officially attained the number of delegates needed to be nominated at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City. He accepted the nomination on September 2, 2004, and retained Vice President Dick Cheney as his running mate. During the convention and throughout the campaign, Bush focused on two themes: defending America against terrorism and building an ownership society. The ownership society included allowing people to invest some of their Social Security in the stock market, increasing home and stock ownership, and encouraging more people to buy their own health insurance.[5]

Democratic Party nomination edit

 
Democratic Party (United States)
2004 Democratic Party ticket
John Kerry John Edwards
for President for Vice President
 
 
U.S. Senator
from Massachusetts
(1985–2013)
U.S. Senator
from North Carolina
(1999–2005)
Campaign
 

Withdrawn candidates edit

Candidates in this section are sorted by popular vote from the primaries
John Edwards Howard Dean Dennis Kucinich Wesley Clark Al Sharpton Joe Lieberman Carol Moseley
Braun
Dick Gephardt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 U.S. Senator from
North Carolina
(1999–2005)
79th
Governor of Vermont
(1991–2003)
U.S. Representative from Ohio
(1997–2013)
Supreme Allied
Commander Europe
(1997–2000)
Minister and Activist U.S. Senator
from Connecticut
(1989–2013)
U.S. Senator
from Illinois
(1993–1999)
House Minority Leader
(1995–2003)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Campaign Campaign Campaign Campaign Campaign Campaign Campaign Campaign
W: March 2
3,162,337 votes
W: Feb 18
903,460 votes
W: July 22
620,242 votes
W: Feb 11
547,369 votes
W: March 15
380,865 votes
W: Feb 3
280,940 votes
W: Jan 15
98,469 votes
W: Jan 20
63,902 votes

Democratic primaries edit

 
Senator Kerry at a primary rally in St. Louis, Missouri, at the St. Louis Community College – Forest Park

The 2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries took place from January 14 to June 8, 2004 to select the Democratic Party's nominee for president. Before the primaries, Vermont governor Howard Dean was a favorite to win the nomination. However, Massachusetts senator John Kerry won victories in two early races: the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. These wins strengthened Kerry's previously weak campaign.[6] By March 11, Kerry had received enough delegates to win the nomination.[7] Other major candidates included North Carolina senator John Edwards and retired U.S. Army general Wesley Clark.

Kerry asked Republican senator John McCain to be his running mate, but McCain turned down his offer.[8] On July 6, Kerry selected Edwards as his running mate, shortly before the 2004 Democratic National Convention was held later that month in Boston.[9]

Democratic National Convention edit

Heading into the convention, the Kerry/Edwards ticket unveiled its new slogan: a promise to make America "stronger at home and more respected in the world."[10] Kerry made his Vietnam War experience the convention's prominent theme.[11]

The keynote address at the convention was delivered by Illinois State Senator and U.S. Senate candidate (as well as future president) Barack Obama; the speech was well received, and it elevated Obama's status within the Democratic Party.[12]

Other nominations edit

 
David Cobb, the Green Party candidate
 
Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik

There were four other presidential tickets on the ballot in a number of states totaling enough electoral votes to have a theoretical possibility of winning a majority in the Electoral College. They were:

Issues unique to the election edit

Electronic voting machines edit

Ahead of the 2004 election, some states implemented electronic voting systems. Critics raised several issues about voting machines, particularly those made by Diebold Election Systems. Cybersecurity professionals found security vulnerabilities in Diebold machines.[17] Voting machines made by several companies were also criticized for their lack of a paper trail, which would have made results easier to verify.[17] Democrats also criticized various executives at Diebold, Inc. (the parent company of Diebold Election Systems) for their support of Bush's campaign, stating that it constituted a conflict of interest.[17] Following these issues, California banned the use of Diebold's AccuVote TSX voting machines for elections in 2004.[18]

Campaign law changes edit

The 2004 election was the first to be affected by the campaign finance reforms mandated by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. The act created restrictions on fundraising by political parties and candidates. A large number of independent 527 groups were created to bypass these restrictions.[19] Named for a section of the Internal Revenue Code, these groups were able to raise large amounts of money for various political causes as long as they did not coordinate their activities with political campaigns. Examples of 527s include Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, MoveOn.org, the Media Fund, and America Coming Together. These groups were active throughout the campaign season, spending a record $556 million for all elections in 2004.[20]

The Stand by Your Ad provision of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act required political advertisements on television to include a verbal disclaimer identifying the organization or campaign responsible for the advertisement. This provision was intended to force campaigns to take responsibility for negative advertisements.[21] Campaign strategists criticized this requirement, stating that it would waste time and cause voters to be confused.[21]

General election campaign edit

Campaign issues edit

Bush focused his campaign on national security, presenting himself as a decisive leader and contrasted Kerry as a "flip-flopper." This strategy was designed to convey to American voters the idea that Bush could be trusted to be tough on terrorism while Kerry would be "uncertain in the face of danger."[22] In the final months before the election, Kerry's campaign focused on domestic issues such as the economy and health care. Kerry's campaign managers believed that Kerry had an advantage on domestic issues.[23]

Bush's campaign also focused on increasing voter turnout among conservatives. Karl Rove, Bush's top political advisor, stated that Bush's opposition to same-sex marriage increased turnout among evangelical Christians.[24]

According to one exit poll, people who voted for Bush cited the issues of terrorism and traditional values as the most important factors in their decision.[25] Kerry supporters cited the war in Iraq, the economy and jobs, and health care.[25]

 
Bush speaking at campaign rally in St. Petersburg, Florida, October 19, 2004

Economy edit

Tax cuts were passed in 2001 and 2003 under the Bush administration with Bush's support. Kerry voted against these tax cuts.[26] During the 2004 campaign, Bush praised these tax cuts, stating that they helped to grow the economy.[27] On the other hand, Kerry attacked Bush for failing to create jobs under his presidency.[28] Kerry stated that he wanted to reduce the United States budget deficit by capping government spending while ending various tax breaks for businesses.[27] Kerry also supported tax credits for businesses that hire additional workers.[29] Bush attacked Kerry for his economic proposals, stating that they would cause Americans to pay higher taxes. Bush also attacked Kerry for previously supporting tax raises, such as a proposed increase on the federal gas tax.[26]

Foreign policy edit

Bush defended the Iraq War, arguing that it was necessary to stop terrorism. He also said that the United States had made progress stopping terrorism in other nations.[30] Bush attacked Kerry for opposing the Iraq War after voting to authorize it in 2002, characterizing the shift as one of many flip-flops by Kerry.[31] Kerry argued that Bush had misled the American public in pursuing the Iraq War, noting that no illegal weapons had been found in Iraq. He said that the Iraq War was a mistake[32] and a diversion from terrorism in other nations such as Afghanistan.[33]

After the election, exit polls found that foreign policy concerns were the most important issues for voters.[34]

Health care edit

Health savings accounts (HSAs) were introduced in 2004 as part of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, signed by Bush in December 2003.[35] As part of his 2004 campaign, Bush supported the expansion of HSAs. He proposed tax cuts to help Americans purchase their own health insurance. He also proposed a plan that would allow small businesses to purchase health insurance in large groups. Kerry's health care proposals included government subsidies for businesses that provide health insurance and the expansion of government-run health care programs.[36] Health policy experts stated that Bush's proposals would have a more limited impact than Kerry's proposals.[37][38]

Kerry also attacked Bush for his policy on stem cell research. In 2001, the Bush administration restricted embryonic stem cell research to existing stem cell lines. Kerry stated that this restriction was a barrier to conducting important research.[39]

Same-sex marriage edit

In July 2004, Bush announced his support for a Constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, shortly before the Senate voted on the amendment. Although Kerry stated that he opposed same-sex marriage, he also opposed the amendment, saying that the legality of same-sex marriage should be decided by individual states.[40] The Senate vote failed on July 14.[41]

Controversies edit

Bush military service controversy edit

During the campaign, Bush was accused of failing to fulfill his required service in the Texas Air National Guard.[42]

A scandal occurred at CBS News after they aired a segment on 60 Minutes Wednesday, introducing what became known as the Killian documents. These documents were allegedly written by Jerry B. Killian, Bush's squadron commander, and they contained various allegations about Bush's service.[43] Serious doubts about the documents' authenticity quickly emerged,[44] leading CBS to appoint a review panel that eventually resulted in the firing of the news producer and other significant staffing changes.[45][46] The Killian documents were eventually concluded to be forgeries.[47]

Kerry military service controversy edit

Kerry was accused by the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth of distorting his military service in Vietnam.[48] The group challenged the legitimacy of each of the combat medals awarded to Kerry by the U.S. Navy, and the disposition of his discharge. The organization spent $22.4 million in advertisements against Kerry. After the election, political analysts described their advertising campaign as effective.[20] The term swiftboating was used during the campaign to describe the organization's negative advertising, which Democrats saw as unfair. It was also used after the campaign to generally describe a harsh attack by a political opponent that is dishonest, personal and unfair.[49]

Presidential debates edit

 
Neighboring yard signs for Bush and Kerry in Grosse Pointe, Michigan

Three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate were organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates, and held in the autumn of 2004.

Debates among candidates for the 2004 U.S. presidential election
No. Date Host City Moderators Participants Viewship

(Millions)

P1 Thursday, September 30, 2004 University of Miami Coral Gables, Florida Jim Lehrer President George W. Bush
Senator John Kerry
62.4[50]
VP Tuesday, October 5, 2004 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, Ohio Gwen Ifill Vice President Dick Cheney
Senator John Edwards
43.5[50]
P2 Friday, October 8, 2004 Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, Missouri Charles Gibson President George W. Bush
Senator John Kerry
46.7[50]
P3 Wednesday, October 13, 2004 Arizona State University Tempe, Arizona Bob Schieffer President George W. Bush
Senator John Kerry
51.1
  •  
     
    University of Miami
    Coral Gables, FL
     
    Case Western Reserve University
    Cleveland, OH
     
    Washington University in St. Louis
    St. Louis, MO
     
    Arizona State University
    Tempe, AZ
    class=notpageimage|
    Sites of the 2004 general election debates
    The first debate was held on September 30, slated to focus on foreign policy. A consensus formed among mainstream pollsters and pundits that Kerry won the debate decisively, strengthening what had come to be seen as a weak and troubled campaign.[51]
  • On October 5, the vice presidential debate between Cheney and Edwards. An initial poll by ABC indicated a victory for Cheney, while polls by CNN and MSNBC gave it to Edwards.[52][53][54][55]
  • The second presidential debate was conducted in a town meeting format, less formal than the first presidential debate. This debate saw Bush and Kerry taking questions on a variety of subjects from a local audience.[56]
  • Bush and Kerry met for the third and final debate on October 13.[57] 51 million viewers watched the debate. After Kerry, responding to a question about gay rights, reminded the audience that Vice President Cheney's daughter was a lesbian, Cheney responded with a statement calling himself "a pretty angry father" due to Kerry using Cheney's daughter's sexual orientation for his political purposes.[58] Polls taken by Gallup in found that Kerry pulled ahead in October, but showed a tight race as the election drew to a close.[59]

Osama bin Laden videotape edit

On October 29, four days before the election, excerpts of a video of Osama bin Laden addressing the American people were broadcast on al Jazeera. In his remarks, bin Laden mentions the September 11, 2001 attacks and taunted Bush over his response to them. In the days following the video's release, Bush's lead over Kerry increased by several points.[60]

Results edit

Electoral results
Presidential candidate Party Home state Popular vote Electoral
vote
Running mate
Count Percentage Vice-presidential candidate Home state Electoral vote
George W. Bush (incumbent) Republican Texas 62,040,610 50.73% 286 Dick Cheney (incumbent) Wyoming 286
John Kerry Democratic Massachusetts 59,028,444 48.27% 251 John Edwards North Carolina 251
John Edwards(a) Democratic North Carolina 5 0.00% 1 John Edwards North Carolina 1
Ralph Nader Independent Connecticut 465,650 0.38% 0 Peter Camejo(b) California 0
Michael Badnarik Libertarian Texas 397,265 0.32% 0 Richard Campagna Iowa 0
Michael Peroutka Constitution Maryland 143,630 0.12% 0 Chuck Baldwin Florida 0
David Cobb Green Texas 119,859 0.10% 0 Pat LaMarche Maine 0
Leonard Peltier Peace and Freedom Pennsylvania 27,607 0.02% 0 Janice Jordan California 0
Walt Brown Socialist Oregon 10,837 0.01% 0 Mary Alice Herbert Vermont 0
Róger Calero(c) Socialist Workers New York 3,689 0.01% 0 Arrin Hawkins(c) Minnesota 0
Thomas Harens Christian Freedom Minnesota 2,387 0.002% 0 Jennifer Ryan Minnesota 0
Other 50,652 0.04% Other
Total 122,295,345 100% 538 538
Needed to win 270 270

Source (Electoral and Popular Vote): Federal Elections Commission Electoral and Popular Vote Summary Voting age population: 215,664,000

Percent of voting age population casting a vote for president: 56.70%

(a) One faithless elector from Minnesota cast an electoral vote for John Edwards (written as John Ewards) for president.[61]
(b) In Montana, Karen Sanchirico was listed on the ballot as Nader's running mate, not Camejo. In Alabama, Jan D. Pierce was Nader's running mate. In New York, Nader appeared on two distinct tickets, one with Camejo and one with Pierce.[62]
(c) Because Arrin Hawkins, then aged 28, was constitutionally ineligible to serve as vice president, Margaret Trowe replaced her on the ballot in some states. James Harris replaced Calero on certain other states' ballots.

Popular vote
Bush
50.73%
Kerry
48.27%
Nader
0.38%
Badnarik
0.32%
Peroutka
0.12%
Others
0.17%
Electoral vote
Bush
53.16%
Kerry
46.65%
Edwards
0.19%

Results by state edit

The following table records the official vote tallies for each state as reported by the official Federal Election Commission report. The column labeled "Margin" shows Bush's margin of victory over Kerry (the margin is negative for states and districts won by Kerry).

Legend
States/districts won by Kerry/Edwards
States/districts won by Bush/Cheney
At-large results (for states that split electoral votes)
George W. Bush
Republican
John Kerry
Democratic
Ralph Nader
Independent / Reform
Michael Badnarik
Libertarian
Michael Peroutka
Constitution
David Cobb
Green
Others Margin State Total
State EV # % EV # % EV # % EV # % EV # % EV # % EV # % EV # % #
Alabama 9 1,176,394 62.46% 9 693,933 36.84% 6,701 0.36% 3,529 0.19% 1,994 0.11% 0 0.00% 898 0.05% 482,461 25.62% 1,883,449 AL
Alaska 3 190,889 61.07% 3 111,025 35.52% 5,069 1.62% 1,675 0.54% 2,092 0.67% 1,058 0.34% 790 0.25% 79,864 25.55% 312,598 AK
Arizona 10 1,104,294 54.87% 10 893,524 44.40% 2,773 0.14% 11,856 0.59% 0 0.00% 138 0.01% 0 0.00% 210,770 10.47% 2,012,585 AZ
Arkansas 6 572,898 54.31% 6 469,953 44.55% 6,171 0.58% 2,352 0.22% 2,083 0.20% 1,488 0.14% 0 0.00% 102,945 9.76% 1,054,945 AR
California 55 5,509,826 44.36% 6,745,485 54.31% 55 20,714 0.17% 50,165 0.40% 26,645 0.21% 40,771 0.33% 27,747 0.22% −1,235,659 −9.95% 12,421,353 CA
Colorado 9 1,101,255 51.69% 9 1,001,732 47.02% 12,718 0.60% 7,664 0.36% 2,562 0.12% 1,591 0.07% 2,808 0.13% 99,523 4.67% 2,130,330 CO
Connecticut 7 693,826 43.95% 857,488 54.31% 7 12,969 0.82% 3,367 0.21% 1,543 0.10% 9,564 0.61% 12 0.00% −163,662 −10.37% 1,578,769 CT
Delaware 3 171,660 45.75% 200,152 53.35% 3 2,153 0.57% 586 0.16% 289 0.08% 250 0.07% 100 0.03% −28,492 −7.59% 375,190 DE
District of Columbia 3 21,256 9.34% 202,970 89.18% 3 1,485 0.65% 502 0.22% 0 0.00% 737 0.32% 636 0.28% −181,714 −79.84% 227,586 DC
Florida 27 3,964,522 52.10% 27 3,583,544 47.09% 32,971 0.43% 11,996 0.16% 6,626 0.09% 3,917 0.05% 6,234 0.08% 380,978 5.01% 7,609,810 FL
Georgia 15 1,914,254 57.97% 15 1,366,149 41.37% 2,231 0.07% 18,387 0.56% 580 0.02% 228 0.01% 46 0.00% 548,105 16.60% 3,301,875 GA
Hawaii 4 194,191 45.26% 231,708 54.01% 4 0 0.00% 1,377 0.32% 0 0.00% 1,737 0.40% 0 0.00% −37,517 −8.74% 429,013 HI
Idaho 4 409,235 68.38% 4 181,098 30.26% 1,115 0.19% 3,844 0.64% 3,084 0.52% 58 0.01% 13 0.00% 228,137 38.12% 598,447 ID
Illinois 21 2,345,946 44.48% 2,891,550 54.82% 21 3,571 0.07% 32,442 0.62% 440 0.01% 241 0.00% 132 0.00% −545,604 −10.34% 5,274,322 IL
Indiana 11 1,479,438 59.94% 11 969,011 39.26% 1,328 0.05% 18,058 0.73% 0 0.00% 102 0.00% 65 0.00% 510,427 20.68% 2,468,002 IN
Iowa 7 751,957 49.90% 7 741,898 49.23% 5,973 0.40% 2,992 0.20% 1,304 0.09% 1,141 0.08% 1,643 0.11% 10,059 0.67% 1,506,908 IA
Kansas 6 736,456 62.00% 6 434,993 36.62% 9,348 0.79% 4,013 0.34% 2,899 0.24% 33 0.00% 14 0.00% 301,463 25.38% 1,187,756 KS
Kentucky 8 1,069,439 59.55% 8 712,733 39.69% 8,856 0.49% 2,619 0.15% 2,213 0.12% 0 0.00% 22 0.00% 356,706 19.86% 1,795,882 KY
Louisiana 9 1,102,169 56.72% 9 820,299 42.22% 7,032 0.36% 2,781 0.14% 5,203 0.27% 1,276 0.07% 4,346 0.22% 281,870 14.51% 1,943,106 LA
Maine 2 330,201 44.58% 396,842 53.57% 2 8,069 1.09% 1,965 0.27% 735 0.10% 2,936 0.40% 4 0.00% −66,641 −9.00% 740,752 ME
Maine-1 1 165,824 43.14% 211,703 55.07% 1 4,004 1.04% 1,047 0.27% 346 0.09% 1,468 0.38% −45,879 −11.94% 384,392 ME1
Maine-2 1 164,377 46.13% 185,139 51.95% 1 4,065 1.14% 918 0.26% 389 0.11% 1,468 0.41% −20,762 −5.83% 356,356 ME2
Maryland 10 1,024,703 42.93% 1,334,493 55.91% 10 11,854 0.50% 6,094 0.26% 3,421 0.14% 3,632 0.15% 2,481 0.10% −309,790 −12.98% 2,386,678 MD
Massachusetts 12 1,071,109 36.78% 1,803,800 61.94% 12 4,806 0.17% 15,022 0.52% 0 0.00% 10,623 0.36% 7,028 0.24% −732,691 −25.16% 2,912,388 MA
Michigan 17 2,313,746 47.81% 2,479,183 51.23% 17 24,035 0.50% 10,552 0.22% 4,980 0.10% 5,325 0.11% 1,431 0.03% −165,437 −3.42% 4,839,252 MI
Minnesota 10 1,346,695 47.61% 1,445,014 51.09% 9 18,683 0.66% 4,639 0.16% 3,074 0.11% 4,408 0.16% 5,874 0.21% −98,319 −3.48% 2,828,387 MN
Mississippi 6 684,981 59.45% 6 458,094 39.76% 3,177 0.28% 1,793 0.16% 1,759 0.15% 1,073 0.09% 1,268 0.11% 226,887 19.69% 1,152,145 MS
Missouri 11 1,455,713 53.30% 11 1,259,171 46.10% 1,294 0.05% 9,831 0.36% 5,355 0.20% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 196,542 7.20% 2,731,364 MO
Montana 3 266,063 59.07% 3 173,710 38.56% 6,168 1.37% 1,733 0.38% 1,764 0.39% 996 0.22% 11 0.00% 92,353 20.50% 450,445 MT
Nebraska 2 512,814 65.90% 2 254,328 32.68% 5,698 0.73% 2,041 0.26% 1,314 0.17% 978 0.13% 1,013 0.13% 258,486 33.22% 778,186 NE
Nebraska-1 1 169,888 62.97% 1 96,314 35.70% 2,025 0.75% 656 0.24% 405 0.15% 453 0.17% 30 0.01% 73,574 27.27% 269,771 NE1
Nebraska-2 1 153,041 60.24% 1 97,858 38.52% 1,731 0.68% 813 0.32% 305 0.12% 261 0.10% 23 0.01% 55,183 21.72% 254,032 NE2
Nebraska-3 1 189,885 74.92% 1 60,156 23.73% 1,942 0.77% 572 0.23% 604 0.24% 264 0.10% 29 0.01% 129,729 51.18% 253,452 NE3
Nevada 5 418,690 50.47% 5 397,190 47.88% 4,838 0.58% 3,176 0.38% 1,152 0.14% 853 0.10% 3,688 0.44% 21,500 2.59% 829,587 NV
New Hampshire 4 331,237 48.87% 340,511 50.24% 4 4,479 0.66% 372 0.05% 161 0.02% 0 0.00% 978 0.14% −9,274 −1.37% 677,738 NH
New Jersey 15 1,670,003 46.24% 1,911,430 52.92% 15 19,418 0.54% 4,514 0.12% 2,750 0.08% 1,807 0.05% 1,769 0.05% −241,427 −6.68% 3,611,691 NJ
New Mexico 5 376,930 49.84% 5 370,942 49.05% 4,053 0.54% 2,382 0.31% 771 0.10% 1,226 0.16% 0 0.00% 5,988 0.79% 756,304 NM
New York 31 2,962,567 40.08% 4,314,280 58.37% 31 99,873 1.35% 11,607 0.16% 207 0.00% 87 0.00% 2,415 0.03% −1,351,713 −18.29% 7,391,036 NY
North Carolina 15 1,961,166 56.02% 15 1,525,849 43.58% 1,805 0.05% 11,731 0.34% 0 0.00% 108 0.00% 348 0.01% 435,317 12.43% 3,501,007 NC
North Dakota 3 196,651 62.86% 3 111,052 35.50% 3,756 1.20% 851 0.27% 514 0.16% 0 0.00% 9 0.00% 85,599 27.36% 312,833 ND
Ohio 20 2,859,768 50.81% 20 2,741,167 48.71% 0 0.00% 14,676 0.26% 11,939 0.21% 192 0.00% 166 0.00% 118,601 2.11% 5,627,908 OH
Oklahoma 7 959,792 65.57% 7 503,966 34.43% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 455,826 31.14% 1,463,758 OK
Oregon 7 866,831 47.19% 943,163 51.35% 7 0 0.00% 7,260 0.40% 5,257 0.29% 5,315 0.29% 8,956 0.49% −76,332 −4.16% 1,836,782 OR
Pennsylvania 21 2,793,847 48.42% 2,938,095 50.92% 21 2,656 0.05% 21,185 0.37% 6,318 0.11% 6,319 0.11% 1,170 0.02% −144,248 −2.50% 5,769,590 PA
Rhode Island 4 169,046 38.67% 259,765 59.42% 4 4,651 1.06% 907 0.21% 339 0.08% 1,333 0.30% 1,093 0.25% −90,719 −20.75% 437,134 RI
South Carolina 8 937,974 57.98% 8 661,699 40.90% 5,520 0.34% 3,608 0.22% 5,317 0.33% 1,488 0.09% 2,124 0.13% 276,275 17.08% 1,617,730 SC
South Dakota 3 232,584 59.91% 3 149,244 38.44% 4,320 1.11% 964 0.25% 1,103 0.28% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 83,340 21.47% 388,215 SD
Tennessee 11 1,384,375 56.80% 11 1,036,477 42.53% 8,992 0.37% 4,866 0.20% 2,570 0.11% 33 0.00% 6 0.00% 347,898 14.27% 2,437,319 TN
Texas 34 4,526,917 61.09% 34 2,832,704 38.22% 9,159 0.12% 38,787 0.52% 1,636 0.02% 1,014 0.01% 548 0.01% 1,694,213 22.86% 7,410,765 TX
Utah 5 663,742 71.54% 5 241,199 26.00% 11,305 1.22% 3,375 0.36% 6,841 0.74% 39 0.00% 1,343 0.14% 422,543 45.54% 927,844 UT
Vermont 3 121,180 38.80% 184,067 58.94% 3 4,494 1.44% 1,102 0.35% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1,466 0.47% −62,887 −20.14% 312,309 VT
Virginia 13 1,716,959 53.68% 13 1,454,742 45.48% 2,393 0.07% 11,032 0.34% 10,161 0.32% 104 0.00% 2,976 0.09% 262,217 8.20% 3,198,367 VA
Washington 11 1,304,894 45.64% 1,510,201 52.82% 11 23,283 0.81% 11,955 0.42% 3,922 0.14% 2,974 0.10% 1,855 0.06% −205,307 −7.18% 2,859,084 WA
West Virginia 5 423,778 56.06% 5 326,541 43.20% 4,063 0.54% 1,405 0.19% 82 0.01% 5 0.00% 13 0.00% 97,237 12.86% 755,887 WV
Wisconsin 10 1,478,120 49.32% 1,489,504 49.70% 10 16,390 0.55% 6,464 0.22% 0 0.00% 2,661 0.09% 3,868 0.13% −11,384 −0.38% 2,997,007 WI
Wyoming 3 167,629 68.86% 3 70,776 29.07% 2,741 1.13% 1,171 0.48% 631 0.26% 0 0.00% 480 0.20% 96,853 39.79% 243,428 WY
U.S Total 538 62,040,610 50.73% 286 59,028,444 48.27% 251 465,151 0.38% 397,265 0.32% 143,630 0.12% 119,859 0.10% 99,887 0.08% 3,012,166 2.46% 122,294,846 US

Although Guam has no votes in the Electoral College, they have held a straw poll for their presidential preferences since 1980. In 2004, the results were Bush 21,490 (64.1%), Kerry 11,781 (35.1%), Nader 196 (0.58%) and Badnarik 67 (0.2%).[63]

Maine and Nebraska each allowed for their electoral votes to be split between candidates. In both states, two electoral votes were awarded to the winner of the statewide race and one electoral vote was awarded to the winner of each congressional district. [64][65]

States that flipped Democratic to Republican edit

States that flipped Republican to Democratic edit

Close states edit

Red font color denotes those won by Republican President George W. Bush; blue denotes states won by Democrat John Kerry.

States where margin of victory was under 1% (22 electoral votes):

  1. Wisconsin 0.38% (11,384 votes)
  2. Iowa 0.67% (10,059 votes)
  3. New Mexico 0.79% (5,988 votes)

States where margin of victory was more than 1% but less than 5% (93 electoral votes):

  1. New Hampshire 1.37% (9,274 votes)
  2. Ohio 2.11% (118,601 votes) (tipping point state)
  3. Pennsylvania 2.50% (144,248 votes)
  4. Nevada 2.59% (21,500 votes)
  5. Michigan 3.42% (165,437 votes)
  6. Minnesota 3.48% (98,319 votes)
  7. Oregon 4.16% (76,332 votes)
  8. Colorado 4.67% (99,523 votes)

States where margin of victory was more than 5% but less than 10% (149 electoral votes):

  1. Florida 5.01% (380,978 votes)
  2. Maine's 2nd Congressional District 5.82% (20,762 votes)
  3. New Jersey 6.68% (241,427 votes)
  4. Washington 7.18% (205,307 votes)
  5. Missouri 7.20% (196,542 votes)
  6. Delaware 7.59% (28,492 votes)
  7. Virginia 8.20% (262,217 votes)
  8. Hawaii 8.74% (37,517 votes)
  9. Maine 9.00% (66,641 votes)
  10. Arkansas 9.76% (102,945 votes)
  11. California 9.95% (1,235,659 votes)

Statistics edit

[66]

Counties with highest percent of vote (Republican)

  1. Ochiltree County, Texas 91.97%
  2. Madison County, Idaho 91.89%
  3. Glasscock County, Texas 91.56%
  4. Roberts County, Texas 90.93%
  5. Arthur County, Nebraska 90.23%

Counties with highest percent of vote (Democratic)

  1. Washington, D.C. 89.18%
  2. Shannon County, South Dakota 84.62%
  3. City and County of San Francisco, California 83.02%
  4. Macon County, Alabama 82.92%
  5. Bronx County, New York 82.80%

Finance edit

 
These maps show the amount of attention given by the campaigns to the close states. At left, each waving hand represents a visit from a presidential or vice-presidential candidate during the final five weeks. At right, each dollar sign represents one million dollars spent on TV advertising by the campaigns during the same time period.

Source: FEC[67]

Ballot access edit

Presidential ticket Party Ballot access
Bush / Cheney Republican 50+DC
Kerry / Edwards Democratic 50+DC
Badnarik / Campagna Libertarian 48+DC
Peroutka / Baldwin Constitution 36
Nader / Camejo Independent, Reform 34+DC
Cobb / LaMarche Green 27+DC

2004 United States Electoral College edit

Faithless elector in Minnesota edit

One elector in Minnesota cast a ballot for president with the name of "John Ewards" [sic] written on it.[68] The Electoral College officials certified this ballot as a vote for John Edwards for president. The remaining nine electors cast ballots for John Kerry. All ten electors in the state cast ballots for John Edwards for vice president (John Edwards's name was spelled correctly on all ballots for vice president).[69] This was the first time in U.S. history that an elector had cast a vote for the same person to be both president and vice president.

Electoral balloting in Minnesota was performed by secret ballot, and none of the electors admitted to casting the Edwards vote for president, so it may never be known who the faithless elector was. It is not even known whether the vote for Edwards was deliberate or unintentional; the Republican Secretary of State and several of the Democratic electors have expressed the opinion that this was an accident.[70]

Statistical Analysis edit

 
Cheney visited Washington & Jefferson College in Pennsylvania on October 27, 2004[71]

During the campaign and as the results came in on the night of the election there was much focus on Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida. These three swing states were seen as evenly divided, and with each casting 20 electoral votes or more, they had the power to decide the election. As the final results came in, Kerry took Pennsylvania and then Bush took Florida, focusing all attention on Ohio.

 
Bush in the Oval Office, receiving a concession phone call from Kerry, which came the afternoon of the day following the election

The morning after the election, the winner was still undetermined. The result in Ohio would decide the winner, although the results in New Mexico and Iowa were also undetermined. Bush led in Ohio, but the state was still counting provisional ballots. In the afternoon of the day after the election, Ohio's Secretary of State, Ken Blackwell, announced that there were roughly 135,000 provisional ballots remaining. Kerry's campaign believed that it was statistically impossible to erase Bush's lead. Faced with this announcement, Kerry conceded defeat.[72]

Bush became the first Republican to ever win without carrying New Hampshire, and the first to win the popular vote without Vermont and Illinois. This was the last time a president was re-elected with a higher share of the electoral vote. Bush carried Colorado despite the state being Kerry's birth state. Bush simultaneously lost his own birth state of Connecticut, making this the only election since 1864 where neither candidate carried their birth state. This election was the first and only time since 1976 that New Jersey, Connecticut, Vermont, Maine, Illinois, New Mexico, Michigan, and California voted for the losing candidate in the popular vote, as well as the first since 1980 that Maryland did so, and the first since 1948 that Delaware did so. Bush's 2.4% popular vote margin is the smallest ever for a re-elected president surpassing the 1812 election.

Bush won 4 states that have not voted Republican since: Virginia, Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico. In contrast, this is the last election in which the losing candidate won any of the following states: Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. This is also the last time a Republican was elected without carrying Maine's 2nd congressional district. This election is the only time in history that every Northeastern state voted Democratic and every former Confederate state voted Republican. Thus, Bush is the only Republican to win without carrying any Northeastern electoral votes. This was the last election where both major party tickets' consisted entirely of white men. This is the last election where both parties flipped states.

As of 2020, this is the only presidential election since 1988 in which the Republican nominee won the popular vote (as well as the last time the Democratic nominee lost the popular vote) and the only presidential election since 1984 in which the incumbent Republican president won re-election. Bush also became the only incumbent president to win re-election after previously losing the popular vote. The 2004 election had the highest turnout rate among eligible voters since 1968.[73][74]

Voter demographics edit

2004 presidential vote by demographic subgroup
Demographic subgroup Kerry Bush Other % of
total vote
Total vote 48 51 1 100
Ideology
Liberals 86 13 1 21
Moderates 54 45 1 45
Conservatives 15 84 1 34
Party
Democrats 89 11 0 37
Republicans 6 93 1 37
Independents 49 48 3 26
Gender
Men 44 55 1 46
Women 51 48 1 54
Marital status
Married 42 57 1 63
Non-married 58 40 2 37
Race
White 41 58 1 77
Black 88 11 1 11
Asian 56 43 1 2
Other 56 40 4 2
Hispanic 54 44 2 8
Religion
Protestant 40 59 1 54
Catholic 47 52 1 27
Jewish 74 25 1 3
Other 74 23 3 7
None 67 31 2 10
Religious service attendance
More than weekly 35 64 1 16
Weekly 41 58 1 26
Monthly 49 50 1 14
A few times a year 54 45 1 28
Never 62 36 2 15
White evangelical or born-again Christian?
White evangelical or born-again Christian 21 78 1 23
Everyone else 56 43 1 77
Age
18–29 years old 54 45 1 17
30–44 years old 46 53 1 29
45–59 years old 48 51 1 30
60 and older 46 54 0 24
First time voter?
First time voter 53 46 1 11
Everyone else 48 51 1 89
Sexual orientation
Gay, lesbian, or bisexual 77 22 1 4
Heterosexual 46 53 1 96
Education
Not a high school graduate 50 49 1 4
High school graduate 47 52 1 22
Some college education 46 54 0 32
College graduate 46 52 2 26
Postgraduate education 55 44 1 16
Family income
Under $15,000 63 36 1 8
$15,000–30,000 57 42 1 15
$30,000–50,000 50 49 1 22
$50,000–75,000 43 56 1 23
$75,000–100,000 45 55 0 14
$100,000–150,000 42 57 1 11
$150,000–200,000 42 58 0 4
Over $200,000 35 63 2 3
Union households
Union 59 40 1 24
Non-union 44 55 1 76
Military service
Veterans 41 57 2 18
Non-veterans 50 49 1 82
Issue regarded as most important
Moral values 18 80 2 22
Economy 80 18 2 20
Terrorism 14 86 0 19
Iraq 73 26 1 15
Health care 77 23 0 8
Taxes 43 57 0 5
Education 73 26 1 4
Region
Northeast 56 43 1 22
Midwest 48 51 1 26
South 42 58 0 32
West 50 49 1 20
Community size
Urban 54 45 1 30
Suburban 47 52 1 46
Rural 42 57 1 25

Source: CNN exit poll (13,660 surveyed)[75]

Aftermath edit

Voting problems in Ohio edit

After the election, activists and election scholars criticized various issues with the election in Ohio. Long lines at polling places over seven hours were reported. An electronic voting machine erroneously gave thousands of extra votes to Bush.[76] Professor Edward B. Foley stated that Ohio's voting problems did not affect the outcome.[77]

Objections and conspiracy theories edit

 
Map of election day problems

After the election, many blogs published false rumors claiming to show evidence that voter fraud had prevented Kerry from winning.[78][79]

Although the overall result of the election was not challenged by the Kerry campaign, Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb and Libertarian Party presidential candidate Michael Badnarik obtained a recount in Ohio. This recount was completed December 28, 2004, although on January 24, 2007, a jury convicted two Ohio elections officials of selecting precincts to recount where they already knew the hand total would match the machine total, thereby avoiding having to perform a full recount.[80] Independent candidate Ralph Nader obtained a recount in 11 New Hampshire precincts that used Accuvote voting machines.[81]

At the official counting of the electoral votes on January 6, an objection was made under the Electoral Count Act (now 3 U.S.C. § 15) to Ohio's electoral votes. Because the motion was supported by at least one member of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the law required that the two houses separate to debate and vote on the objection. In the House of Representatives, the objection was supported by 31 Democrats. It was opposed by 178 Republicans, 88 Democrats and one independent. Not voting were 52 Republicans and 80 Democrats.[82] Four people elected to the House had not yet taken office, and one seat was vacant. In the Senate, it was supported only by its maker, Barbara Boxer, with 74 senators opposed and 25 not voting. During the debate, no Senator argued that the outcome of the election should be changed by either court challenge or revote. Boxer claimed that she had made the motion not to challenge the outcome, but "to cast the light of truth on a flawed system which must be fixed now.".[83][84]

Kerry would later state that "the widespread irregularities make it impossible to know for certain that the [Ohio] outcome reflected the will of the voters." In the same article, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said "I'm not confident that the election in Ohio was fairly decided... We know that there was substantial voter suppression, and the machines were not reliable. It should not be a surprise that the Republicans are willing to do things that are unethical to manipulate elections. That's what we suspect has happened."[85]

Points of controversy edit

  • The Ohio Secretary of State, Ken Blackwell, who simultaneously served as co-chair of the 2004 Republican presidential campaign, came under fire for failing to uphold his legal obligation to investigate potential voter fraud, manipulation, and irregularities, in a .

See also edit

Other elections edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ One Minnesota elector voted for Edwards for both president and vice president.

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  • "Presidential Results by Congressional District". Polidata. Washington, D.C.: Polidata. Retrieved July 29, 2005.
  • Barone, Michael J. The Almanac of American Politics: 2006 (2005)
  • Daclon, Corrado Maria, US elections and war on terrorism (2004), Analisi Difesa, no. 50
  • Evan Thomas, Eleanor Clift, and Staff of Newsweek. Election 2004 (2005)

Books edit

  • Ceaser, James W. and Andrew E. Busch. Red Over Blue: The 2004 Elections and American Politics (2005), narrative history.
  • Freeman, Steven F. and Joel Bleifuss, Foreword by U.S. Representative John Conyers, Jr. Was the 2004 Presidential Election Stolen? Exit Polls, Election Fraud, and the Official Count (Seven Stories Press, 2006)
  • Greene, John C. and Mark J. Rozell, eds. The Values Campaign?: The Christian Right and the 2004 Elections (2006)
  • Miller, Mark Crispin. Fooled Again: How the Right Stole the 2004 Election (2005) –
  • Sabato, Larry J. Divided States of America: The Slash And Burn Politics of the 2004 Presidential Election (2005)
  • Stempel III, Guido H. and Thomas K. Hargrove, eds. The 21st-Century Voter: Who Votes, How They Vote, and Why They Vote (2 vol. 2015)

Further reading edit

External links edit

  • 2004 United States presidential election at Curlie
  • Election of 2004 in Counting the Votes

Official candidate websites edit

  • Michael Badnarik (Libertarian) (archived version from the U.S. Library of Congress United States Election 2004 Web Archive)
  • George W. Bush (Republican) (archived version from the U.S. Library of Congress United States Election 2004 Web Archive)
  • David Cobb (Green) (archived version from the U.S. Library of Congress United States Election 2004 Web Archive)
  • John Kerry (Democrat) (archived version from the U.S. Library of Congress United States Election 2004 Web Archive)
  • Ralph Nader (Independent) (archived version from the U.S. Library of Congress United States Election 2004 Web Archive)
  • . Archived from the original on November 1, 2004. Retrieved September 25, 2007.

Election maps and analysis edit

  • Maps of proportion shift, counties more Republican, counties more Democratic, compared to 2000 election.
  • NYTimes.com 2004 Election Results Interactive Graphic
  • Maps and cartograms of the 2004 U.S. presidential election results – Michael Gastner, Cosma Shalizi, and Mark Newman, University of Michigan
  • Election 2004 Results – Robert J. Vanderbei, Princeton University
  • Interactive Atlas of the 2004 Presidential Election Results – Dave Liep
  • Alternate views of the electoral results map
  • Assessing the Vote and the Roots of American Political Divide

State-by-state forecasts of electoral vote outcome edit

  • Probability analysis of Electoral College based on latest poll results by state
  • Electoral Vote Predictor 2004
  • Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball
  • . Archived from the original on November 2, 2004. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  • USA Today polls

Controversies edit

  • . FactCheck. Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. October 31, 2004. Archived from the original on November 1, 2004.

Election campaign funding edit

  • Money Maps

Campaign ads edit

  • Campaign commercials from the 2004 election

2004, united, states, presidential, election, related, races, 2004, united, states, elections, 55th, quadrennial, presidential, election, held, tuesday, november, 2004, republican, ticket, incumbent, president, george, bush, running, mate, incumbent, vice, pre. For related races see 2004 United States elections The 2004 United States presidential election was the 55th quadrennial presidential election held on Tuesday November 2 2004 The Republican ticket of incumbent President George W Bush and his running mate incumbent Vice President Dick Cheney were elected to a second term defeating the Democratic ticket of John Kerry a United States senator from Massachusetts and his running mate John Edwards a United States senator from North Carolina 2004 United States presidential election 2000 November 2 2004 2008 538 members of the Electoral College270 electoral votes needed to winTurnout60 1 1 5 9 pp Nominee George W Bush John KerryParty Republican DemocraticHome state Texas MassachusettsRunning mate Dick Cheney John EdwardsElectoral vote 286 251 a States carried 31 19 DCPopular vote 62 040 610 59 028 444Percentage 50 7 48 3 Presidential election results map Red denotes states won by Bush Cheney and blue denotes those won by Kerry Edwards Numbers indicate electoral votes cast by each state and the District of Columbia Faithless elector John Edwards 1 MN President before electionGeorge W BushRepublican Elected President George W BushRepublicanBush and Cheney were renominated by their party with no difficulty Former Vermont governor Howard Dean emerged as the early front runner in the 2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries but Kerry won the first set of primaries in January and clinched his party s nomination in March after a series of primary victories Kerry chose Edwards who had himself sought the party s 2004 presidential nomination to be his running mate Foreign policy was the dominant theme throughout the election campaign particularly Bush s handling of the war on terror and the 2003 invasion of Iraq Bush presented himself as a decisive leader and attacked Kerry as a flip flopper Kerry criticized Bush s conduct of the Iraq War despite having voted for it himself Domestic issues were debated as well including the economy and jobs health care abortion same sex marriage and embryonic stem cell research Bush won by a narrow margin of 35 electoral votes and took 50 7 of the popular vote Bush swept the South and the Mountain States and took the crucial swing states of Ohio Iowa and New Mexico the latter two flipping Republican Although Kerry flipped New Hampshire Bush won both more electoral votes and states than in 2000 Ohio was the tipping point state and was considered to be the state that allowed Bush to win re election Some aspects of the election process were subject to controversy but not to the degree seen in the 2000 presidential election Contents 1 Background 2 Nominations 2 1 Republican nomination 2 2 Democratic Party nomination 2 2 1 Withdrawn candidates 2 2 2 Democratic primaries 2 2 3 Democratic National Convention 2 3 Other nominations 3 Issues unique to the election 3 1 Electronic voting machines 3 2 Campaign law changes 4 General election campaign 4 1 Campaign issues 4 1 1 Economy 4 1 2 Foreign policy 4 1 3 Health care 4 1 4 Same sex marriage 4 2 Controversies 4 2 1 Bush military service controversy 4 2 2 Kerry military service controversy 4 3 Presidential debates 4 4 Osama bin Laden videotape 5 Results 5 1 Results by state 5 1 1 States that flipped Democratic to Republican 5 1 2 States that flipped Republican to Democratic 5 2 Close states 5 2 1 Statistics 5 3 Finance 5 4 Ballot access 5 5 2004 United States Electoral College 5 5 1 Faithless elector in Minnesota 5 6 Statistical Analysis 6 Voter demographics 7 Aftermath 7 1 Voting problems in Ohio 7 2 Objections and conspiracy theories 7 3 Points of controversy 8 See also 8 1 Other elections 9 Notes 10 References 11 Sources 11 1 Books 12 Further reading 13 External links 13 1 Official candidate websites 13 2 Election maps and analysis 13 3 State by state forecasts of electoral vote outcome 13 4 Controversies 13 5 Election campaign funding 13 6 Campaign adsBackground editGeorge W Bush won the presidency in 2000 after the Supreme Court s decision in Bush v Gore remanded the case to the Florida Supreme Court which declared there was not sufficient time to hold a recount without violating the U S Constitution Just eight months into his presidency the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001 suddenly transformed Bush into a wartime president Bush s approval ratings surged to near 90 Within a month the forces of a coalition led by the United States entered Afghanistan which had been sheltering Osama bin Laden suspected mastermind of the September 11 attacks The Taliban had been removed by December although a long reconstruction would follow The Bush administration then turned its attention to Iraq and argued the need to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq had become urgent Among the stated reasons were that Saddam s regime had tried to acquire nuclear material and had not properly accounted for biological and chemical material it was known to have previously possessed Both the possession of these weapons of mass destruction WMD and the failure to account for them would violate the UN sanctions The assertion about WMD was hotly advanced by the Bush administration from the beginning but other major powers including China France Germany and Russia remained unconvinced that Iraq was a threat and refused to allow passage of a UN Security Council resolution to authorize the use of force 2 Iraq permitted UN weapon inspectors in November 2002 who were continuing their work to assess the WMD claim when the Bush administration decided to proceed with war without UN authorization and told the inspectors to leave the country 3 The United States invaded Iraq on March 20 2003 along with a coalition of the willing that consisted of additional troops from the United Kingdom and to a lesser extent from Australia and Poland Within about three weeks the invasion caused the collapse of both the Iraqi government and its armed forces However the U S and allied forces failed to find any weapon of mass destruction in Iraq Nevertheless on May 1 George W Bush landed on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in a Lockheed S 3 Viking where he gave a speech announcing the end of major combat operations in the Iraq War Nominations editRepublican nomination edit Main articles George W Bush 2004 presidential campaign 2004 Republican Party presidential primaries and 2004 Republican National Convention nbsp Republican Party United States 2004 Republican Party ticketGeorge W Bush Dick Cheneyfor President for Vice President nbsp nbsp 43rdPresident of the United States 2001 2009 46thVice President of the United States 2001 2009 Campaign nbsp Bush was able to ward off any serious challenge to the Republican nomination Senator Lincoln Chafee from Rhode Island considered challenging Bush on an anti war platform in New Hampshire but decided not to run after the capture of Saddam Hussein in December 2003 4 On March 10 2004 Bush officially attained the number of delegates needed to be nominated at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City He accepted the nomination on September 2 2004 and retained Vice President Dick Cheney as his running mate During the convention and throughout the campaign Bush focused on two themes defending America against terrorism and building an ownership society The ownership society included allowing people to invest some of their Social Security in the stock market increasing home and stock ownership and encouraging more people to buy their own health insurance 5 Democratic Party nomination edit Main articles John Kerry 2004 presidential campaign 2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries and 2004 Democratic National Convention nbsp Democratic Party United States 2004 Democratic Party ticketJohn Kerry John Edwardsfor President for Vice President nbsp nbsp U S Senatorfrom Massachusetts 1985 2013 U S Senatorfrom North Carolina 1999 2005 Campaign nbsp Withdrawn candidates edit Candidates in this section are sorted by popular vote from the primariesJohn Edwards Howard Dean Dennis Kucinich Wesley Clark Al Sharpton Joe Lieberman Carol MoseleyBraun Dick Gephardt nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp U S Senator fromNorth Carolina 1999 2005 79thGovernor of Vermont 1991 2003 U S Representative from Ohio 1997 2013 Supreme AlliedCommander Europe 1997 2000 Minister and Activist U S Senatorfrom Connecticut 1989 2013 U S Senatorfrom Illinois 1993 1999 House Minority Leader 1995 2003 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Campaign Campaign Campaign Campaign Campaign Campaign Campaign CampaignW March 23 162 337 votes W Feb 18903 460 votes W July 22620 242 votes W Feb 11547 369 votes W March 15380 865 votes W Feb 3280 940 votes W Jan 1598 469 votes W Jan 2063 902 votesDemocratic primaries edit nbsp Senator Kerry at a primary rally in St Louis Missouri at the St Louis Community College Forest ParkThe 2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries took place from January 14 to June 8 2004 to select the Democratic Party s nominee for president Before the primaries Vermont governor Howard Dean was a favorite to win the nomination However Massachusetts senator John Kerry won victories in two early races the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary These wins strengthened Kerry s previously weak campaign 6 By March 11 Kerry had received enough delegates to win the nomination 7 Other major candidates included North Carolina senator John Edwards and retired U S Army general Wesley Clark Kerry asked Republican senator John McCain to be his running mate but McCain turned down his offer 8 On July 6 Kerry selected Edwards as his running mate shortly before the 2004 Democratic National Convention was held later that month in Boston 9 Democratic National Convention edit Heading into the convention the Kerry Edwards ticket unveiled its new slogan a promise to make America stronger at home and more respected in the world 10 Kerry made his Vietnam War experience the convention s prominent theme 11 The keynote address at the convention was delivered by Illinois State Senator and U S Senate candidate as well as future president Barack Obama the speech was well received and it elevated Obama s status within the Democratic Party 12 Other nominations edit nbsp David Cobb the Green Party candidate nbsp Libertarian candidate Michael BadnarikSee also List of candidates in the United States presidential election 2004 There were four other presidential tickets on the ballot in a number of states totaling enough electoral votes to have a theoretical possibility of winning a majority in the Electoral College They were Michael Badnarik Richard Campagna Libertarian Party campaign Badnarik was nominated on the third ballot and Campagna on the first ballot at the Libertarian National Convention in Atlanta Georgia held May 28 31 2004 13 David Cobb Pat LaMarche Green Party campaign Cobb was nominated on the second ballot at the 2004 Green National Convention in Milwaukee Wisconsin held June 23 28 2004 14 Ralph Nader Peter Camejo independent also Reform Party Independent Party DE Populist Party MD Better Life Party Cross endorsements N Y Peace and Justice Party Independence Parties of New York and South Carolina and the Vermont Green Party who chose not to ratify the national party s presidential nominee 15 Michael Peroutka Chuck Baldwin Constitution Party also Alaskan Independence Party Peroutka and Baldwin were unanimously nominated at the Constitution Party National Convention at Valley Forge Pennsylvania June 23 26 2004 16 Issues unique to the election editElectronic voting machines edit Ahead of the 2004 election some states implemented electronic voting systems Critics raised several issues about voting machines particularly those made by Diebold Election Systems Cybersecurity professionals found security vulnerabilities in Diebold machines 17 Voting machines made by several companies were also criticized for their lack of a paper trail which would have made results easier to verify 17 Democrats also criticized various executives at Diebold Inc the parent company of Diebold Election Systems for their support of Bush s campaign stating that it constituted a conflict of interest 17 Following these issues California banned the use of Diebold s AccuVote TSX voting machines for elections in 2004 18 Campaign law changes edit The 2004 election was the first to be affected by the campaign finance reforms mandated by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 The act created restrictions on fundraising by political parties and candidates A large number of independent 527 groups were created to bypass these restrictions 19 Named for a section of the Internal Revenue Code these groups were able to raise large amounts of money for various political causes as long as they did not coordinate their activities with political campaigns Examples of 527s include Swift Boat Veterans for Truth MoveOn org the Media Fund and America Coming Together These groups were active throughout the campaign season spending a record 556 million for all elections in 2004 20 The Stand by Your Ad provision of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act required political advertisements on television to include a verbal disclaimer identifying the organization or campaign responsible for the advertisement This provision was intended to force campaigns to take responsibility for negative advertisements 21 Campaign strategists criticized this requirement stating that it would waste time and cause voters to be confused 21 General election campaign editCampaign issues edit See also Political positions of George W Bush Bush focused his campaign on national security presenting himself as a decisive leader and contrasted Kerry as a flip flopper This strategy was designed to convey to American voters the idea that Bush could be trusted to be tough on terrorism while Kerry would be uncertain in the face of danger 22 In the final months before the election Kerry s campaign focused on domestic issues such as the economy and health care Kerry s campaign managers believed that Kerry had an advantage on domestic issues 23 Bush s campaign also focused on increasing voter turnout among conservatives Karl Rove Bush s top political advisor stated that Bush s opposition to same sex marriage increased turnout among evangelical Christians 24 According to one exit poll people who voted for Bush cited the issues of terrorism and traditional values as the most important factors in their decision 25 Kerry supporters cited the war in Iraq the economy and jobs and health care 25 nbsp Bush speaking at campaign rally in St Petersburg Florida October 19 2004Economy edit See also Economic policy of the George W Bush administration Tax cuts were passed in 2001 and 2003 under the Bush administration with Bush s support Kerry voted against these tax cuts 26 During the 2004 campaign Bush praised these tax cuts stating that they helped to grow the economy 27 On the other hand Kerry attacked Bush for failing to create jobs under his presidency 28 Kerry stated that he wanted to reduce the United States budget deficit by capping government spending while ending various tax breaks for businesses 27 Kerry also supported tax credits for businesses that hire additional workers 29 Bush attacked Kerry for his economic proposals stating that they would cause Americans to pay higher taxes Bush also attacked Kerry for previously supporting tax raises such as a proposed increase on the federal gas tax 26 Foreign policy edit See also Foreign policy of the George W Bush administration Bush defended the Iraq War arguing that it was necessary to stop terrorism He also said that the United States had made progress stopping terrorism in other nations 30 Bush attacked Kerry for opposing the Iraq War after voting to authorize it in 2002 characterizing the shift as one of many flip flops by Kerry 31 Kerry argued that Bush had misled the American public in pursuing the Iraq War noting that no illegal weapons had been found in Iraq He said that the Iraq War was a mistake 32 and a diversion from terrorism in other nations such as Afghanistan 33 After the election exit polls found that foreign policy concerns were the most important issues for voters 34 Health care edit Health savings accounts HSAs were introduced in 2004 as part of the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act signed by Bush in December 2003 35 As part of his 2004 campaign Bush supported the expansion of HSAs He proposed tax cuts to help Americans purchase their own health insurance He also proposed a plan that would allow small businesses to purchase health insurance in large groups Kerry s health care proposals included government subsidies for businesses that provide health insurance and the expansion of government run health care programs 36 Health policy experts stated that Bush s proposals would have a more limited impact than Kerry s proposals 37 38 Kerry also attacked Bush for his policy on stem cell research In 2001 the Bush administration restricted embryonic stem cell research to existing stem cell lines Kerry stated that this restriction was a barrier to conducting important research 39 Same sex marriage edit In July 2004 Bush announced his support for a Constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriage shortly before the Senate voted on the amendment Although Kerry stated that he opposed same sex marriage he also opposed the amendment saying that the legality of same sex marriage should be decided by individual states 40 The Senate vote failed on July 14 41 Controversies edit Bush military service controversy edit Main article George W Bush military service controversy During the campaign Bush was accused of failing to fulfill his required service in the Texas Air National Guard 42 A scandal occurred at CBS News after they aired a segment on 60 Minutes Wednesday introducing what became known as the Killian documents These documents were allegedly written by Jerry B Killian Bush s squadron commander and they contained various allegations about Bush s service 43 Serious doubts about the documents authenticity quickly emerged 44 leading CBS to appoint a review panel that eventually resulted in the firing of the news producer and other significant staffing changes 45 46 The Killian documents were eventually concluded to be forgeries 47 Kerry military service controversy edit Main article John Kerry military service controversy Kerry was accused by the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth of distorting his military service in Vietnam 48 The group challenged the legitimacy of each of the combat medals awarded to Kerry by the U S Navy and the disposition of his discharge The organization spent 22 4 million in advertisements against Kerry After the election political analysts described their advertising campaign as effective 20 The term swiftboating was used during the campaign to describe the organization s negative advertising which Democrats saw as unfair It was also used after the campaign to generally describe a harsh attack by a political opponent that is dishonest personal and unfair 49 Presidential debates edit nbsp Neighboring yard signs for Bush and Kerry in Grosse Pointe MichiganMain article 2004 United States presidential debatesThree presidential debates and one vice presidential debate were organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates and held in the autumn of 2004 Debates among candidates for the 2004 U S presidential election No Date Host City Moderators Participants Viewship Millions P1 Thursday September 30 2004 University of Miami Coral Gables Florida Jim Lehrer President George W BushSenator John Kerry 62 4 50 VP Tuesday October 5 2004 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland Ohio Gwen Ifill Vice President Dick CheneySenator John Edwards 43 5 50 P2 Friday October 8 2004 Washington University in St Louis St Louis Missouri Charles Gibson President George W BushSenator John Kerry 46 7 50 P3 Wednesday October 13 2004 Arizona State University Tempe Arizona Bob Schieffer President George W BushSenator John Kerry 51 1 nbsp nbsp University of MiamiCoral Gables FL nbsp Case Western Reserve UniversityCleveland OH nbsp Washington University in St LouisSt Louis MO nbsp Arizona State UniversityTempe AZclass notpageimage Sites of the 2004 general election debatesThe first debate was held on September 30 slated to focus on foreign policy A consensus formed among mainstream pollsters and pundits that Kerry won the debate decisively strengthening what had come to be seen as a weak and troubled campaign 51 On October 5 the vice presidential debate between Cheney and Edwards An initial poll by ABC indicated a victory for Cheney while polls by CNN and MSNBC gave it to Edwards 52 53 54 55 The second presidential debate was conducted in a town meeting format less formal than the first presidential debate This debate saw Bush and Kerry taking questions on a variety of subjects from a local audience 56 Bush and Kerry met for the third and final debate on October 13 57 51 million viewers watched the debate After Kerry responding to a question about gay rights reminded the audience that Vice President Cheney s daughter was a lesbian Cheney responded with a statement calling himself a pretty angry father due to Kerry using Cheney s daughter s sexual orientation for his political purposes 58 Polls taken by Gallup in found that Kerry pulled ahead in October but showed a tight race as the election drew to a close 59 Osama bin Laden videotape edit Main article 2004 Osama bin Laden video On October 29 four days before the election excerpts of a video of Osama bin Laden addressing the American people were broadcast on al Jazeera In his remarks bin Laden mentions the September 11 2001 attacks and taunted Bush over his response to them In the days following the video s release Bush s lead over Kerry increased by several points 60 Results editElectoral results Presidential candidate Party Home state Popular vote Electoralvote Running mateCount Percentage Vice presidential candidate Home state Electoral voteGeorge W Bush incumbent Republican Texas 62 040 610 50 73 286 Dick Cheney incumbent Wyoming 286John Kerry Democratic Massachusetts 59 028 444 48 27 251 John Edwards North Carolina 251John Edwards a Democratic North Carolina 5 0 00 1 John Edwards North Carolina 1Ralph Nader Independent Connecticut 465 650 0 38 0 Peter Camejo b California 0Michael Badnarik Libertarian Texas 397 265 0 32 0 Richard Campagna Iowa 0Michael Peroutka Constitution Maryland 143 630 0 12 0 Chuck Baldwin Florida 0David Cobb Green Texas 119 859 0 10 0 Pat LaMarche Maine 0Leonard Peltier Peace and Freedom Pennsylvania 27 607 0 02 0 Janice Jordan California 0Walt Brown Socialist Oregon 10 837 0 01 0 Mary Alice Herbert Vermont 0Roger Calero c Socialist Workers New York 3 689 0 01 0 Arrin Hawkins c Minnesota 0Thomas Harens Christian Freedom Minnesota 2 387 0 002 0 Jennifer Ryan Minnesota 0Other 50 652 0 04 Other Total 122 295 345 100 538 538Needed to win 270 270Source Electoral and Popular Vote Federal Elections Commission Electoral and Popular Vote Summary Voting age population 215 664 000Percent of voting age population casting a vote for president 56 70 a One faithless elector from Minnesota cast an electoral vote for John Edwards written as John Ewards for president 61 b In Montana Karen Sanchirico was listed on the ballot as Nader s running mate not Camejo In Alabama Jan D Pierce was Nader s running mate In New York Nader appeared on two distinct tickets one with Camejo and one with Pierce 62 c Because Arrin Hawkins then aged 28 was constitutionally ineligible to serve as vice president Margaret Trowe replaced her on the ballot in some states James Harris replaced Calero on certain other states ballots Popular voteBush 50 73 Kerry 48 27 Nader 0 38 Badnarik 0 32 Peroutka 0 12 Others 0 17 Electoral voteBush 53 16 Kerry 46 65 Edwards 0 19 Results by state edit The following table records the official vote tallies for each state as reported by the official Federal Election Commission report The column labeled Margin shows Bush s margin of victory over Kerry the margin is negative for states and districts won by Kerry Legend States districts won by Kerry EdwardsStates districts won by Bush Cheney At large results for states that split electoral votes George W BushRepublican John KerryDemocratic Ralph NaderIndependent Reform Michael BadnarikLibertarian Michael PeroutkaConstitution David CobbGreen Others Margin State TotalState EV EV EV EV EV EV EV EV Alabama 9 1 176 394 62 46 9 693 933 36 84 6 701 0 36 3 529 0 19 1 994 0 11 0 0 00 898 0 05 482 461 25 62 1 883 449 ALAlaska 3 190 889 61 07 3 111 025 35 52 5 069 1 62 1 675 0 54 2 092 0 67 1 058 0 34 790 0 25 79 864 25 55 312 598 AKArizona 10 1 104 294 54 87 10 893 524 44 40 2 773 0 14 11 856 0 59 0 0 00 138 0 01 0 0 00 210 770 10 47 2 012 585 AZArkansas 6 572 898 54 31 6 469 953 44 55 6 171 0 58 2 352 0 22 2 083 0 20 1 488 0 14 0 0 00 102 945 9 76 1 054 945 ARCalifornia 55 5 509 826 44 36 6 745 485 54 31 55 20 714 0 17 50 165 0 40 26 645 0 21 40 771 0 33 27 747 0 22 1 235 659 9 95 12 421 353 CAColorado 9 1 101 255 51 69 9 1 001 732 47 02 12 718 0 60 7 664 0 36 2 562 0 12 1 591 0 07 2 808 0 13 99 523 4 67 2 130 330 COConnecticut 7 693 826 43 95 857 488 54 31 7 12 969 0 82 3 367 0 21 1 543 0 10 9 564 0 61 12 0 00 163 662 10 37 1 578 769 CTDelaware 3 171 660 45 75 200 152 53 35 3 2 153 0 57 586 0 16 289 0 08 250 0 07 100 0 03 28 492 7 59 375 190 DEDistrict of Columbia 3 21 256 9 34 202 970 89 18 3 1 485 0 65 502 0 22 0 0 00 737 0 32 636 0 28 181 714 79 84 227 586 DCFlorida 27 3 964 522 52 10 27 3 583 544 47 09 32 971 0 43 11 996 0 16 6 626 0 09 3 917 0 05 6 234 0 08 380 978 5 01 7 609 810 FLGeorgia 15 1 914 254 57 97 15 1 366 149 41 37 2 231 0 07 18 387 0 56 580 0 02 228 0 01 46 0 00 548 105 16 60 3 301 875 GAHawaii 4 194 191 45 26 231 708 54 01 4 0 0 00 1 377 0 32 0 0 00 1 737 0 40 0 0 00 37 517 8 74 429 013 HIIdaho 4 409 235 68 38 4 181 098 30 26 1 115 0 19 3 844 0 64 3 084 0 52 58 0 01 13 0 00 228 137 38 12 598 447 IDIllinois 21 2 345 946 44 48 2 891 550 54 82 21 3 571 0 07 32 442 0 62 440 0 01 241 0 00 132 0 00 545 604 10 34 5 274 322 ILIndiana 11 1 479 438 59 94 11 969 011 39 26 1 328 0 05 18 058 0 73 0 0 00 102 0 00 65 0 00 510 427 20 68 2 468 002 INIowa 7 751 957 49 90 7 741 898 49 23 5 973 0 40 2 992 0 20 1 304 0 09 1 141 0 08 1 643 0 11 10 059 0 67 1 506 908 IAKansas 6 736 456 62 00 6 434 993 36 62 9 348 0 79 4 013 0 34 2 899 0 24 33 0 00 14 0 00 301 463 25 38 1 187 756 KSKentucky 8 1 069 439 59 55 8 712 733 39 69 8 856 0 49 2 619 0 15 2 213 0 12 0 0 00 22 0 00 356 706 19 86 1 795 882 KYLouisiana 9 1 102 169 56 72 9 820 299 42 22 7 032 0 36 2 781 0 14 5 203 0 27 1 276 0 07 4 346 0 22 281 870 14 51 1 943 106 LAMaine 2 330 201 44 58 396 842 53 57 2 8 069 1 09 1 965 0 27 735 0 10 2 936 0 40 4 0 00 66 641 9 00 740 752 MEMaine 1 1 165 824 43 14 211 703 55 07 1 4 004 1 04 1 047 0 27 346 0 09 1 468 0 38 45 879 11 94 384 392 ME1Maine 2 1 164 377 46 13 185 139 51 95 1 4 065 1 14 918 0 26 389 0 11 1 468 0 41 20 762 5 83 356 356 ME2Maryland 10 1 024 703 42 93 1 334 493 55 91 10 11 854 0 50 6 094 0 26 3 421 0 14 3 632 0 15 2 481 0 10 309 790 12 98 2 386 678 MDMassachusetts 12 1 071 109 36 78 1 803 800 61 94 12 4 806 0 17 15 022 0 52 0 0 00 10 623 0 36 7 028 0 24 732 691 25 16 2 912 388 MAMichigan 17 2 313 746 47 81 2 479 183 51 23 17 24 035 0 50 10 552 0 22 4 980 0 10 5 325 0 11 1 431 0 03 165 437 3 42 4 839 252 MIMinnesota 10 1 346 695 47 61 1 445 014 51 09 9 18 683 0 66 4 639 0 16 3 074 0 11 4 408 0 16 5 874 0 21 98 319 3 48 2 828 387 MNMississippi 6 684 981 59 45 6 458 094 39 76 3 177 0 28 1 793 0 16 1 759 0 15 1 073 0 09 1 268 0 11 226 887 19 69 1 152 145 MSMissouri 11 1 455 713 53 30 11 1 259 171 46 10 1 294 0 05 9 831 0 36 5 355 0 20 0 0 00 0 0 00 196 542 7 20 2 731 364 MOMontana 3 266 063 59 07 3 173 710 38 56 6 168 1 37 1 733 0 38 1 764 0 39 996 0 22 11 0 00 92 353 20 50 450 445 MTNebraska 2 512 814 65 90 2 254 328 32 68 5 698 0 73 2 041 0 26 1 314 0 17 978 0 13 1 013 0 13 258 486 33 22 778 186 NENebraska 1 1 169 888 62 97 1 96 314 35 70 2 025 0 75 656 0 24 405 0 15 453 0 17 30 0 01 73 574 27 27 269 771 NE1Nebraska 2 1 153 041 60 24 1 97 858 38 52 1 731 0 68 813 0 32 305 0 12 261 0 10 23 0 01 55 183 21 72 254 032 NE2Nebraska 3 1 189 885 74 92 1 60 156 23 73 1 942 0 77 572 0 23 604 0 24 264 0 10 29 0 01 129 729 51 18 253 452 NE3Nevada 5 418 690 50 47 5 397 190 47 88 4 838 0 58 3 176 0 38 1 152 0 14 853 0 10 3 688 0 44 21 500 2 59 829 587 NVNew Hampshire 4 331 237 48 87 340 511 50 24 4 4 479 0 66 372 0 05 161 0 02 0 0 00 978 0 14 9 274 1 37 677 738 NHNew Jersey 15 1 670 003 46 24 1 911 430 52 92 15 19 418 0 54 4 514 0 12 2 750 0 08 1 807 0 05 1 769 0 05 241 427 6 68 3 611 691 NJNew Mexico 5 376 930 49 84 5 370 942 49 05 4 053 0 54 2 382 0 31 771 0 10 1 226 0 16 0 0 00 5 988 0 79 756 304 NMNew York 31 2 962 567 40 08 4 314 280 58 37 31 99 873 1 35 11 607 0 16 207 0 00 87 0 00 2 415 0 03 1 351 713 18 29 7 391 036 NYNorth Carolina 15 1 961 166 56 02 15 1 525 849 43 58 1 805 0 05 11 731 0 34 0 0 00 108 0 00 348 0 01 435 317 12 43 3 501 007 NCNorth Dakota 3 196 651 62 86 3 111 052 35 50 3 756 1 20 851 0 27 514 0 16 0 0 00 9 0 00 85 599 27 36 312 833 NDOhio 20 2 859 768 50 81 20 2 741 167 48 71 0 0 00 14 676 0 26 11 939 0 21 192 0 00 166 0 00 118 601 2 11 5 627 908 OHOklahoma 7 959 792 65 57 7 503 966 34 43 0 0 00 0 0 00 0 0 00 0 0 00 0 0 00 455 826 31 14 1 463 758 OKOregon 7 866 831 47 19 943 163 51 35 7 0 0 00 7 260 0 40 5 257 0 29 5 315 0 29 8 956 0 49 76 332 4 16 1 836 782 ORPennsylvania 21 2 793 847 48 42 2 938 095 50 92 21 2 656 0 05 21 185 0 37 6 318 0 11 6 319 0 11 1 170 0 02 144 248 2 50 5 769 590 PARhode Island 4 169 046 38 67 259 765 59 42 4 4 651 1 06 907 0 21 339 0 08 1 333 0 30 1 093 0 25 90 719 20 75 437 134 RISouth Carolina 8 937 974 57 98 8 661 699 40 90 5 520 0 34 3 608 0 22 5 317 0 33 1 488 0 09 2 124 0 13 276 275 17 08 1 617 730 SCSouth Dakota 3 232 584 59 91 3 149 244 38 44 4 320 1 11 964 0 25 1 103 0 28 0 0 00 0 0 00 83 340 21 47 388 215 SDTennessee 11 1 384 375 56 80 11 1 036 477 42 53 8 992 0 37 4 866 0 20 2 570 0 11 33 0 00 6 0 00 347 898 14 27 2 437 319 TNTexas 34 4 526 917 61 09 34 2 832 704 38 22 9 159 0 12 38 787 0 52 1 636 0 02 1 014 0 01 548 0 01 1 694 213 22 86 7 410 765 TXUtah 5 663 742 71 54 5 241 199 26 00 11 305 1 22 3 375 0 36 6 841 0 74 39 0 00 1 343 0 14 422 543 45 54 927 844 UTVermont 3 121 180 38 80 184 067 58 94 3 4 494 1 44 1 102 0 35 0 0 00 0 0 00 1 466 0 47 62 887 20 14 312 309 VTVirginia 13 1 716 959 53 68 13 1 454 742 45 48 2 393 0 07 11 032 0 34 10 161 0 32 104 0 00 2 976 0 09 262 217 8 20 3 198 367 VAWashington 11 1 304 894 45 64 1 510 201 52 82 11 23 283 0 81 11 955 0 42 3 922 0 14 2 974 0 10 1 855 0 06 205 307 7 18 2 859 084 WAWest Virginia 5 423 778 56 06 5 326 541 43 20 4 063 0 54 1 405 0 19 82 0 01 5 0 00 13 0 00 97 237 12 86 755 887 WVWisconsin 10 1 478 120 49 32 1 489 504 49 70 10 16 390 0 55 6 464 0 22 0 0 00 2 661 0 09 3 868 0 13 11 384 0 38 2 997 007 WIWyoming 3 167 629 68 86 3 70 776 29 07 2 741 1 13 1 171 0 48 631 0 26 0 0 00 480 0 20 96 853 39 79 243 428 WYU S Total 538 62 040 610 50 73 286 59 028 444 48 27 251 465 151 0 38 397 265 0 32 143 630 0 12 119 859 0 10 99 887 0 08 3 012 166 2 46 122 294 846 USAlthough Guam has no votes in the Electoral College they have held a straw poll for their presidential preferences since 1980 In 2004 the results were Bush 21 490 64 1 Kerry 11 781 35 1 Nader 196 0 58 and Badnarik 67 0 2 63 Maine and Nebraska each allowed for their electoral votes to be split between candidates In both states two electoral votes were awarded to the winner of the statewide race and one electoral vote was awarded to the winner of each congressional district 64 65 States that flipped Democratic to Republican edit New Mexico IowaStates that flipped Republican to Democratic edit New HampshireClose states edit Red font color denotes those won by Republican President George W Bush blue denotes states won by Democrat John Kerry States where margin of victory was under 1 22 electoral votes Wisconsin 0 38 11 384 votes Iowa 0 67 10 059 votes New Mexico 0 79 5 988 votes States where margin of victory was more than 1 but less than 5 93 electoral votes New Hampshire 1 37 9 274 votes Ohio 2 11 118 601 votes tipping point state Pennsylvania 2 50 144 248 votes Nevada 2 59 21 500 votes Michigan 3 42 165 437 votes Minnesota 3 48 98 319 votes Oregon 4 16 76 332 votes Colorado 4 67 99 523 votes States where margin of victory was more than 5 but less than 10 149 electoral votes Florida 5 01 380 978 votes Maine s 2nd Congressional District 5 82 20 762 votes New Jersey 6 68 241 427 votes Washington 7 18 205 307 votes Missouri 7 20 196 542 votes Delaware 7 59 28 492 votes Virginia 8 20 262 217 votes Hawaii 8 74 37 517 votes Maine 9 00 66 641 votes Arkansas 9 76 102 945 votes California 9 95 1 235 659 votes Statistics edit 66 Counties with highest percent of vote Republican Ochiltree County Texas 91 97 Madison County Idaho 91 89 Glasscock County Texas 91 56 Roberts County Texas 90 93 Arthur County Nebraska 90 23 Counties with highest percent of vote Democratic Washington D C 89 18 Shannon County South Dakota 84 62 City and County of San Francisco California 83 02 Macon County Alabama 82 92 Bronx County New York 82 80 Finance edit nbsp These maps show the amount of attention given by the campaigns to the close states At left each waving hand represents a visit from a presidential or vice presidential candidate during the final five weeks At right each dollar sign represents one million dollars spent on TV advertising by the campaigns during the same time period George W Bush R 367 227 801 John Kerry D 326 236 288 Ralph Nader I 4 566 037 Michael Badnarik L 1 093 013 Michael Peroutka C 729 087 David Cobb G 493 723 Walt Brown SPUSA 2 060 money spent Source FEC 67 Ballot access edit Presidential ticket Party Ballot accessBush Cheney Republican 50 DCKerry Edwards Democratic 50 DCBadnarik Campagna Libertarian 48 DCPeroutka Baldwin Constitution 36Nader Camejo Independent Reform 34 DCCobb LaMarche Green 27 DC2004 United States Electoral College edit Main article United States presidential electors 2004 Faithless elector in Minnesota edit One elector in Minnesota cast a ballot for president with the name of John Ewards sic written on it 68 The Electoral College officials certified this ballot as a vote for John Edwards for president The remaining nine electors cast ballots for John Kerry All ten electors in the state cast ballots for John Edwards for vice president John Edwards s name was spelled correctly on all ballots for vice president 69 This was the first time in U S history that an elector had cast a vote for the same person to be both president and vice president Electoral balloting in Minnesota was performed by secret ballot and none of the electors admitted to casting the Edwards vote for president so it may never be known who the faithless elector was It is not even known whether the vote for Edwards was deliberate or unintentional the Republican Secretary of State and several of the Democratic electors have expressed the opinion that this was an accident 70 Statistical Analysis edit nbsp Cheney visited Washington amp Jefferson College in Pennsylvania on October 27 2004 71 During the campaign and as the results came in on the night of the election there was much focus on Ohio Pennsylvania and Florida These three swing states were seen as evenly divided and with each casting 20 electoral votes or more they had the power to decide the election As the final results came in Kerry took Pennsylvania and then Bush took Florida focusing all attention on Ohio nbsp Bush in the Oval Office receiving a concession phone call from Kerry which came the afternoon of the day following the electionThe morning after the election the winner was still undetermined The result in Ohio would decide the winner although the results in New Mexico and Iowa were also undetermined Bush led in Ohio but the state was still counting provisional ballots In the afternoon of the day after the election Ohio s Secretary of State Ken Blackwell announced that there were roughly 135 000 provisional ballots remaining Kerry s campaign believed that it was statistically impossible to erase Bush s lead Faced with this announcement Kerry conceded defeat 72 Bush became the first Republican to ever win without carrying New Hampshire and the first to win the popular vote without Vermont and Illinois This was the last time a president was re elected with a higher share of the electoral vote Bush carried Colorado despite the state being Kerry s birth state Bush simultaneously lost his own birth state of Connecticut making this the only election since 1864 where neither candidate carried their birth state This election was the first and only time since 1976 that New Jersey Connecticut Vermont Maine Illinois New Mexico Michigan and California voted for the losing candidate in the popular vote as well as the first since 1980 that Maryland did so and the first since 1948 that Delaware did so Bush s 2 4 popular vote margin is the smallest ever for a re elected president surpassing the 1812 election Bush won 4 states that have not voted Republican since Virginia Colorado Nevada and New Mexico In contrast this is the last election in which the losing candidate won any of the following states Michigan Pennsylvania and Wisconsin This is also the last time a Republican was elected without carrying Maine s 2nd congressional district This election is the only time in history that every Northeastern state voted Democratic and every former Confederate state voted Republican Thus Bush is the only Republican to win without carrying any Northeastern electoral votes This was the last election where both major party tickets consisted entirely of white men This is the last election where both parties flipped states As of 2020 this is the only presidential election since 1988 in which the Republican nominee won the popular vote as well as the last time the Democratic nominee lost the popular vote and the only presidential election since 1984 in which the incumbent Republican president won re election Bush also became the only incumbent president to win re election after previously losing the popular vote The 2004 election had the highest turnout rate among eligible voters since 1968 73 74 nbsp Presidential electoral votes by state Red is Republican blue is Democratic nbsp Presidential popular votes by county nbsp Presidential popular votes by county as a scale from red Republican to blue Democratic nbsp Presidential popular votes cartogram in which the sizes of counties have been rescaled according to their population nbsp Cartogram in which each square represents one electoral vote nbsp Results by county shaded according to winning candidate s percentage of the vote nbsp County swing from 2000 to 2004 nbsp Results by congressional district Voter demographics edit2004 presidential vote by demographic subgroupDemographic subgroup Kerry Bush Other oftotal voteTotal vote 48 51 1 100IdeologyLiberals 86 13 1 21Moderates 54 45 1 45Conservatives 15 84 1 34PartyDemocrats 89 11 0 37Republicans 6 93 1 37Independents 49 48 3 26GenderMen 44 55 1 46Women 51 48 1 54Marital statusMarried 42 57 1 63Non married 58 40 2 37RaceWhite 41 58 1 77Black 88 11 1 11Asian 56 43 1 2Other 56 40 4 2Hispanic 54 44 2 8ReligionProtestant 40 59 1 54Catholic 47 52 1 27Jewish 74 25 1 3Other 74 23 3 7None 67 31 2 10Religious service attendanceMore than weekly 35 64 1 16Weekly 41 58 1 26Monthly 49 50 1 14A few times a year 54 45 1 28Never 62 36 2 15White evangelical or born again Christian White evangelical or born again Christian 21 78 1 23Everyone else 56 43 1 77Age18 29 years old 54 45 1 1730 44 years old 46 53 1 2945 59 years old 48 51 1 3060 and older 46 54 0 24First time voter First time voter 53 46 1 11Everyone else 48 51 1 89Sexual orientationGay lesbian or bisexual 77 22 1 4Heterosexual 46 53 1 96EducationNot a high school graduate 50 49 1 4High school graduate 47 52 1 22Some college education 46 54 0 32College graduate 46 52 2 26Postgraduate education 55 44 1 16Family incomeUnder 15 000 63 36 1 8 15 000 30 000 57 42 1 15 30 000 50 000 50 49 1 22 50 000 75 000 43 56 1 23 75 000 100 000 45 55 0 14 100 000 150 000 42 57 1 11 150 000 200 000 42 58 0 4Over 200 000 35 63 2 3Union householdsUnion 59 40 1 24Non union 44 55 1 76Military serviceVeterans 41 57 2 18Non veterans 50 49 1 82Issue regarded as most importantMoral values 18 80 2 22Economy 80 18 2 20Terrorism 14 86 0 19Iraq 73 26 1 15Health care 77 23 0 8Taxes 43 57 0 5Education 73 26 1 4RegionNortheast 56 43 1 22Midwest 48 51 1 26South 42 58 0 32West 50 49 1 20Community sizeUrban 54 45 1 30Suburban 47 52 1 46Rural 42 57 1 25Source CNN exit poll 13 660 surveyed 75 Aftermath editVoting problems in Ohio edit After the election activists and election scholars criticized various issues with the election in Ohio Long lines at polling places over seven hours were reported An electronic voting machine erroneously gave thousands of extra votes to Bush 76 Professor Edward B Foley stated that Ohio s voting problems did not affect the outcome 77 Objections and conspiracy theories edit Main article 2004 United States election voting controversies This section may present fringe theories without giving appropriate weight to the mainstream view and explaining the responses to the fringe theories Please help improve it or discuss the issue on the talk page January 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message nbsp Map of election day problemsAfter the election many blogs published false rumors claiming to show evidence that voter fraud had prevented Kerry from winning 78 79 Although the overall result of the election was not challenged by the Kerry campaign Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb and Libertarian Party presidential candidate Michael Badnarik obtained a recount in Ohio This recount was completed December 28 2004 although on January 24 2007 a jury convicted two Ohio elections officials of selecting precincts to recount where they already knew the hand total would match the machine total thereby avoiding having to perform a full recount 80 Independent candidate Ralph Nader obtained a recount in 11 New Hampshire precincts that used Accuvote voting machines 81 At the official counting of the electoral votes on January 6 an objection was made under the Electoral Count Act now 3 U S C 15 to Ohio s electoral votes Because the motion was supported by at least one member of both the House of Representatives and the Senate the law required that the two houses separate to debate and vote on the objection In the House of Representatives the objection was supported by 31 Democrats It was opposed by 178 Republicans 88 Democrats and one independent Not voting were 52 Republicans and 80 Democrats 82 Four people elected to the House had not yet taken office and one seat was vacant In the Senate it was supported only by its maker Barbara Boxer with 74 senators opposed and 25 not voting During the debate no Senator argued that the outcome of the election should be changed by either court challenge or revote Boxer claimed that she had made the motion not to challenge the outcome but to cast the light of truth on a flawed system which must be fixed now 83 84 Kerry would later state that the widespread irregularities make it impossible to know for certain that the Ohio outcome reflected the will of the voters In the same article Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said I m not confident that the election in Ohio was fairly decided We know that there was substantial voter suppression and the machines were not reliable It should not be a surprise that the Republicans are willing to do things that are unethical to manipulate elections That s what we suspect has happened 85 Points of controversy edit The Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell who simultaneously served as co chair of the 2004 Republican presidential campaign came under fire for failing to uphold his legal obligation to investigate potential voter fraud manipulation and irregularities in a 100 page report by Democrats on the staff of the House Judiciary Committee See also editTimeline of the 2004 United States presidential election Ralph Nader s presidential campaigns Jesusland map Newspaper endorsements in the 2004 United States presidential election History of the United States 1991 2008 Kerry Fonda 2004 election photo controversy Second inauguration of George W Bush White House shakeup 2004 2004 Colorado Amendment 36Other elections edit 2004 United States gubernatorial elections 2004 United States House of Representatives elections 2004 United States Senate electionsNotes edit One Minnesota elector voted for Edwards for both president and vice president References edit National General Election VEP Turnout Rates 1789 Present United States Election Project CQ Press Tagliabue John March 5 2003 France Germany and Russia Vow to Stop Use of Force Against Iraq The New York Times U S advises weapons inspectors to leave Iraq USA Today March 17 2003 Lincoln Chafee Against the Tide 2007 pp 119 20 Gongloff Mark Bush to push ownership society CNN Retrieved November 16 2017 Nagourney Adam January 28 2004 Kerry Defeats Dean in New Hampshire The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved February 23 2024 PRIMARY RESULTS Delegate Scorecard www cnn com Retrieved February 23 2024 McCain Spurning Kerry On VP Slot CBS News www cbsnews com June 12 2004 Retrieved April 11 2024 Kerry names Edwards his running mate www cnn com Retrieved February 23 2024 Newman Maria July 13 2004 Democratic Convention to Focus on Kerry s Military Service The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved February 24 2024 Kerry casts Bush as unfit to lead frayed military NBC News July 24 2004 Retrieved February 24 2024 Bernstein David June 2007 The Speech Chicago Magazine Retrieved April 13 2008 Libertarians pick their nominee NBC News May 30 2004 Retrieved February 24 2024 Green Party Deals Nader A Blow CBS News www cbsnews com August 7 2004 Retrieved February 24 2024 Federal Elections 2004 PDF Federal Election Commission Washington D C 2005 Retrieved February 24 2024 THIRD PARTIES www cnn com Retrieved February 24 2024 a b c Warner Melanie Machine Politics in the Digital Age The New York Times November 9 2003 Schwartz John May 1 2004 High Tech Voting System Is Banned in California The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved February 6 2024 Justice Glen February 19 2004 THE 2004 CAMPAIGN FUND RAISING ADVOCACY GROUPS WIN FUND RULING The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved February 6 2024 a b Janofsky Michael December 17 2004 Advocacy Groups Spent Record Amount on 2004 Election The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved February 6 2024 a b Rutenberg Jim November 8 2003 Fine Print Is Given Full Voice in Campaign Ads The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved February 6 2024 Stevenson Richard W February 24 2004 THE 2004 CAMPAIGN THE PRESIDENT CAMPAIGN BEGINS AS BUSH ATTACKS KERRY IN SPEECH The New York Times Retrieved January 28 2024 Nagourney Adam October 3 2004 Domestic Issues Pushed to Front of Campaigns The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved February 19 2024 Bumiller Elisabeth Halbfinger David M Rosenbaum David E November 4 2004 Turnout Effort and Kerry Too Were G O P s Keys to Victory The New York Times Retrieved April 11 2024 a b Decision 2004 Exit poll NBC News Archived from the original on March 15 2013 Retrieved June 5 2008 a b Stevenson Richard W March 21 2004 At Rally in Vital State Bush Attacks Kerry on Economy The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved February 4 2024 a b CNN com Kerry slams Bush over deficit www cnn com April 7 2004 Retrieved February 4 2024 Neilan Terence September 15 2004 Kerry Sharply Criticizes Bush s Record on the Economy The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved February 4 2024 Neilan Terence September 15 2004 Kerry Sharply Criticizes Bush s Record on the Economy The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved February 4 2024 Stevenson Richard W Wilgoren Jodi July 13 2004 THE 2004 CAMPAIGN THE PRESIDENT Bush Forcefully Defends War Citing Safety of U S and World The New York Times Retrieved January 28 2024 Kerry discusses 87 billion comment www cnn com Retrieved November 30 2020 Wilgoren Jodi Bumiller Elisabeth September 21 2004 In Harshest Critique Yet Kerry Attacks Bush Over War in Iraq The New York Times Retrieved January 28 2024 Toner Robin September 25 2004 Kerry Promises to Refocus U S on Terror War The New York Times Retrieved January 28 2024 Klinkner Philip A 2006 Mr Bush s War Foreign Policy in the 2004 Election Presidential Studies Quarterly 36 2 281 296 doi 10 1111 j 1741 5705 2006 00303 x ISSN 0360 4918 JSTOR 27552219 Fact Sheet Guidance Released on Health Savings Accounts HSAs georgewbush whitehouse archives gov Retrieved January 31 2024 Stevenson Richard W Toner Robin September 17 2004 Bush Says Kerry Is Pushing Nationalized Health Care The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved January 31 2024 Toner Robin May 14 2004 THE 2004 CAMPAIGN POLITICAL MEMO Biggest Divide Maybe It s Health Care The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved January 31 2024 Connolly Ceci August 22 2004 Bush Health Care Plan Seems to Fall Short Washington Post Retrieved January 31 2024 Farhi Paul June 21 2004 Kerry Voices Support For Stem Cell Funding The Washington Post Retrieved February 23 2024 Nagourney Adam Kirkpatrick David D July 12 2004 THE 2004 CAMPAIGN SAME SEX MARRIAGE Urged by Right Bush Takes On Gay Marriages The New York Times Retrieved January 28 2024 Same sex marriage Senate battle over war is not CNN July 15 2004 Retrieved January 29 2024 Bush fell short on duty at Guard Boston Globe September 8 2004 Retrieved June 16 2007 CBS 60 Minutes Wednesday transcript PDF Thornburgh Boccardi Report Exhibit 1B September 8 2004 Retrieved June 16 2007 Michael Dobbs and Mike Allen September 9 2004 Some Question Authenticity of Papers on Bush The Washington Post Retrieved June 16 2007 Thornburgh Boccardi report PDF CBS News Retrieved June 16 2007 Final Figure in 60 Minutes Scandal Resigns Fox News Associated Press March 25 2005 Retrieved June 16 2007 Zeller Tom May 23 2005 In blogs smoking guns provide ammunition The New York Times Retrieved February 4 2024 Election of 2004 Retrieved November 15 2017 Glossary US elections BBC News November 14 2011 Retrieved February 18 2024 a b c CPD 2004 Debates www debates org Retrieved January 8 2019 Poll Kerry Wins Debate Pulls Even msnbc com October 4 2004 Archived from the original on September 10 2007 Retrieved November 3 2008 Dick Cheney Debate With John Edwards Polls Give It To Edwards s5000 com October 6 2004 Archived from the original on September 28 2007 Retrieved May 24 2010 US running mates clash over Iraq BBC News October 6 2004 Retrieved November 3 2008 Sandalow Marc October 5 2004 Edwards Cheney debate wide audience expected Tight race makes VP matchup more compelling San Francisco Chronicle Archived from the original on October 29 2004 Langer Gary Sussman Dalia October 6 2004 Cheney Gains With Help From His Friends ABC News Retrieved November 3 2008 US debate What the commentators said BBC October 9 2004 Retrieved November 3 2008 Transcript amp Video Third Debate You Decide 2004 Fox News October 14 2004 Archived from the original on April 7 2013 Retrieved November 3 2008 Vanden Brook Tom October 14 2004 Kerry lesbian remark angers Cheneys USA Today Retrieved October 5 2012 Gallup Presidential Election Trial Heat Trends 1936 2008 Gallup September 24 2008 Retrieved January 11 2018 Sherwell Philip October 31 2004 Bush takes a six point lead after new bin Laden tape The Daily Telegraph London Archived from the original on December 6 2008 Retrieved October 5 2012 MPR Minnesota elector gives Edwards a vote Kerry gets other nine News minnesota publicradio org Retrieved May 5 2009 2004 Presidential Election by State The Green Papers 2004 Presidential Vote Ballot Access org December 12 2004 Retrieved September 17 2008 Maine Certificate of Ascertaiment 2004 Presidential Election May 20 2019 Nebraska Certificate of Ascertainment 2004 Presidential Election May 20 2019 2004 Presidential General Election Data National Uselectionatlas org Search Campaign Finance Summary Data Fec gov Archived from the original on October 6 2008 Retrieved November 3 2008 Freddoso David December 21 2004 Does L Stand For Loser National Review Retrieved April 11 2015 Radio Minnesota Public MPR Minnesota elector gives Edwards a vote Kerry gets other nine Minnesota Public Radio Minnesota elector gives Edwards a vote Kerry gets other nine Travels of Vice President Dick Cheney October 2004 Gwu edu Retrieved November 3 2008 Liptak Adam November 4 2004 In Making His Decision on Ohio Kerry Did the Math The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved January 25 2024 Faler Brian January 14 2005 Election Turnout in 2004 Was Highest Since 1968 The Washington Post Retrieved February 22 2024 Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections The American PresidencyProject www presidency ucsb edu Retrieved January 8 2021 CNN com Election 2004 CNN Retrieved January 2 2018 Liptak Adam November 7 2004 Voting Problems in Ohio Set Off an Alarm The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved February 25 2024 Dao James Fessenden Ford Zeller Tom Jr December 24 2004 Voting Problems in Ohio Spur Call for Overhaul The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved February 25 2024 Zeller Tom Jr November 12 2004 Vote Fraud Theories Spread by Blogs Are Quickly Buried The New York Times Retrieved April 11 2024 Weiss Joanna December 19 2020 What Happened to the Democrats Who Never Accepted Bush s Election POLITICO Retrieved February 8 2021 Kropko M R January 24 2007 Election Staff Convicted in Recount Rig The Washington Post Retrieved May 26 2010 Herron Michael C Wand Jonathan June 1 2007 Assessing partisan bias in voting technology The case of the 2004 New Hampshire recount Electoral Studies 26 2 247 261 doi 10 1016 j electstud 2006 02 004 ISSN 0261 3794 Final Vote Results for Roll Call 7 Clerk house gov January 6 2005 Retrieved May 24 2010 Congress Ratifies Bush Victory After Challenge The New York Times January 7 2005 Senator Barbara Boxer s Democrat California Objection To The Certification Of Ohio s Electoral Votes The Green Papers January 6 2005 Kennedy Robert F Was the 2004 Election Stolen Rolling Stone Rollingstone com Retrieved November 3 2008 Sources editOfficial Federal Election Commission Report a PDF file with the latest most final and complete vote totals available Presidential Results by Congressional District Polidata Washington D C Polidata Retrieved July 29 2005 Barone Michael J The Almanac of American Politics 2006 2005 Daclon Corrado Maria US elections and war on terrorism 2004 Analisi Difesa no 50 Evan Thomas Eleanor Clift and Staff of Newsweek Election 2004 2005 Books edit Ceaser James W and Andrew E Busch Red Over Blue The 2004 Elections and American Politics 2005 narrative history Freeman Steven F and Joel Bleifuss Foreword by U S Representative John Conyers Jr Was the 2004 Presidential Election Stolen Exit Polls Election Fraud and the Official Count Seven Stories Press 2006 Greene John C and Mark J Rozell eds The Values Campaign The Christian Right and the 2004 Elections 2006 Miller Mark Crispin Fooled Again How the Right Stole the 2004 Election 2005 Sabato Larry J Divided States of America The Slash And Burn Politics of the 2004 Presidential Election 2005 Stempel III Guido H and Thomas K Hargrove eds The 21st Century Voter Who Votes How They Vote and Why They Vote 2 vol 2015 Further reading editNordhaus William July 2006 Electoral victory and statistical defeat Economics politics and the 2004 Presidential election Quarterly Journal of Political Science 1 3 313 322 doi 10 1561 100 00000014 Baum Matthew A Gussin Phil March 2008 In the eye of the beholder how information shortcuts shape individual perceptions of bias in the media PDF Quarterly Journal of Political Science 3 1 1 31 doi 10 1561 100 00007010 S2CID 144067126 Archived from the original PDF on February 8 2020 External links edit2004 United States presidential election at Curlie Election of 2004 in Counting the VotesOfficial candidate websites edit Michael Badnarik Libertarian archived version from the U S Library of Congress United States Election 2004 Web Archive George W Bush Republican archived version from the U S Library of Congress United States Election 2004 Web Archive David Cobb Green archived version from the U S Library of Congress United States Election 2004 Web Archive John Kerry Democrat archived version from the U S Library of Congress United States Election 2004 Web Archive Ralph Nader Independent archived version from the U S Library of Congress United States Election 2004 Web Archive Michael Peroutka Constitution Archived from the original on November 1 2004 Retrieved September 25 2007 Election maps and analysis edit Maps of proportion shift counties more Republican counties more Democratic compared to 2000 election NYTimes com 2004 Election Results Interactive Graphic PBS org Interactive Electoral College Map Maps and cartograms of the 2004 U S presidential election results Michael Gastner Cosma Shalizi and Mark Newman University of Michigan Election 2004 Results Robert J Vanderbei Princeton University Interactive Atlas of the 2004 Presidential Election Results Dave Liep Alternate views of the electoral results map Assessing the Vote and the Roots of American Political DivideState by state forecasts of electoral vote outcome edit Probability analysis of Electoral College based on latest poll results by state Electoral Vote Predictor 2004 Larry J Sabato s Crystal Ball Race 2004 Archived from the original on November 2 2004 Retrieved June 7 2012 USA Today pollsControversies edit About com Democracy amp Voting Rights Ohio 2004 Election as Lesson in What Can Go Wrong The Whoppers of 2004 FactCheck Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania October 31 2004 Archived from the original on November 1 2004 Election campaign funding edit Money MapsCampaign ads edit Campaign commercials from the 2004 election Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2004 United States presidential election amp oldid 1218645968, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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