The 2004 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004, during the early years of the war on terror and after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Republican President George W. Bush won re-election and Republicans retained control of Congress.
Democratic Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts won his party's nomination after defeating Senator John Edwards and several other candidates in the 2004 Democratic presidential primaries. In the general election, Bush won 286 of the 538 electoral votes and 50.7 percent of the popular vote. Foreign policy was the dominant theme throughout the election campaign, particularly Bush's conduct of the war on terrorism and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Riding Bush's coattails, the Republicans picked up net gains of four Senate seats and three House seats. In the gubernatorial elections, neither party won a net gain of seats. Bush became the first president since Ronald Reagan in 1980 to see his party gain seats in both Houses of Congress during a presidential election year. Republicans would not win another trifecta until 2016.
Future President Barack Obama was elected to the United States Senate in Illinois, and he was elected president in the next presidential election.
As of 2020, this is the last time the incumbent party retained control over the presidency and Congress after a single term.
Federal elections
President
Republican incumbent President George W. Bush was re-elected, defeating Democratic Senator John Kerry from Massachusetts.
United States Senate
The 34 seats in the United States Senate Class 3 were up for election. Republicans had a net gain of 4 seats. Summary of the 2004 United States Senate elections results
| Parties | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Republican | Independent | Libertarian | Others | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Before these elections | 48 | 51 | 1 | — | — | 100 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| End of this Congress (two months later) | 48 | 51 | 1 | — | — | 100 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Not Up | 29 | 36 | 1 | — | — | 66 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Up | 19 | 15 | — | — | — | 34 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Incumbent retired |
Total before | 5 | 3 | — | — | — | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Held by same party | — | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Replaced by other party |  2 Republicans replaced by  2 Democrats 5 Democrats replaced by 5 Republicans
|
— | — | — | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result after | 2 | 6 | — | — | — | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Incumbent ran |
Total before | 14 | 12[a] | — | — | — | 26 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Won re-election | 13 | 12 | — | — | — | 25 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lost re-election | 1 Democrat replaced by 1 Republican
|
— | — | — | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lost renomination, held by same party | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lost renomination, and party lost | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result after | 13 | 13 | — | — | — | 26 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net gain/loss | 4
|
4
|
— | — | — | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total elected | 15 | 19 | — | — | — | 34 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result | 44 | 55 | 1 | — | — | 100 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Popular vote |
Votes | 44,754,618 | 39,920,562 | 186,231 | 754,861 | 2,481,075 | 88,097,347 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Share | 50.80% | 45.31% | 0.21% | 0.86% | 2.82% | 100% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sources:
- Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections
- United States Elections Project at George Mason University Archived 2013-07-09 at the Wayback Machine
United States House of Representatives
Republicans gained a couple of seats in the House, mainly due to the 2003 Texas redistricting. Republicans won the national popular vote for the House of Representatives by a margin of 2.6 percentage points.[1]
| Parties | Seats | Popular vote | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 2004 | Net change |
Strength | Vote | % | Change | ||
| Republican Party | 229 | 232 | 3
|
53.3% | 55,958,144 | 49.4% | -0.6% | |
| Democratic Party | 205 | 202 | 3
|
46.4% | 52,969,786 | 46.8% | +1.6% | |
| Libertarian Party | — | — | — | — | 1,056,844 | 0.9% | -0.5% | |
| Independent | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.2% | 674,202 | 0.6% | +0.1% | |
| Green Party | — | — | — | — | 344,549 | 0.3% | -0.1% | |
| Constitution Party | — | — | — | — | 187,006 | 0.2% | - | |
| Reform Party | — | — | — | — | 85,539 | 0.1% | +0.1% | |
| Independence Party | — | — | — | — | 76,053 | 0.1% | +0.1% | |
| Others | — | — | — | — | 1,840,163 | 1.6% | -0.6% | |
| Total | 434 | 435 | 0 | 100.0% | 113,192,286 | 100.0% | – | |
| Source: Election Statistics - Office of the Clerk | ||||||||
State elections
Governors
Eleven of the fifty United States governors were up for re-election, as were the governorships of two U.S. territories. The final results were a net change of zero between the political parties. The Democrats picked up the governorships in Montana and New Hampshire, but the Republicans picked up the ones in Indiana and Missouri.
| State | Incumbent | Party | First
elected |
Result | Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware | Ruth Ann Minner | Democratic | 2000 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
| Indiana | Joe Kernan | Democratic | 2003[b] | Incumbent lost re-election.
New governor elected. Republican gain. |
|
| Missouri | Bob Holden | Democratic | 2000 | Incumbent lost re-nomination.
New governor elected. Republican gain. |
|
| Montana | Judy Martz | Republican | 2000 | Incumbent retired.
New governor elected. Democratic gain. |
|
| New Hampshire | Craig Benson | Republican | 2002 | Incumbent lost re-election.
New governor elected. Democratic gain. |
|
| North Carolina | Mike Easley | Democratic | 2000 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
| North Dakota | John Hoeven | Republican | 2000 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
| Utah | Olene Walker | Republican | 2003[c] | Incumbent lost re-nomination.
New governor elected. Republican hold. |
|
| Vermont | Jim Douglas | Republican | 2002 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
| Washington | Gary Locke | Democratic | 2000 | Incumbent retired.
New governor elected. Democratic hold. |
|
| West Virginia | Bob Wise | Democratic | 2000 | Incumbent retired.
New governor elected. Democratic hold. |
|
Other statewide elections
In many states where if the following positions were elective offices, voters cast votes for candidates for state executive branch offices of Lieutenant Governor (though some were voted for on the same ticket as the gubernatorial nominee), Secretary of state, state Treasurer, state Auditor, state Attorney General, state Superintendent of Education, Commissioners of Insurance, Agriculture or, Labor, etc.) and state judicial branch offices (seats on state Supreme Courts and, in some states, state appellate courts).
State legislative elections
Elections to state legislatures were held on November 2, 2004, alongside other elections. Elections were held for 85 legislative chambers, with all states but Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, Alabama, Maryland, and Virginia holding elections in at least one house. Michigan and Minnesota held elections for their lower, but not upper houses.[2] Six chambers in three territories and the District of Columbia were up as well.
Republicans won control of four chambers including the Oklahoma House of Representatives for the first since 1922; the Georgia House of Representatives for the first time ever; the Tennessee Senate for the time since 1870; and the Indiana House of Representatives.
Democrats took control of eight legislative chambers including the Washington Senate; the Oregon Senate, which was previously tied; both houses of the Montana legislature; both houses of the Colorado legislature for the first time since 1963; the North Carolina House of Representatives- which was previously tied; and the Vermont House of Representatives. Additionally, the Iowa Senate became tied after previously being controlled by the GOP before the election.[3][4] Democrats' takeover of the Montana House only came after the Montana Supreme Court declared a Democrat a victor in a contested election that evenly split the chamber. This gave Democrats control of the chamber with the help of incoming governor Brian Schweitzer.[5]
The Democrats also regained the title of holding the most legislative seats across the country, winning one more seat than the Republicans.[6] Republicans won a trifecta in Georgia for the first time ever.Initiatives and referendums
- State constitutional amendments prohibiting same-sex marriage are passed in eleven states: Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Utah. The measures in Oregon, Mississippi, and Montana bans same-sex marriage only, while Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Utah bans both same-sex marriage and civil unions and Michigan bans granting any benefits whatsoever to same-sex couples.[7]
Local elections
Mayoral elections
Some of the major American cities that held their mayoral elections in 2004 included:
- Chesapeake – Dalton S. Edge won an open seat race to succeed outgoing Mayor William E. Ward.[8]
- Jersey City- In a special election triggered due to the passing of Glenn Cunningham (D), attorney Jerramiah Healy (D) defeated General Assemblyman Louis Manzo (D) and Acting Mayor L. Harvey Smith (D) to serve the rest of the unexpired term.
- San Diego – Incumbent Mayor Dick Murphy (R) was re-elected, but resigned five months later.[9]
Notes
- ^ Includes the interim appointee ran for election.
- ^ Kernan took office after his predecessor (Frank O'Bannon) died.
- ^ Walker took office after her predecessor (Mike Leavitt) resigned.
References
- ^ "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 2004" (PDF). U.S. House of Reps, Office of the Clerk. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
- ^ "State legislative elections, 2004".
- ^ Tim Storey 2004 Legislative Elections The Council of State Governments
- ^ Madigan, Erin; Kelderman, Eric (November 5, 2004). "GOP Loses Ground in Statehouse Control". pew.org. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
- ^ Robbins, Jim (2004-12-29). "Ruling Puts Democrats in Control in Montana". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
- ^ Storey, Tim (2005). "2004 legislative elections". Spectrum: The Journal of State Government. 78 (1): 8 – via Gale Academic OneFile.
- ^ "(365Gay)". Archived from the original on 2008-06-17. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
- ^ Armstrong, Kevin (2008-01-10). "Chesapeake mayor Dalton Edge won't run for second term". The Virginian-Pilot.
- ^ Dillon, Jeff (2005-04-25). "San Diego mayor announces departure less than 5 months into second term". San Diego Union-Tribune.
Further reading
- Ceaser, James W. and Andrew E. Busch. Red Over Blue: The 2004 Elections and American Politics (2005), narrative history.
- Greene, John C. and Mark J. Rozell, eds. The Values Campaign?: The Christian Right and the 2004 Elections (2006).
- 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).
External links
- United States Election 2004 Web Archive from the U.S. Library of Congress