2004 United States elections
Elections were held in the United States on 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 United States [House of Representatives|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 [United States elections|2016].
Future President Barack Obama was Senate election in Illinois|elected to the United States Senate in Illinois], and he was elected president in the next presidential election.
As of 2024, this is the last time the incumbent party retained control over both the presidency and Congress after a single term. Democrats would maintain control of the presidency in 2012, but control of Congress remained split.
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.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.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.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 and state judicial branch offices.Initiatives and referendums
- State constitutional amendments prohibiting same-sex marriage are passed in eleven states: Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio Issue 1|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.
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.
- Jersey City mayoral [special election, 2004|Jersey City]- In a special election triggered due to the passing of Glenn Cunningham, attorney Jerramiah Healy defeated General Assemblyman Louis Manzo and Acting Mayor L. Harvey Smith to serve the rest of the unexpired term.
- San Diego – Incumbent Mayor Dick Murphy was re-elected, but resigned five months later.