2004 United States presidential election in Alabama
The 2004 United States presidential election in Alabama took place on November 2, 2004. Voters chose 9 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
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 County results
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Alabama was won by incumbent President George W. Bush by a 25.62% margin of victory. Prior to the election, all 12 news organizations considered this was a state Bush would win, or otherwise considered as a safe red state. On election day, it trended Republican sharply, by a swing margin of 10.71% from the 2000 election. Bush won with over 60% of the vote, a first since 1984, and carried most of the counties and congressional districts. Historically, Alabama is a very reliable Republican state that a Democratic presidential nominee hasn't won since 1976, when the Governor of the state next door, Jimmy Carter of Georgia, ran and swept the Deep South.
Campaign
Predictions
| Elections in Alabama |
|---|
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 Government |
There were 12 news organizations who made state-by-state predictions of the election. Here are their last predictions before election day.[1]
- D.C. Political Report: solid Republican
- Associated Press: solid Bush
- CNN: Bush
- Cook Political Report: solid Republican
- Newsweek: solid Bush
- New York Times: solid Bush
- Rasmussen Reports: Bush
- Research 2000: solid Bush
- Washington Post: Bush
- Washington Times: solid Bush
- Zogby International: Bush
- Washington Dispatch: Bush
Polling
Bush won every single pre-election poll, and won each by a double-digit margin of victory. The final three polls averaged Bush leading 58% to 38%.[2]
Analysis
Bush easily won every poll taken in the state prior to the election. Kerry won a small section of counties in the middle of the state, including winning Alabama's 7th congressional district. In 2000, the state voted for Bush 56%–41% by fifteen points; this year it voted for him by 25 points.[2]
With the exception of Oklahoma in 2004, the state was also Bush's best performance in the South, with not even Texas, Bush's home state, voting as red as Alabama.
CNN exit polls showed that almost 70% of male voters voted for Bush. Also, 99% of registered Republicans (which made up 48% of the population) voted for Bush. Also, 43% of the state describe themselves as evangelical Christians, and 88% of them voted for Bush. 62% of the state approved of Bush, and 60% approved of the decision to go to war in Iraq. 82% of white men and 79% of white women voted for Bush. Finally, 70% of voters over the age of sixty voted for Bush. Alabama was racially divided: Alabama Whites voted 80%–19% for Bush while Blacks voted 91%-9% for Kerry.[7]
As of the 2020 presidential election, Bush is the last Republican to carry Jefferson (home of Birmingham, the state's largest city), and majority-black Marengo counties in a presidential election.
Results
| 2004 United States presidential election in Alabama[8] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | George W. Bush | 1,176,394 | 62.46% | 9 | |
| Democratic | John Kerry | 693,933 | 36.84% | 0 | |
| Independent | Ralph Nader | 6,701 | 0.35% | 0 | |
| Independent | Michael Badnarik | 3,529 | 0.19% | 0 | |
| Independent | Michael Peroutka | 1,994 | 0.11% | 0 | |
| Write Ins | 898 | 0.05% | 0 | ||
| Totals | 1,883,449 | 100.00% | 9 | ||
| Voter turnout (voting-age population) | 55.5% | ||||
Results breakdown
By county
Bush won a majority of the counties.[9]
| County | Kerry% | Kerry# | Bush% | Bush# | Others% | Others# |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autauga | 23.7% | 4,758 | 75.7% | 15,196 | 0.6% | 127 |
| Baldwin | 22.5% | 15,599 | 76.4% | 52,971 | 1.1% | 750 |
| Barbour | 44.8% | 4,832 | 54.7% | 5,899 | 0.4% | 46 |
| Bibb | 27.5% | 2,089 | 72.0% | 5,472 | 0.5% | 39 |
| Blount | 18.3% | 3,938 | 80.9% | 17,386 | 0.8% | 180 |
| Bullock | 68.1% | 3,210 | 31.7% | 1,494 | 0.3% | 13 |
| Butler | 40.6% | 3,413 | 59.2% | 4,979 | 0.3% | 24 |
| Calhoun | 33.3% | 15,083 | 65.9% | 29,814 | 0.8% | 352 |
| Chambers | 41.0% | 5,347 | 58.5% | 7,622 | 0.5% | 63 |
| Cherokee | 33.6% | 3,040 | 65.5% | 5,923 | 1.0% | 86 |
| Chilton | 22.6% | 3,778 | 76.9% | 12,829 | 0.5% | 86 |
| Choctaw | 45.7% | 3,303 | 53.9% | 3,897 | 0.4% | 27 |
| Clarke | 40.6% | 4,627 | 59.1% | 6,730 | 0.3% | 37 |
| Clay | 28.8% | 1,893 | 70.3% | 4,624 | 0.9% | 59 |
| Cleburne | 24.0% | 1,391 | 75.4% | 4,370 | 0.6% | 37 |
| Coffee | 25.4% | 4,480 | 73.9% | 13,019 | 0.7% | 117 |
| Colbert | 44.3% | 10,598 | 55.1% | 13,188 | 0.6% | 149 |
| Conecuh | 45.2% | 2,719 | 54.3% | 3,271 | 0.5% | 31 |
| Coosa | 41.1% | 2,055 | 58.1% | 2,905 | 0.8% | 41 |
| Covington | 23.4% | 3,423 | 76.0% | 11,119 | 0.6% | 85 |
| Crenshaw | 30.9% | 1,698 | 68.7% | 3,777 | 0.5% | 25 |
| Cullman | 22.9% | 8,045 | 76.2% | 26,818 | 0.9% | 328 |
| Dale | 24.6% | 4,484 | 74.7% | 13,621 | 0.7% | 126 |
| Dallas | 60.2% | 11,175 | 39.5% | 7,335 | 0.3% | 63 |
| DeKalb | 29.4% | 7,092 | 70.0% | 16,904 | 0.6% | 139 |
| Elmore | 22.6% | 6,471 | 76.9% | 22,056 | 0.5% | 153 |
| Escambia | 30.8% | 3,814 | 68.7% | 8,513 | 0.5% | 68 |
| Etowah | 35.9% | 15,328 | 63.3% | 26,999 | 0.8% | 353 |
| Fayette | 30.1% | 2,408 | 69.2% | 5,534 | 0.7% | 60 |
| Franklin | 36.8% | 4,514 | 62.7% | 7,690 | 0.5% | 65 |
| Geneva | 20.1% | 2,113 | 79.3% | 8,342 | 0.6% | 65 |
| Greene | 79.3% | 3,764 | 20.2% | 958 | 0.5% | 26 |
| Hale | 58.3% | 4,631 | 41.3% | 3,281 | 0.4% | 33 |
| Henry | 33.3% | 2,452 | 66.3% | 4,881 | 0.4% | 28 |
| Houston | 25.3% | 9,144 | 74.2% | 26,874 | 0.5% | 183 |
| Jackson | 42.5% | 8,635 | 56.8% | 11,534 | 0.7% | 152 |
| Jefferson | 45.1% | 132,286 | 54.2% | 158,680 | 0.7% | 2,001 |
| Lamar | 28.4% | 1,956 | 71.1% | 4,894 | 0.5% | 35 |
| Lauderdale | 39.4% | 14,628 | 59.7% | 22,161 | 0.9% | 318 |
| Lawrence | 44.0% | 6,155 | 55.2% | 7,730 | 0.8% | 116 |
| Lee | 36.4% | 16,227 | 62.7% | 27,972 | 0.9% | 411 |
| Limestone | 31.4% | 9,126 | 67.8% | 19,702 | 0.8% | 245 |
| Lowndes | 70.3% | 4,233 | 29.7% | 1,786 | 0.0% | 2 |
| Macon | 82.9% | 7,800 | 16.7% | 1,570 | 0.4% | 37 |
| Madison | 40.2% | 52,644 | 58.9% | 77,173 | 0.9% | 1,245 |
| Marengo | 48.8% | 5,037 | 50.9% | 5,255 | 0.3% | 30 |
| Marion | 29.6% | 3,808 | 69.8% | 8,983 | 0.6% | 84 |
| Marshall | 26.8% | 8,452 | 72.3% | 22,783 | 0.8% | 256 |
| Mobile | 40.66% | 63,732 | 58.69% | 92,014 | 0.65% | 1,025 |
| Monroe | 38.4% | 3,666 | 61.2% | 5,831 | 0.4% | 37 |
| Montgomery | 50.4% | 45,160 | 49.2% | 44,097 | 0.4% | 393 |
| Morgan | 30.1% | 14,131 | 69.1% | 32,477 | 0.8% | 399 |
| Perry | 68.2% | 3,767 | 31.5% | 1,738 | 0.3% | 18 |
| Pickens | 42.9% | 3,915 | 56.6% | 5,170 | 0.5% | 47 |
| Pike | 36.5% | 4,334 | 63.0% | 7,483 | 0.6% | 66 |
| Randolph | 31.3% | 2,817 | 68.1% | 6,127 | 0.6% | 57 |
| Russell | 49.8% | 8,375 | 49.6% | 8,337 | 0.6% | 97 |
| St. Clair | 18.7% | 5,456 | 80.6% | 23,500 | 0.7% | 205 |
| Shelby | 18.8% | 14,850 | 80.4% | 63,435 | 0.8% | 621 |
| Sumter | 70.4% | 4,527 | 29.2% | 1,880 | 0.4% | 26 |
| Talladega | 38.0% | 11,374 | 61.3% | 18,331 | 0.6% | 193 |
| Tallapoosa | 30.4% | 5,451 | 69.0% | 12,392 | 0.6% | 109 |
| Tuscaloosa | 37.9% | 26,447 | 61.4% | 42,877 | 0.7% | 506 |
| Walker | 31.8% | 9,016 | 67.6% | 19,167 | 0.6% | 184 |
| Washington | 38.1% | 3,145 | 61.4% | 5,060 | 0.5% | 42 |
| Wilcox | 67.5% | 3,838 | 32.3% | 1,834 | 0.2% | 10 |
| Winston | 21.5% | 2,236 | 78.0% | 8,130 | 0.5% | 57 |
By congressional district
Republican George W. Bush won every congressional district, except the 7th, which is a Democratic stronghold.
| District | Bush | Kerry | Representative | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st |  |
64% | 35% | Jo Bonner |
| 2nd |  |
67% | 33% | Terry Everett |
| 3rd |  |
58% | 41% | Mike D. Rogers |
| 4th |  |
71% | 28% | Robert Aderholt |
| 5th |  |
60% | 39% | Bud Cramer |
| 6th |  |
78% | 22% | Spencer Bachus |
| 7th |  |
35% | 64% | Artur Davis |
| [10] | ||||
Electors
Technically the voters of Alabama cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Alabama is allocated 9 electors because it has 7 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 9 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and his or her running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 9 electoral votes. Their chosen electors then vote for president and vice president. Although electors are pledged to their candidate and running mate, they are not obligated to vote for them. An elector who votes for someone other than his or her candidate is known as a faithless elector.
The electors of each state and the District of Columbia met on December 13, 2004, to cast their votes for president and vice president. The Electoral College itself never meets as one body. Instead the electors from each state and the District of Columbia met in their respective capitols.
The following were the members of the Electoral College from the state. All were pledged to and voted for George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.[11][12]
- Beth Chapman
- Marty Connors
- Martha Hosey
- Will Sellers
- Mike Hubbard
- Floyd Lawson
- Elbert Peters
- Bettye Fine Collins
- Martha Stokes
References
- "Election 2004 Polls - Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". Uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
- "George W Bush - $374,659,453 raised, '04 election cycle, Republican Party, President". Campaignmoney.com. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
- "John F Kerry - $345,826,176 raised, '04 election cycle, Democratic Party, President". Campaignmoney.com. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
- "CNN.com Specials". Cnn.com. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
- "CNN.com Specials". Cnn.com. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
- "CNN.com Election 2004". Cnn.com. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
- Archived May 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- "CNN.com Election 2004". Cnn.com. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
- "Swing State Project". Swingstateproject.com. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
- Archived March 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". Uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
