2004
The 2004 U.S. presidential election was won by George W. Bush (Republican) with 286 of 538 electoral votes, defeating John Kerry (Democratic). Electoral-vote margin: 35 (286 to 251). Popular-vote margin: 2.5 percentage points. Turnout was 60.1%. The cycle falls in the Modern Polarization era of American electoral history.
Open the what-if calculator → — flip states and re-count. A toy, not history.
George W. Bush and the 2004 map
Bush won re-election over Senator John Kerry by focusing on national security and the War on Terror following 9/11. The 'Swift Boat Veterans for Truth' campaign attacked Kerry's Vietnam War record, despite Kerry being a decorated veteran. Bush's narrow popular vote majority (first since 1988) was built on strong evangelical Christian turnout energized by ballot measures opposing same-sex marriage. Ohio was the decisive state, and Kerry conceded the next morning without legal challenges.
Iraq War; War on Terror; 9/11 security; same-sex marriage ballot measures
First popular vote majority for a Republican since 1988; Swift Boat ads defined opposition research
This summary was drafted with AI tools and has not yet been checked sentence by sentence. The vote table and the National Archives note on this page come from named sources; where they differ from the summary, rely on them. Tell us about an error.
During the counting of the vote in Congress, Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio) and Sen. Barabara Boxer (D-Calif.) raised objections to the Ohio Certificate of Vote alleging that the votes were not regularly given. Both houses voted to override the objection, 74 to 1 in the Senate and 267 to 31 in the House of Representatives.
National Archives, Electoral College results for 2004, archives.gov, read October 3, 2026. Quoted as published.
States · 51 reporting
State results · 2004
- Wisconsin Kerry by 11,384 · 0.4 pts
- Iowa Bush by 10,059 · 0.7 pts
- New Mexico Bush by 5,988 · 0.8 pts
- New Hampshire Kerry by 9,274 · 1.4 pts
- Ohio Bush by 118,599 · 2.1 pts
OhioBush won it by 2.1 points; its electoral votes took the total to 274, past the 270 needed.
Line up the states the winner carried from widest margin to narrowest and add up their electoral votes: the tipping point is the state that takes the total past a majority.
Scroll the table sideways for every column.
| State | Electoral votes | George W. Bush Rep | John Kerry Dem | Also named | Margin | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 9 EV | 1,176,394 62.5% | 693,933 36.8% | None | 482,461 25.6 pts | Bush Rep |
| Alaska | 3 EV | 190,889 61.1% | 111,025 35.5% | Ralph Nader 5,069 · 1.6% | 79,864 25.5 pts | Bush Rep |
| Arizona | 10 EV | 1,104,294 54.9% | 893,524 44.4% | None | 210,770 10.5 pts | Bush Rep |
| Arkansas | 6 EV | 572,898 54.3% | 469,953 44.5% | None | 102,945 9.8 pts | Bush Rep |
| California | 55 EV | 5,509,826 44.4% | 6,745,485 54.3% | None | 1,235,659 9.9 pts | Kerry Dem |
| Colorado | 9 EV | 1,101,255 51.7% | 1,001,732 47.0% | None | 99,523 4.7 pts | Bush Rep |
| Connecticut | 7 EV | 693,826 43.9% | 857,488 54.3% | None | 163,662 10.4 pts | Kerry Dem |
| Delaware | 3 EV | 171,660 45.8% | 200,152 53.3% | None | 28,492 7.6 pts | Kerry Dem |
| District of Columbia | 3 EV | 21,256 9.3% | 202,970 89.2% | None | 181,714 79.8 pts | Kerry Dem |
| Florida | 27 EV | 3,964,522 52.1% | 3,583,544 47.1% | None | 380,978 5.0 pts | Bush Rep |
| Georgia | 15 EV | 1,914,254 58.0% | 1,366,149 41.4% | None | 548,105 16.6 pts | Bush Rep |
| Hawaii | 4 EV | 194,191 45.3% | 231,708 54.0% | None | 37,517 8.7 pts | Kerry Dem |
| Idaho | 4 EV | 409,235 68.4% | 181,098 30.3% | None | 228,137 38.1 pts | Bush Rep |
| Illinois | 21 EV | 2,345,946 44.5% | 2,891,550 54.8% | None | 545,604 10.3 pts | Kerry Dem |
| Indiana | 11 EV | 1,479,438 59.9% | 969,011 39.3% | None | 510,427 20.7 pts | Bush Rep |
| Iowa | 7 EV | 751,957 49.9% | 741,898 49.2% | None | 10,059 0.7 pts | Bush Rep |
| Kansas | 6 EV | 736,456 62.0% | 434,993 36.6% | None | 301,463 25.4 pts | Bush Rep |
| Kentucky | 8 EV | 1,069,439 59.5% | 712,733 39.7% | None | 356,706 19.9 pts | Bush Rep |
| Louisiana | 9 EV | 1,102,169 56.7% | 820,299 42.2% | None | 281,870 14.5 pts | Bush Rep |
| Maine1 | 4 EV | 330,201 44.6% | 396,842 53.6% | Ralph Nader 8,069 · 1.1% | 66,641 9.0 pts | Kerry Dem |
| Maryland | 10 EV | 1,024,703 43.0% | 1,334,493 56.0% | None | 309,790 13.0 pts | Kerry Dem |
| Massachusetts2 | 12 EV | 1,071,109 36.6% | 1,803,800 61.6% | None | 732,691 25.0 pts | Kerry Dem |
| Michigan | 17 EV | 2,313,746 47.8% | 2,479,183 51.2% | None | 165,437 3.4 pts | Kerry Dem |
| Minnesota | 10 EV Kerry 9, Edwards 1 (cast by one elector) | 1,346,695 47.6% | 1,445,014 51.1% | None | 98,319 3.5 pts | Kerry Dem |
| Mississippi3,4 | 6 EV | 684,9813 59.5% | 457,766 39.7% | None | 227,215 19.7 pts | Bush Rep |
| Missouri | 11 EV | 1,455,713 53.3% | 1,259,171 46.1% | None | 196,542 7.2 pts | Bush Rep |
| Montana | 3 EV | 266,063 59.1% | 173,710 38.6% | Ralph Nader 6,168 · 1.4% | 92,353 20.5 pts | Bush Rep |
| Nebraska | 5 EV | 512,814 65.9% | 254,328 32.7% | None | 258,486 33.2 pts | Bush Rep |
| Nevada | 5 EV | 418,690 50.5% | 397,190 47.9% | None | 21,500 2.6 pts | Bush Rep |
| New Hampshire | 4 EV | 331,237 48.8% | 340,511 50.2% | None | 9,274 1.4 pts | Kerry Dem |
| New Jersey | 15 EV | 1,670,003 46.2% | 1,911,430 52.9% | None | 241,427 6.7 pts | Kerry Dem |
| New Mexico | 5 EV | 376,930 49.8% | 370,942 49.0% | None | 5,988 0.8 pts | Bush Rep |
| New York5 | 31 EV | 2,962,567 39.8% | 4,314,280 57.9% | Ralph Nader 99,873 · 1.3% | 1,351,713 18.1 pts | Kerry Dem |
| North Carolina | 15 EV | 1,961,166 56.0% | 1,525,849 43.6% | None | 435,317 12.4 pts | Bush Rep |
| North Dakota | 3 EV | 196,651 62.9% | 111,052 35.5% | Ralph Nader 3,756 · 1.2% | 85,599 27.4 pts | Bush Rep |
| Ohio | 20 EV | 2,859,764 50.8% | 2,741,165 48.7% | None | 118,599 2.1 pts | Bush Rep |
| Oklahoma | 7 EV | 959,792 65.6% | 503,966 34.4% | None | 455,826 31.1 pts | Bush Rep |
| Oregon | 7 EV | 866,831 47.2% | 943,163 51.3% | None | 76,332 4.2 pts | Kerry Dem |
| Pennsylvania6 | 21 EV | 2,793,847 48.4% | 2,938,095 50.9% | None | 144,248 2.5 pts | Kerry Dem |
| Rhode Island | 4 EV | 169,046 38.7% | 259,760 59.4% | Ralph Nader 4,651 · 1.1% | 90,714 20.8 pts | Kerry Dem |
| South Carolina | 8 EV | 937,974 58.0% | 661,669 40.9% | None | 276,305 17.1 pts | Bush Rep |
| South Dakota | 3 EV | 232,584 59.9% | 149,244 38.4% | Ralph Nader 4,320 · 1.1% | 83,340 21.5 pts | Bush Rep |
| Tennessee | 11 EV | 1,384,375 56.8% | 1,036,477 42.5% | None | 347,898 14.3 pts | Bush Rep |
| Texas | 34 EV | 4,526,917 61.1% | 2,832,704 38.2% | None | 1,694,213 22.9 pts | Bush Rep |
| Utah | 5 EV | 663,742 71.5% | 241,199 26.0% | Ralph Nader 11,305 · 1.2% | 422,543 45.5 pts | Bush Rep |
| Vermont | 3 EV | 121,180 38.8% | 184,067 58.9% | Ralph Nader 4,494 · 1.4% | 62,887 20.1 pts | Kerry Dem |
| Virginia | 13 EV | 1,716,959 53.7% | 1,454,742 45.5% | None | 262,217 8.2 pts | Bush Rep |
| Washington | 11 EV | 1,304,894 45.6% | 1,510,201 52.8% | None | 205,307 7.2 pts | Kerry Dem |
| West Virginia | 5 EV | 423,778 56.1% | 326,541 43.2% | None | 97,237 12.9 pts | Bush Rep |
| Wisconsin7 | 10 EV | 1,478,120 49.3% | 1,489,504 49.7% | None | 11,384 0.4 pts | Kerry Dem |
| Wyoming8,9,10 | 3 EV | 167,629 68.9% | 70,776 29.1% | Ralph Nader 2,741 · 1.1%8 | 96,853 39.8 pts | Bush Rep |
Shares are of each state’s total vote for president. “Not named”: the figures do not give that candidate a line of their own in that state — for example under 1% of the vote, not on the ballot there, or counted on an unnamed line (see the state’s note). Margin is the leader’s lead over the second-placed candidate.
Notes on the figures
- Maine 'Other candidates' includes 4 blank, void, over- or under-vote or 'none of these candidates' ballots, which the source reports as lines of their own.
- Massachusetts 'Other candidates' includes 15,067 blank, void, over- or under-vote or 'none of these candidates' ballots, which the source reports as lines of their own.
- Mississippi The MIT Election Lab file gives George W. Bush 672,660 votes; the FEC's official results give 684,981. This site shows the FEC figure.
- Mississippi The state total (1,152,145) is the FEC's official total; the MIT file's total is 1,139,824. 'Other candidates' is that total minus the figures shown.
- New York 'Other candidates' includes 57,230 blank, void, over- or under-vote or 'none of these candidates' ballots, which the source reports as lines of their own.
- Pennsylvania 'Other candidates' includes 1,170 blank, void, over- or under-vote or 'none of these candidates' ballots, which the source reports as lines of their own.
- Wisconsin 'Other candidates' includes 2,986 blank, void, over- or under-vote or 'none of these candidates' ballots, which the source reports as lines of their own.
- Wyoming The MIT Election Lab file gives Ralph Nader 3,372 votes; the FEC's official results give 2,741. This site shows the FEC figure.
- Wyoming The MIT figure for Ralph Nader equals the FEC's figures for Nader (2,741) and Michael Peroutka (631) added together.
- Wyoming The state total (243,428) is the FEC's official total; the MIT file's total is 243,861. 'Other candidates' is that total minus the figures shown.
SourcesMIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. President 1976–2024 ; Federal Election Commission, Federal Elections 2004: presidential results . How these figures were compiled
Classroom
All 300 packets, free
60 cycles · K-2 through AP · open download.
Browse packets →Read further
Curated picksWhy We're Polarized
Ezra Klein
How modern American politics got this way.
Buy on Amazon →The Bitter End
John Sides et al.
How Trump and the 2020 election reshaped the parties.
Buy on Amazon →Confidence Man
Maggie Haberman
Trump in his own habitat.
Buy on Amazon →Recommendations are editorial.
Free, ad-light, no paywall
Built by one person. Tips fund the next 60 elections of editorial.