United States presidential election, 2004 facts for kids
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Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Bush/Cheney (31), Blue denotes those won by Kerry/Edwards (19+DC). The split vote in Minnesota denotes a faithless elector's vote counted for John Edwards. Each number represents the electoral votes a state gave to one candidate.
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The United States presidential election of 2004 was a big political event that happened on November 2, 2004. On this day, people in the United States voted for their next President and Vice President. The main candidates were the current President, George W. Bush from the Republican Party, and John Kerry from the Democratic Party. John Kerry was a Senator from Massachusetts.
A very important topic during the election was foreign policy, which is how a country deals with other countries. People were especially talking about the War on Terrorism and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
After the election in 2000, there were some worries about how votes were counted. In 2004, the winner was not clear until the day after the election. This was because the state of Ohio had many electoral votes that could decide the winner. John Kerry decided not to challenge Bush's win in Ohio. Some people, including Kerry, felt that the voting in Ohio was not fair.
Only three states voted differently in 2004 compared to 2000. New Mexico and Iowa voted for the Democratic candidate in 2000, but they voted Republican in 2004. New Hampshire voted Republican in 2000, but it voted Democratic in 2004. In the Electoral College, George W. Bush received 286 votes, and John Kerry received 252 votes.
Contents
Main Candidates in 2004
Republican Party Nominees
The Republican Party chose George W. Bush to run for President. He was already the President at the time. His running mate, who would become Vice President, was Dick Cheney.
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| George W. Bush | Dick Cheney |
|---|---|
| for President | for Vice President |
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| 43rd President of the United States | 46th Vice President of the United States |
Democratic Party Nominees
The Democratic Party chose John Kerry to run for President. He was a Senator from Massachusetts. His running mate was John Edwards, a Senator from North Carolina.
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| John Kerry | John Edwards |
|---|---|
| for President | for Vice President |
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| U.S. Senator from Massachusetts | U.S. Senator from North Carolina |
Other Democratic Candidates
Many other people tried to become the Democratic nominee before John Kerry was chosen. Here are some of them:
- John Edwards, a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He later became John Kerry's running mate.
- Howard Dean, a former Governor of Vermont.
- Wesley Clark, a retired U.S. General from Arkansas.
- Dennis Kucinich, a U.S. Representative from Ohio.
- Al Sharpton, a civil rights activist from New York.
- Joe Lieberman, a U.S. Senator from Connecticut. He was the Vice Presidential candidate in the 2000 election.
- Dick Gephardt, a U.S. Representative from Missouri.
- Carol Moseley Braun, a former U.S. Senator from Illinois.
- Bob Graham, a U.S. Senator from Florida.
Images for kids
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Senator Kerry at a primary rally in St. Louis, Missouri, at the St. Louis Community College – Forest Park
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David Cobb the Green Party candidate
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Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik
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Bush speaking at campaign rally in St. Petersburg, Florida, October 19, 2004
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Neighboring yard signs for Bush and Kerry in Grosse Pointe, Michigan
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These maps show how much attention the campaigns gave to close states. The left map shows visits from candidates, and the right map shows money spent on TV ads.
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Cheney visited Washington & Jefferson College in Pennsylvania on October 27, 2004
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Map of election day problems
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Presidential electoral votes by state. Red is Republican, Blue is Democratic
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Presidential popular votes by county, from Red (Republican) to Blue (Democratic)
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Presidential popular votes cartogram, where county sizes show their population.
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Cartogram where each square is one electoral vote.
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The 2004 Presidential Election in the United States, Results by Congressional District
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General (Ret.) Wesley Clark from Arkansas
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Reverend Al Sharpton from New York
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Senator Bob Graham from Florida
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Political Activist Lyndon LaRouche of Virginia
See also
In Spanish: Elecciones presidenciales de Estados Unidos de 2004 para niños
