U.S. presidential election, 2004

The U.S. presidential election of 2004 was won by the incumbent President, Republican George W. Bush, who defeated his main rival, Democratic Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts. The election was fought primarily on the issue of the conduct of the War on Terror. Bush defended the actions of his administration, while Kerry contended that the war had been fought incompetently, and that the Iraq War was a distraction from the War on Terror, not a part of it.

Nominations

Republican nomination

Incumbent President George W. Bush faced only token opposition in Republican primaries. During the time that might have been a campaign for the nomination, the administration was focused on foreign affairs. The Bush administration argued that the need to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq had now become urgent. The stated premise was that Saddam's regime had tried to acquire nuclear material and had not properly accounted for biological and chemical material it was known to possess, potential weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in violation of U.N. sanctions. This

Related Topics:
Saddam Hussein - Iraq - Nuclear material - Biological - Chemical - Weapons of mass destruction - U.N. sanctions

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situation escalated to the point that the United States assembled a group of about forty nations, including the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, and Poland, which Bush called the "coalition of the willing" to invade Iraq.

Related Topics:
United Kingdom - Spain - Italy - Poland - Coalition of the willing

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The coalition invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003. The invasion was swift, with the collapse of the Iraq government and the military of Iraq in about three weeks. The oil infrastructure of Iraq was rapidly secured with limited damage in that time. On May 1, George W. Bush landed on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, in a Lockheed S-3 Viking, where he gave a speech announcing the end of major combat in the Iraq war. Clearly visible in the background was a banner stating "Mission Accomplished". Bush's approval rating in the month of May rode at 66%, according to a CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/05/24/politics/main555427.shtml

Related Topics:
March 20 - 2003 - Military of Iraq - May 1 - George W. Bush - USS ''Abraham Lincoln'' - Lockheed - S-3 Viking

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Bush's popularity as a wartime president helped consolidate his base, and ward off any serious challenge to the nomination. On March 10, 2004, Bush officially clinched the number of delegates needed to be nominated at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City. Bush accepted the nomination on September 2, 2004, and selected Vice President Cheney as his running mate. (In New York, the ticket was also on the ballot as candidates of the Conservative Party of New York State.) See also George W. Bush presidential campaign, 2004 and U.S. Republican Party presidential nomination, 2004.

Related Topics:
March 10 - 2004 Republican National Convention - New York City - September 2 - 2004 - Vice President - Running mate - New York - Conservative Party of New York State - George W. Bush presidential campaign, 2004 - U.S. Republican Party presidential nomination, 2004

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Democratic nomination

By the end of February 2003, the following field of candidates had formed exploratory committees and were actively campaigning to be the Democratic nominee:

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• Former Vermont Gov. Howard B. Dean III, M.D.
• U.S. Senator John R. Edwards (N.C.)
• U.S. Rep. Richard A. "Dick" Gephardt (Mo.)
• U.S. Senator D. Robert Graham (Fla.)
• U.S. Senator John F. Kerry (Mass.)
• U.S. Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (Ohio)
• U.S. Senator Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.)
• Former Ambassador and former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun (Ill.)
• the Rev. Alfred Sharpton Jr. of New York

Notable in his absence was former Vice President and 2000 Presidential candidate Al Gore, who announced he would not run in December 2002.

Related Topics:
Vice President - 2000 Presidential candidate - Al Gore

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By autumn of 2003, Dean had become the apparent frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, performing strongly in most polls and leading the pack in fundraising. Dean's strength as a fundraiser was attributed mainly to his innovative embrace of the Internet for campaigning. The majority of his donations came from individual Dean supporters, who came to be known as Deanites, or, more commonly, Deaniacs. Generally regarded as a pragmatic centrist during his time as governor, Dean emerged during his presidential campaign as something of a populist, denouncing the policies of the Bush administration (especially the 2003 invasion of Iraq) as well as fellow Democrats, who, in his view, failed to strongly oppose them.

Related Topics:
Deaniacs - Centrist - Populist - 2003 invasion of Iraq

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In September 2003, retired four-star general Wesley Clark announced his intention to run in the presidential primary election for the Democratic Party nomination. His campaign focused on themes of leadership and patriotism; early campaign ads relied heavily on biography. His late start left him with relatively few detailed policy proposals. This weakness was apparent in his first few debates, although he soon presented a range of position papers, including a major tax-relief plan. Nevertheless, many Democrats flocked to his campaign.

Related Topics:
Four-star general - Wesley Clark - Presidential primary election

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By October 2003, the field had dwindled down to nine candidates, as Bob Graham dropped out of the race. Leading up to the Iowa caucuses, Howard Dean was a strong front-runner. However, the Iowa caucuses yielded unexpectedly strong results for Democratic candidates John Kerry, who earned 38% of the state's delegates and John Edwards, who took 32%. Former front-runner Howard Dean slipped to 18% and third place, and Richard Gephardt finished fourth (11%). On January 27 Kerry triumphed again, earning first place in the New Hampshire primary. Clark took third place in New Hampshire, behind New Englanders Kerry and Dean.

Related Topics:
Iowa caucuses - Iowa - Democratic - John Kerry - John Edwards - Howard Dean - Richard Gephardt - January 27 - New Hampshire primary

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The following week, John Edwards won the South Carolina primary and finished a strong second in Oklahoma. After Howard Dean's withdrawal from the contest, Edwards became the only major challenger to Kerry for the Democratic nomination. However, Kerry continued to dominate, taking in a string of wins in Michigan, Washington, Maine, Tennessee, Washington, D.C., Nevada, Wisconsin, Utah, Hawaii, and Idaho. Many other candidates dropped out during this time, leaving only Sharpton, Kucinich, and Edwards in the running.

Related Topics:
Oklahoma - Michigan - Washington - Maine - Tennessee - Washington, D.C. - Nevada - Wisconsin - Utah - Hawaii - Idaho

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In March's Super Tuesday, Kerry won decisive victories in the California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, and Rhode Island primaries and the Minnesota caucuses. Dean, despite having withdrawn from the race two weeks earlier, won his home state of Vermont. Edwards finished only slightly behind Kerry in Georgia, but, failing to win a single state, chose to withdraw from the presidential race.

Related Topics:
Super Tuesday - California - Connecticut - Georgia - Maryland - Massachusetts - New York - Ohio - Rhode Island - Minnesota

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On July 6, John Kerry selected John Edwards as his running mate, shortly before the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts, held later that month. Kerry made his Vietnam War experience a prominent theme of the convention. In accepting the nomination, he began his speech with, "I'm John Kerry and I'm reporting for duty."

Related Topics:
July 6 - 2004 Democratic National Convention - Boston, Massachusetts - Vietnam War

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For a full account of the Democratic nomination race, see U.S. Democratic Party presidential nomination, 2004 and John Kerry presidential campaign, 2004.

Related Topics:
U.S. Democratic Party presidential nomination, 2004 - John Kerry presidential campaign, 2004

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Other nominations

There were four other pairs of candidates who were on the ballot in states with enough electoral votes to have a theoretical chance of winning a majority in the Electoral College.

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• Ralph Nader/Peter Camejo, independent (also Reform Party)
• Michael Badnarik/Richard Campagna, Libertarian Party
• Michael Peroutka/Chuck Baldwin, Constitution Party
• David Cobb/Pat LaMarche, Green Party

For other candidates, see List of candidates in the U.S. presidential election, 2004.

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