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.

Vote splitting concerns

Some supporters of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry were concerned that the independent candidacy of Ralph Nader would split the vote against the incumbent, thus allowing the Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush to win the 2004 election. Many Democrats blame Ralph Nader for splitting the vote in the 2000 presidential election when he ran as the candidate of the Green Party. However, more registered Democrats in Florida voted for Bush than did Greens in the entire state.

Related Topics:
Democratic - John Kerry - Ralph Nader - Split the vote - Republican - George W. Bush - 2000 presidential election - Green Party

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Such splits are of particular concern because most states assign the presidential electors they send to the Electoral College, to the candidate with the most votes (a plurality), even if those votes are less than 50 percent of the total votes cast?in such a situation, a relatively small number of votes can make a very big difference. For instance, a candidate who won narrow pluralities in a significant number of states could win a majority in the Electoral College even though they did not win a majority or even a plurality of the national popular vote. While Ralph Nader and the Green Party ultimately support replacing the Electoral College with direct popular elections, both have also suggested that states instead use instant-runoff voting to select their presidential electors, which would partially address the issue of vote splitting.

Related Topics:
Electoral College - Plurality - Popular vote - Instant-runoff voting

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Opponents of Ralph Nader's candidacy often referred to vote splitting as the spoiler effect. Some voters who preferred Ralph Nader's positions over John Kerry's voted for John Kerry to avoid splitting the vote against the incumbent, claiming to be choosing the "lesser of two evils." These voters used slogans such as, "anybody but Bush," and "a vote for Nader is a vote for Bush." A group of people who supported Nader in 2000 released a statement entitled Vote to Stop Bush, urging support for Kerry/Edwards in swing states. Whether due to this campaign or other factors, the impact of Nader on the election's outcome ultimately proved inconsequential, as he received less than 1 percent of the national vote.

Related Topics:
Spoiler effect - Vote to Stop Bush

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