The 2004 United States presidential election in Massachusetts took place on November 2, 2004, and was part of the 2004 United States presidential election. Voters chose 12 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Massachusetts was won by Democratic nominee and its U.S. Senator John Kerry by a 25.2% margin of victory. Kerry took 61.94% of the vote to Republican George W. Bush's 36.78%. Prior to the election, all 12 news organizations considered this a state Kerry would win, or otherwise considered as a safe blue state. Kerry's vote share was later surpassed by Joe Biden in 2020, who won 65.60% of the vote that year.

Massachusetts had been a Democratic-leaning state since 1928, and a Democratic stronghold since 1960, and has kept up its intense level of the sizable Democratic margins since 1996. No Republican has won even a single county or congressional district in a presidential election since Bush's father George H. W. Bush in 1988, and no Republican has won statewide since Ronald Reagan's landslide victory in 1984. In the 2004 presidential election it was also the home state of Democratic candidate John Kerry, who at the time represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate.

Massachusetts weighed in as about 27% more Democratic than the national average in 2004, making it the most Democratic state in the union, and the only state where Kerry won with more than 60% of the vote.

To date, this is the last election where the towns of Orange, and Webster backed the national losing candidate, and the last time a Democrat won the towns of Dracut, Halifax, Hanson, Millville, and Rochester.

Primaries 2004 Massachusetts Democratic presidential primary 2004 Massachusetts Republican presidential primary

Campaign

Predictions There were 12 news organizations who made state-by-state predictions of the election. Here are their last predictions before election day.

+SourceRankingD.C. Political ReportCook Political ReportResearch 2000Zogby InternationalWashington PostWashington DispatchWashington TimesThe New York TimesCNNNewsweekAssociated PressRasmussen Reports

Polling Kerry won every pre-election poll, and each with a double-digit margin and with at least 50% of the vote. The final 3 poll average showed Kerry with a strong lead of 57% to 31%.

Fundraising Bush raised $4,060,356. Kerry raised $18,565,872, which was 10% of all the money he raised in 2004, and the third highest amount below only New York and California.

Advertising and visits Neither campaign advertised or visited this state during the fall election.

Analysis Massachusetts was (and is) one of the bluest states in the nation. Massachusetts has voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in every election since 1960 except for Ronald Reagan's landslide victories of 1980 and 1984. In 1972, only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia voted for Democratic U.S. Senator George McGovern as Republican Richard M. Nixon won reelection.

Kerry defeated George W. Bush in Massachusetts by 25%, a similar margin to that of Al Gore in 2000. He won every county and Congressional district easily. The 2004 Democratic National Convention took place at the TD Banknorth Garden, then called FleetCenter in Boston, the state capital.

Results 2004 United States presidential election in MassachusettsPartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Democratic John Kerry 1,803,800 61.94% 12 Republican George W. Bush (incumbent) 1,071,109 36.78% 0 Libertarian Michael Badnarik 15,022 0.52% 0 Green-Rainbow David Cobb 10,623 0.36% 0 Independent Others (Write-In) 7,028 0.24% 0 Independent Ralph Nader (Write-In) 4,806 0.17% 0 Total votes 2,912,388 100.00% 12

By county County John KerryDemocratic George W. BushRepublican Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % Barnstable 72,156 54.60% 58,527 44.29% 1,465 1.11% 13,629 10.31% 132,148 Berkshire 47,743 73.12% 16,806 25.74% 742 1.13% 30,937 47.38% 65,291 Bristol 147,854 63.49% 82,524 35.44% 2,500 1.07% 65,330 28.05% 232,878 Dukes 7,265 72.67% 2,602 26.03% 130 1.30% 4,663 46.64% 9,997 Essex 194,068 58.24% 135,114 40.55% 4,051 1.41% 58,954 17.69% 333,233 Franklin 25,550 68.35% 11,058 29.58% 773 2.07% 14,492 38.77% 37,381 Hampden 113,710 60.93% 70,925 38.00% 2,004 1.07% 42,785 22.93% 186,639 Hampshire 51,680 69.44% 21,315 28.64% 1,427 1.91% 30,365 40.80% 74,422 Middlesex 440,862 63.99% 237,815 34.52% 10,283 1.49% 203,047 29.47% 688,960 Nantucket 3,608 63.03% 2,040 35.64% 76 1.32% 1,568 27.39% 5,724 Norfolk 199,392 60.21% 127,763 38.58% 3,982 1.21% 71,629 21.63% 331,137 Plymouth 125,178 53.66% 105,603 45.27% 2,516 1.08% 19,575 8.39% 233,297 Suffolk 182,592 75.88% 54,923 22.82% 3,130 1.30% 127,669 53.06% 240,645 Worcester 192,142 56.41% 144,094 42.30% 4,400 1.29% 48,048 14.11% 340,636Totals1,803,80061.94%1,071,10936.78%37,4791.28%732,69125.16%2,912,388

By congressional district Kerry won all ten congressional districts. District Bush Kerry Representative 35% 63%John Olver 40% 59%Richard Neal 40% 59%Jim McGovern 33% 65%Barney Frank 41% 57%Marty Meehan 41% 58%John Tierney 33% 66%Ed Markey 19% 79%Mike Capuano 36% 63%Stephen Lynch 43% 56%William Delahunt

Electors

Technically the voters of Massachusetts cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Massachusetts is allocated 12 electors because it has 10 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 12 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and their running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 12 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 their 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 12 were pledged for Kerry/Edwards: Cathaleen L. Ashton Sharon M. Pollard Elizabeth Moroney Helen Covington Candice E. Lopes Susan Thomson Robert P. Cassidy William P. Dooling William Eddy Thomas V. Barbera Mushtaque A. Minza Calvin T. Brown

See also United States presidential elections in Massachusetts

References