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

Oregon was won by Democratic Party nominee John Kerry by 4.16 points. Prior to the election, news organizations considered the state a tossup or leaning Kerry. A moderate amount of campaigning took place here, as Kerry was ahead in every poll after October 14, each with between 47% and 53% of the vote. Though the state had been very competitive and barely carried by Al Gore four years earlier, Oregon is considered a blue state as no Republican presidential candidate has won it since Ronald Reagan in 1984. While larger than Gore's, Kerry's margin of victory in Oregon was relatively modest. This is the most recent presidential election in which Oregon was considered a swing state.

, this is the most recent election in which Clackamas County voted for a Republican presidential candidate, as well as the most recent time the state's margin would be in the single digits,Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016 and the latest presidential election in which a Republican received more than 45% of the state's vote. Bush would win re-election nationwide in 2004, the first time in history that a Republican had been elected twice as president without ever carrying Oregon.

Primaries 2004 Oregon Democratic presidential primary 2004 Oregon 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 Report Associated Press CNN Cook Political Report Newsweek New York TimesRasmussen ReportsResearch 2000Washington PostWashington TimesZogby InternationalWashington Dispatch

Polling Kerry won most pre-election polling. The final 3 poll average had Kerry leading 50% to 45% for Bush.

Fundraising Bush raised $1,497,451. Kerry raised $1,937,916.

Advertising and visits In the week of September 28, both tickets combined spent an estimated $546,000 on advertising. However, both tickets spent less and less money each week. Bush visited here 2 times. Kerry visited here 3 times. Both tickets visited the western part of the state.

Analysis After the 2000 election, which saw a particularly close race, Oregon was largely considered a potential Republican target. However, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry won 51% of Oregon's vote, narrowly defeating Republican incumbent George W. Bush. The rural and highly conservative eastern interior and Southern Oregon favored Bush, but Kerry's strong support in the more urban Willamette Valley allowed him to win the state. About 68% of the voting age population came out to vote.

Results 2004 United States presidential election in OregonPartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Democratic John Kerry 943,163 51.35% 7 Republican George W. Bush (incumbent) 866,831 47.19% 0 Write Ins 8,956 0.49% 0 Libertarian Michael Badnarik 7,260 0.40% 0Pacific Green David Cobb 5,315 0.29% 0Constitution Michael Peroutka 5,257 0.29% 0 Totals 1,836,782 100.00% 7 Voter turnout (Voting age population) 67.8%

Results by county County John KerryDemocratic George W. BushRepublican Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # %Baker 2,616 28.96% 6,253 69.22% 165 1.83% -3,637 -40.26% 9,034Benton 26,515 57.98% 18,460 40.36% 760 1.67% 8,055 17.62% 45,735Clackamas 95,129 48.78% 97,691 50.10% 2,180 1.12% -2,562 -1.32% 195,000Clatsop 10,461 54.18% 8,503 44.04% 345 1.79% 1,958 10.14% 19,309Columbia 12,563 50.42% 11,868 47.63% 486 1.95% 695 2.79% 24,917Coos 14,393 43.14% 18,291 54.83% 678 2.03% -3,898 -11.69% 33,362Crook 3,024 30.09% 6,830 67.95% 197 1.96% -3,806 -37.86% 10,051Curry 5,220 40.78% 7,332 57.29% 247 1.93% -2,112 -16.51% 12,799Deschutes 31,179 42.11% 41,757 56.39% 1,112 1.50% -10,578 -14.28% 74,048Douglas 18,089 32.90% 35,956 65.39% 939 1.71% -17,867 -32.49% 54,984Gilliam 370 32.51% 755 66.34% 13 1.14% -385 -33.83% 1,138Grant 780 19.21% 3,204 78.90% 77 1.90% -2,424 -59.69% 4,061Harney 839 22.66% 2,815 76.04% 48 1.30% -1,976 -53.38% 3,702Hood River 5,587 56.67% 4,124 41.83% 148 1.50% 1,463 14.84% 9,859Jackson 44,366 43.42% 56,519 55.31% 1,304 1.28% -12,153 -11.89% 102,189Jefferson 3,243 39.96% 4,762 58.68% 110 1.36% -1,519 -18.72% 8,115Josephine 15,214 35.99% 26,241 62.07% 820 1.94% -11,027 -26.08% 42,275Klamath 8,264 26.22% 22,733 72.13% 518 1.64% -14,469 -45.91% 31,515Lake 802 20.54% 3,039 77.82% 64 1.64% -2,237 -57.28% 3,905Lane 107,769 57.98% 75,007 40.35% 3,096 1.67% 32,762 17.63% 185,872Lincoln 13,753 56.54% 10,160 41.77% 412 1.69% 3,593 14.77% 24,325Linn 19,940 38.32% 31,260 60.07% 841 1.62% -11,320 -21.75% 52,041Malheur 2,577 23.76% 8,123 74.89% 146 1.35% -5,546 -51.13% 10,846Marion 57,671 44.49% 69,900 53.93% 2,048 1.58% -12,229 -9.44% 129,619Morrow 1,361 32.80% 2,732 65.85% 56 1.35% -1,371 -33.05% 4,149Multnomah 259,585 71.57% 98,439 27.14% 4,670 1.29% 161,146 44.43% 362,694Polk 15,484 43.63% 19,508 54.97% 497 1.40% -4,024 -11.34% 35,489Sherman 390 35.33% 694 62.86% 20 1.81% -304 -27.53% 1,104Tillamook 6,750 48.38% 7,003 50.20% 198 1.42% -253 -1.82% 13,951Umatilla 8,884 33.75% 17,068 64.84% 370 1.41% -8,184 -31.09% 26,322Union 4,428 32.75% 8,879 65.68% 212 1.57% -4,451 -32.93% 13,519Wallowa 1,269 28.07% 3,132 69.28% 120 2.65% -1,863 -41.21% 4,521Wasco 5,691 47.42% 6,119 50.98% 192 1.60% -428 -3.56% 12,002Washington 121,140 52.37% 107,223 46.36% 2,945 1.27% 13,917 6.01% 231,308Wheeler 245 27.84% 612 69.55% 23 2.61% -367 -41.71% 880Yamhill 17,572 41.70% 23,839 56.57% 731 1.73% -6,267 -14.87% 42,142Totals943,16351.35%866,83147.19%26,7881.46%76,3324.16%1,836,782

By congressional district Kerry won three of five congressional districts. Bush won two, including one held by a Democrat. District Kerry Bush Representative55% 44%David Wu 38% 61%Greg Walden67% 33%Earl Blumenauer49% 49%Peter DeFazio 49% 50%Darlene Hooley

Electors

Technically the voters of Oregon cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Oregon is allocated 7 electors because it has 5 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 7 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and his or her running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 7 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 his or her 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 seven were pledged for Kerry/Edwards. Michael J. Bohan Shirley A. Cairns James L. Edmunson Moshe D. Lenske Meredith Wood Smith Judy A. Sugnet Paul F. Zastrow

See also United States presidential elections in Oregon Presidency of George W. Bush

References