This is a timeline of events during the 2004 U.S. presidential election.
2002
May 2002 May 31 – Vermont Governor Howard Dean forms a presidential exploratory committee.
December 2002 December 1 – John F. Kerry, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, announces his plans to form an exploratory committee for a possible 2004 presidential run on NBC's Meet The Press. Kerry anticipates a formal announcement "down the road some months". December 16 – Former U.S. Vice President and 2000 U.S. presidential candidate Al Gore announces on the CBS program 60 Minutes that he will not seek election to the presidency in 2004. Gore had recently wrapped up a nationwide book tour, as well as an appearance on NBC's Saturday Night Live, and had been widely expected to run. U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman from Connecticut, Gore's 2000 vice presidential running mate, had previously promised not to run should Gore seek their party's nomination.
2003
January 2003 January 2 – U.S. Senator John Edwards from North Carolina announces formation of an exploratory committee for the Democratic nomination. January 4 – U.S. Representative Dick Gephardt from Missouri, who was Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 until late 2002 when he stepped down largely in anticipation for a bid for the presidency, announces his intention to run for the Democratic nomination. January 5 – Reverend Al Sharpton of New York announces his intention to run for the Democratic nomination. January 7 – Tom Daschle, the U.S. Minority Leader, announces that he will not run for president in 2004. Daschle had been widely expected to run. January 13 – U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman from Connecticut announces his intention to run for the Democratic nomination. January 17 – Libertarian Gary Nolan, former syndicated talk radio host, files papers to form an exploratory committee for a presidential run and announces his candidacy. January 22 – A campaign to draft Apple Computer Inc. CEO Steve Jobs is launched at http://www.jobs4president.org/. The site was announced on Slashdot, overloading the server within ten minutes. Before the owners of the site could bring the site back up, Jobs declines interest in running.
February 2003 February 18 – Carol Moseley Braun, former U.S. Senator from Illinois, announces her intention to run for the Democratic nomination. February 19 – Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Representative from Ohio, files papers to form an exploratory committee for a presidential run. February 27 – U.S. Senator Bob Graham from Florida announced his candidacy.
March 2003 March 3 – U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd from Connecticut announces that he will not run for the 2004 Democratic party presidential nomination. March 22 – The U.S. and the United Kingdom begin their shock-and-awe campaign with a massive air strike on military targets in Baghdad using cruise missiles fired from U.S. Navy warships, Royal Navy submarines and B-52 bombers; and laser guided missiles fired by Stealth Bombers.
April 2003 April 2 – Speaking before an audience in Peterborough, New Hampshire, John Kerry says "We need a regime change not just in Iraq. We need a regime change here in the United States." . Monadnock Ledger. Republicans criticize Kerry for speaking out against a wartime president. (March 5, 2010). . San Francisco Chronicle Retrieved May 24, 2010. April 17 – Democratic fundraising totals for the first quarter of 2003 are reported. John Edwards raises $7.4 million, John Kerry raises $7.0 million, Dick Gephardt raises $3.5 million, Joe Lieberman raises $3.0 million, Howard Dean raises $2.6 million, Bob Graham raises $1.1 million, and Dennis Kucinich and Carol Moseley Braun raise less than $1 million each.
May 2003 May 1 – George W. Bush lands on the aircraft carrier , in a Lockheed S-3 Viking, where he gives a speech announcing the end of major combat in the Iraq war. Clearly visible in the background is a banner stating "Mission Accomplished". Bush's landing is criticized by opponents as overly theatrical and expensive. The banner, made by White House personnel (according to a CNN story:) and placed there by the U.S. Navy, is criticized as premature. Nonetheless, Bush's approval rating in the month of May rides at 66%, according to a CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll. This event would come back to haunt Bush as combat in Iraq continued. May 3 – Democrats meet at the University of South Carolina, located in Columbia, South Carolina, in the first formal debate between the nine challengers for the 2004 Democratic party presidential nomination. The candidates disagree on the war against Iraq, health insurance, and even President Bush's tax cuts, but unite in criticizing Bush's handling of the economy. May 6 – Gary Hart, former Senator from Colorado, announces he will not seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2004. May 7 – U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney announces he will be President Bush's running mate again in 2004. Cheney's position on the ticket had been the subject of some speculation because he has had four heart attacks, though none as vice president. Bush had still not formally announced he would seek re-election yet. May 16 – President Bush formally files papers with the Federal Election Commission seeking a second term as U.S. President.
June 2003 June 17 – Howard Dean airs the first television advertising of the 2004 campaign. The two-week ad campaign will cost more than $300,000. June 23 – Howard Dean formally announces that he is running for president, filing to form a presidential election campaign with the FEC. June 23 – U.S. Supreme Court upholds affirmative action in university admissions in Grutter v. Bollinger June 24 – Liberal advocacy website MoveOn holds the first-ever online Democratic "primary", which lasts just over 48 hours. It is an unofficial and non-binding affair, but with important symbolic and financial value. Of 317,647 votes, Howard Dean receives 44%, Dennis Kucinich 24%, and John Kerry 16%. Had any candidate received 50% of the vote, the candidate would have received MoveOn's endorsement and financial support. Instead, MoveOn supports all the candidates. June 26 – U.S. Supreme Court rules sodomy laws unconstitutional in Lawrence v. Texas
July 2003 July 3 – Democratic fundraising numbers for the second quarter of 2003 are reported and announced. Howard Dean surprises many raising $7.6 million, John Kerry raises $5.9 million, while John Edwards and Joe Lieberman raise roughly $5 million each. (March 5, 2010). . San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 24, 2010. July 14 – Edie Bukewihge, Democrat, formally filed papers with the Federal Election Commission seeking a first term as president. July 18 – David Cobb announces his candidacy for the Green Party nomination in Washington, D.C. As part of a "genuine effort to reach progressives across party lines", he announces that his strategy includes a "Strategic States Plan", concentrating efforts where Electoral College votes are not "in play." Some Greens decry the lack of an "all-out" strategy from Cobb and the loss of ballot status that would ensue.
August 2003 August 11 – U.S. Senator Joe Biden from Delaware announces he will not seek the Democratic nomination, saying his campaign would be "a long shot" and that he could wield the most influence in the Senate.
September 2003 September 16 – John Edwards officially announces his candidacy on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart September 17 – retired General Wesley Clark announces his candidacy, bringing the number of Democratic presidential candidates currently in the running to the maximum of ten. This lasts until October 6. September 20 – Occupation of Iraq: Two American soldiers are killed and 13 wounded in a mortar attack in Abu Ghraib, and another soldier dies in a roadside attack in Ramadi, bringing the number of U.S. deaths since the war began to 304, of which 165 occurred after President Bush's "mission accomplished" statement of May 1.Berenson, Alex (September 21, 2003). "3 G.I.'s Killed West of Baghdad; Top Iraqi in Critical Condition". The New York Times. Retrieved October 19, 2011. A member of the Governing Council, Dr. Aquila al-Hashimi, is shot in an assassination attempt (she dies five days later). United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan strongly condemns the attack and warns that it only undermines the country's political progress. George Bush's approval rating slides down to 50% according to a CNN.com poll, the lowest number since taking office September 25 – The Natural Law Party endorses Dennis Kucinich for president.
October 2003 October 6 – Bob Graham announces on Larry King Live that he is ending his presidential campaign. October 15 – Howard Dean files FEC DISCLOSURE FORM for the third quarter of 2003, reporting contributions of over $14.8 million. John Kerry reports a total of just over $4.0 million. Other candidates report smaller totals. October 22 – Ralph Nader removes his name from the California Green Party presidential primary ballot. October 28 – In a press conference President Bush says the following about the May 1 "Mission Accomplished" banner on the : "The 'Mission Accomplished' sign, of course, was put up by the members of the USS Abraham Lincoln, saying that their mission was accomplished. I know it was attributed somehow to some ingenious advance man from my staff they weren't that ingenious, by the way." October 28 – In an interview, President Bush said the following after massive attacks on US and Iraq police forces in Iraq: "The more successful we are on the ground, the more these killers will react", Bush said as he sat in the White House's Oval Office with L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator in Iraq. He added: "The more progress we make on the ground, the more free the Iraqis become, the more electricity is available, the more jobs are available, the more kids that are going to school, the more desperate these killers become, because they can't stand the thought of a free society."
November 2003 November 1 – In an interview with The Des Moines Register, Howard Dean is quoted as saying "I still want to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks. We can't beat George Bush unless we appeal to a broad cross-section of Democrats." . The Des Moines Register. This comment stirs strong controversy among Democratic contenders. November 18 – George W. Bush makes a state visit to London in the midst of massive protests against him.
December 2003 December 9 – Former Vice President Al Gore endorses Howard Dean. December 13 – Saddam Hussein, former President of Iraq captured in Tikrit by the U.S. 4th Infantry Division. George W. Bush's approval rating spikes to 63% as a result, with 34% disapproving, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll. December 17 – A CBS News/New York Times poll of likely Democratic primary voters shows Howard Dean getting 23% of the vote, with Wesley Clark at 10%, Joe Lieberman at 10%, Richard Gephardt at 6%, Al Sharpton at 5%, John Kerry at 4%, John Edwards at 2%, Carol Moseley-Braun at 1%, Dennis Kucinich at 1%, and the remaining 28% undecided. December 23 – Ben Manski, co-chairman of the Green Party, announces that Ralph Nader will not run as a Green, but may run as an independent.
2004 January 2004 January 7 – George W. Bush's campaign manager Ken Mehlman announces that the President's re-election campaign raised $130.8 million from 494,000 individual donors during 2003. 415,000 of the 494,000 Bush donors contributed less than $200 each. Reportedly, the goal is to raise between $150 million and $170 million by the mid-summer conventions.