2004 United States presidential election in Colorado

none June 2025 September 2023 2004 United States presidential election 2004 United States presidential election in Colorado Colorado presidential no 2000 United States presidential election in Colorado 2000 2008 United States presidential election in Colorado 2008 November 2, 2004 x200px George-W-Bush (cropped).jpeg George W. Bush Republican Party (United States) Texas Dick Cheney 9 1,101,255 51.69% John F. Kerry (wide crop).jpg John Kerry Democratic Party (United States) Massachusetts John Edwards 0 1,001,732 47.02% 280px County results 280px Congressional district results Bush #e27f90 50–60% #cc2f4a 60–70% #d40000 70–80% #aa0000 80–90% Kerry #b9d7ff 40–50% #86b6f2 50–60% #4389e3 60–70% #1666cb 70–80% President George W. Bush Republican Party (United States) George W. Bush Republican Party (United States) 88.6% (of registered voters) 62.7% (of voting age population) The 2004 United States presidential election in Colorado took place on November 2, 2004, and was part of the 2004 United States presidential election. Voters chose nine representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. Colorado was won by incumbent President George W. Bush by a 4.67% margin of victory. Prior to the election, ten of twelve news organizations considered this a state Bush would win, or otherwise considered as a red state, although both campaigns targeted it as the Democratic candidate, John Kerry, was born in Colorado. On election day, Bush did carry Colorado, but by only about half the 8.4% margin he won over Al Gore in 2000. As of the 2024, this is the last time that Pueblo County voted for the losing candidate and that the Republican nominee carried Colorado in a presidential election, as well as Arapahoe, Jefferson, Larimer, and Ouray counties.Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016 This is also the only presidential election that Broomfield County, created in 2001, has voted Republican. It was also the first time any candidate received a million votes in the state. It was also the last time Colorado voted to the right of the nation as a whole in a presidential election. Bush became the first Republican to win the White House without carrying Clear Creek, Eagle, Gunnison, or Routt Counties since William Howard Taft in 1908, as well as the first to do so without carrying La Plata County since Calvin Coolidge in 1924, and the first to do so without carrying San Juan County since Herbert Hoover in 1928. It also marked the only time since 1972 that the Democratic nominee lost their birth state. This was also the first presidential election in Colorado with the newly formed county Broomfield. Colorado was 1 of 9 states to back George W. Bush twice that only backed George H. W. Bush once, and 1 of 2 states to back George W. Bush twice but have not been won by a Republican since, the other being Virginia. Primaries 2004 Colorado Democratic 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.http://dcpoliticalreport.com/members/2004/Pred2.htm#NW Archived copy dcpoliticalreport.com 6 June 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20101121204958/http://dcpoliticalreport.com/members/2004/Pred2.htm#NW 21 November 2010 usurped +SourceRankingD.C. Political ReportLean RAssociated PressLean RCNNLikely RCook Political ReportLean RNewsweekLean RNew York TimesLean RRasmussen ReportsLikely RResearch 2000Lean RWashington PostToss-upWashington TimesLean RZogby InternationalLikely D FlipWashington DispatchLikely R Polling Statewide opinion polling for the 2004 United States presidential election#Colorado Statewide opinion polling for the 2004 United States presidential election: Colorado Although considered a battleground state, Bush won almost every pre-election poll. The final three polls averaged Bush leading with 51% to 44%.http://uselectionatlas.org/USPRESIDENT/GENERAL/CAMPAIGN/2004/polls.php?fips=8 Election 2004 Polls - Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections 2009-06-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20081116174801/http://www.uselectionatlas.org/USPRESIDENT/GENERAL/CAMPAIGN/2004/polls.php?fips=8 2008-11-16 dead Fundraising Bush raised $2,598,226.http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/campaigns/george_w_bush.asp?cycle=04 George W Bush - $374,659,453 raised, '04 election cycle, Republican Party, President www.campaignmoney.com Kerry raised $3,229,631.http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/campaigns/john_f_kerry.asp?cycle=04 John F Kerry - $345,826,176 raised, '04 election cycle, Democratic Party, President www.campaignmoney.com Advertising and visits In the fall election campaign, the Republican ticket visited Colorado 5 times. The Democratic ticket visited 7 times.http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/special/president/showdown/CO/ CNN.com Specials www.cnn.com Bush and Kerry also heavily advertised each week. Bush spent just over $400,000 each week. Kerry spent over $500,000 each week.http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/special/president/campaign.ads/ CNN.com Specials www.cnn.com Analysis The key to Bush's victory in the state was winning most of the largely populated counties, such as Jefferson County, Douglas County, El Paso County, Arapahoe County, and Larimer County. Combined with his strength in rural Colorado, this offset Kerry's strength in Denver and Boulder County and in several smaller counties hosting ski resorts, such as Gunnison (Crested Butte), Eagle (Vail), Routt (Steamboat Springs), and La Plata (Purgatory Resort). Nevertheless, Bush's margin in Colorado was reduced substantially with respect to 2000, even as nationally he improved from losing the popular vote by 0.5% to winning it by 2.5%. Kerry flipped seven counties—Gunnison, Eagle, Routt, La Plata, Clear Creek, Conejos, and San Juan, the last of which voted Democratic for the first time since Lyndon Johnson's 1964 landslide.San Juan County actually gave a plurality to Independent Ross Perot in 1992, but gave a Republican plurality in every other presidential election between 1968 and 2000.Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, pp. 159-161 0786422173 Most critically, however, Bush's vote share in the city of Denver dipped from 30.9% to 29.3%--a lower vote share than Dole had received in the city in 1996—and his margin of defeat in Denver swelled from 31.0% to 40.3%, as Kerry won the highest vote share in the city of any nominee in over a century. Similarly, in Boulder County, the other large Democratic jurisdiction in the state at the time, Bush's vote share dipped from 36.4% to 32.4%--again, below Dole's in 1996. Kerry expanded Gore's 13.7% margin to 33.9%, as he posted the best showing in the county of any nominee since Eisenhower in 1956. Meanwhile, Bush's margin shrank markedly in Jefferson, Arapahoe, and Larimer counties. Bush's vote share actually receded slightly in Arapahoe and Larimer. All of these trends continued into 2008 and beyond, contributing to making Colorado into a relatively Democratic state by 2020. Despite what at the time was a historically low vote share in Denver, Bush remains, as of 2024, the last Republican to have cracked even a quarter of the vote in Denver. At the same time, Bush also had areas of improvement in Colorado. He increased his margin in then-staunchly Republican El Paso County by 1.5%, and cut Kerry's margin in Pueblo County, historically the largest Democratic stronghold in the state, from 11.3% to 6.3%, posting the best showing for a Republican in the county since 1984. He also flipped Huerfano County, becoming the first Republican to carry it since Nixon's 1972 landslide; his win there reflected what was, for a Republican, his strong appeal amongst Hispanic voters, which also helped him narrowly carry New Mexico and boosted his margin in his home state of Texas. Bush carried Colorado despite it being Kerry's birth state. Ironically, Bush simultaneously lost his own birth state of Connecticut, making this the only election since 1864 where neither candidate carried their birth state. Additionally, there was a constitutional amendment put on the ballot in the state to alter the way the state's electors would be distributed among presidential candidates, but it was rejected by the voters in 2004. Results 2004 United States presidential election in Coloradohttp://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/CO/ CNN.com Election 2004 www.cnn.comPartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Republican George W. Bush (incumbent) 1,101,255 51.69% 9 Democratic John Kerry 1,001,732 47.02% 0 Reform Ralph Nader 12,718 0.60% 0 Libertarian Michael Badnarik 7,664 0.36% 0 Constitution Michael Peroutka 2,562 0.12% 0 Green David Cobb 1,591 0.07% 0 Independent Stanford Andress 804 0.04% 0 Independent Write-Ins 700 0.03% 0 Concerns of People Gene Amondson 378 0.02% 0 Socialist Equality Bill Van Auken 329 0.02% 0 Socialist Workers Roger Calero 241 0.01% 0 Socialist Walt Brown 216 0.01% 0 Prohibition Earl Dodge 140 0.01% 0 Totals 2,130,330 100.00% 9 Voter turnout (Voting Age) 62.7% By county County George W. BushRepublican John KerryDemocratic Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % Adams 65,912 48.22% 69,122 50.57% 1,643 1.20% -3,210 -2.35% 136,677 Alamosa 3,179 50.63% 3,017 48.05% 83 1.32% 162 2.58% 6,279 Arapahoe 119,475 51.42% 110,262 47.45% 2,628 1.13% 9,213 3.97% 232,365 Archuleta 3,601 61.67% 2,141 36.67% 97 1.66% 1,460 25.00% 5,839 Baca 1,680 76.85% 483 22.10% 23 1.05% 1,197 54.75% 2,186 Bent 1,338 62.09% 785 36.43% 32 1.48% 553 25.66% 2,155 Boulder 51,586 32.39% 105,564 66.28% 2,109 1.33% -53,978 -33.89% 159,259 Broomfield 12,007 51.68% 10,935 47.06% 293 1.26% 1,072 4.62% 23,235 Chaffee 4,875 55.59% 3,766 42.94% 129 1.47% 1,109 12.65% 8,770 Cheyenne 923 81.39% 198 17.46% 13 1.14% 725 63.93% 1,134 Clear Creek 2,522 44.93% 2,989 53.25% 102 1.81% -467 -8.32% 5,613 Conejos 1,864 49.01% 1,894 49.80% 45 1.18% -30 -0.79% 3,803 Costilla 566 32.16% 1,170 66.48% 24 1.36% -604 -34.32% 1,760 Crowley 1,006 67.38% 478 32.02% 9 0.60% 528 35.36% 1,493 Custer 1,657 68.25% 739 30.44% 32 1.32% 918 37.81% 2,428 Delta 9,722 68.66% 4,224 29.83% 213 1.51% 5,498 38.83% 14,159 Denver 69,903 29.27% 166,135 69.56% 2,788 1.17% -96,232 -40.29% 238,826 Dolores 785 68.44% 333 29.03% 29 2.53% 452 39.41% 1,147 Douglas 80,651 66.54% 39,661 32.72% 889 0.73% 40,990 33.82% 121,201 Eagle 8,533 46.10% 9,744 52.64% 234 1.26% -1,211 -6.54% 18,511 El Paso 161,361 66.74% 77,648 32.11% 2,779 1.15% 83,713 34.63% 241,788 Elbert 8,389 73.82% 2,834 24.94% 141 1.24% 5,555 48.88% 11,364 Fremont 12,313 66.46% 5,933 32.03% 280 1.51% 6,380 34.43% 18,526 Garfield 11,123 53.87% 9,228 44.69% 296 1.44% 1,895 9.18% 20,647 Gilpin 1,329 41.58% 1,807 56.54% 60 1.88% -478 -14.96% 3,196 Grand 4,260 55.99% 3,243 42.62% 106 1.40% 1,017 13.37% 7,609 Gunnison 3,479 41.32% 4,782 56.79% 159 1.88% -1,303 -15.47% 8,420 Hinsdale 355 58.97% 236 39.20% 11 1.83% 119 19.77% 602 Huerfano 1,701 50.09% 1,656 48.76% 39 1.15% 45 1.33% 3,396 Jackson 710 76.02% 210 22.48% 14 1.50% 500 53.54% 934 Jefferson 140,644 51.79% 126,558 46.60% 4,366 1.61% 14,086 5.19% 271,568 Kiowa 712 79.82% 172 19.28% 8 0.90% 540 60.54% 892 Kit Carson 2,721 77.70% 729 20.82% 52 1.50% 1,992 56.88% 3,502 La Plata 11,704 45.87% 13,409 52.56% 400 1.57% -1,705 -6.69% 25,513 Lake 1,261 42.76% 1,623 55.04% 65 2.21% -362 -12.28% 2,949 Larimer 75,884 51.82% 68,266 46.62% 2,286 1.56% 7,618 5.20% 146,436 Las Animas 3,196 48.48% 3,300 50.06% 96 1.46% -104 -1.58% 6,592 Lincoln 1,819 77.83% 503 21.52% 15 0.64% 1,316 56.31% 2,337 Logan 6,168 70.36% 2,491 28.42% 107 1.22% 3,677 41.94% 8,766 Mesa 41,539 67.12% 19,564 31.61% 782 1.27% 21,975 35.51% 61,885 Mineral 383 61.87% 227 36.67% 9 1.45% 156 25.20% 619 Moffat 4,247 74.18% 1,355 23.67% 123 2.15% 2,892 50.51% 5,725 Montezuma 6,988 63.44% 3,867 35.11% 160 1.45% 3,121 28.33% 11,015 Montrose 11,218 69.17% 4,776 29.45% 225 1.39% 6,442 39.72% 16,219 Morgan 6,787 68.31% 3,039 30.59% 110 1.10% 3,748 37.72% 9,936 Otero 4,947 60.48% 3,164 38.68% 69 0.85% 1,783 21.80% 8,180 Ouray 1,402 51.53% 1,278 46.97% 41 1.51% 124 4.56% 2,721 Park 4,781 57.21% 3,445 41.22% 131 1.57% 1,336 15.99% 8,357 Phillips 1,717 73.85% 582 25.03% 26 1.12% 1,135 48.82% 2,325 Pitkin 2,784 30.08% 6,335 68.44% 137 1.48% -3,551 -38.36% 9,256 Prowers 3,392 71.49% 1,308 27.57% 45 0.95% 2,084 43.92% 4,745 Pueblo 31,117 46.31% 35,369 52.64% 701 1.04% -4,252 -6.33% 67,187 Rio Blanco 2,403 80.02% 566 18.85% 34 1.14% 1,837 61.17% 3,003 Rio Grande 3,448 62.40% 2,006 36.30% 72 1.30% 1,442 26.10% 5,526 Routt 5,199 44.20% 6,392 54.34% 171 1.46% -1,193 -10.14% 11,762 Saguache 1,163 41.49% 1,594 56.87% 46 1.64% -431 -15.38% 2,803 San Juan 216 44.44% 253 52.06% 17 3.50% -37 -7.62% 486 San Miguel 1,079 26.85% 2,876 71.56% 64 1.59% -1,797 -44.71% 4,019 Sedgwick 971 71.40% 374 27.50% 15 1.10% 597 43.90% 1,360 Summit 5,370 39.10% 8,144 59.29% 221 1.62% -2,774 -20.19% 13,735 Teller 8,094 68.35% 3,556 30.03% 192 1.62% 4,538 38.32% 11,842 Washington 2,050 81.03% 455 17.98% 25 0.98% 1,595 63.05% 2,530 Weld 55,591 62.71% 31,868 35.95% 1,194 1.34% 23,723 26.76% 88,653 Yuma 3,456 75.81% 1,064 23.34% 39 0.85% 2,392 52.47% 4,559Total 1,101,25651.69%1,001,72547.02%27,3441.29%99,5314.67%2,130,325 Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Huerfano (largest municipality: Walsenburg) Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Clear Creek (largest municipality: Idaho Springs) Conejos (largest municipality: Manassa) Eagle (largest municipality: Edwards) Gunnison (largest municipality: Gunnison) La Plata (largest municipality: Durango) Routt (largest municipality: Steamboat Springs) San Juan (largest municipality: Silverton) right 250px Swing by county 250px Trend relative to the state by county Legend #d40000 Republican — >15% #ff0000 Republican — +12.5−15% #ff2a2a Republican — +10−12.5% #ff5555 Republican — +7.5−10% #ff8080 Republican — +5−7.5% #ffaaaa Republican — +2.5−5% #ffd5d5 Republican — +0−2.5% #808080 Did not exist #d5f6ff Democratic — +0−2.5% #aaeeff Democratic — +2.5−5% #77e3ff Democratic — +5−7.5% #4bdbff Democratic — +7.5-10% #09ceff Democratic — +10−12.5% #00bdec Democratic — +12.5−15% #00a1c8 Democratic — >15% 250px County flips Legend Democratic #92c5de Hold #0671b0 Flip Republican #f48882 Hold #ca0120 Flip Results by congressional district Bush won four of seven congressional districts. Each candidate won a district that elected a representative of the other party.http://www.swingstateproject.com/diary/4161/ Presidential Results by Congressional District, 2000-2008 – Swing State Project www.swingstateproject.com District Bush Kerry RepresentativeColorado 1 1st 31% 68%Diana DeGetteColorado 2 2nd 41% 58%Mark UdallColorado 3 3rd55%44%Scott McInnisJohn SalazarColorado 4 4th 58% 41%Marilyn MusgraveColorado 5 5th 66% 33%Joel HefleyColorado 6 6th 60% 39%Tom TancredoColorado 7 7th 48% 51%Bob Beauprez Electors List of 2004 United States presidential electors Technically, the voters of Colorado cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Colorado is allocated 9 electors because it has seven congressional districts and two senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of nine 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 nine 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 were pledged to and voted for George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/2004_certificates/ U. S. Electoral College 2008 Election - Certificates www.archives.gov 20 May 2019 Theodore S. Halaby Robert A. Martinez Lilly Y. Nunez Cynthia H. Murphy Sylvia Morgan-Smith Diane B. Gallagher Vicki A. Edwards Frances W. Owens Booker T. Graves Notes References Colorado 2004 Presidential