2004 Republican Party presidential primaries
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 Republican presidential primary, 2004 results by county
George W. Bush No votes/information available | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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From January 19 to June 8, 2004, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 2004 United States presidential election. Incumbent President George W. Bush was again selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 2004 Republican National Convention held from August 30 to September 2, 2004, in New York City.
Primary race overview[]
Incumbent President George W. Bush announced in mid-2003 that he would campaign for re-election; he faced no major challengers. He then went on, throughout early 2004, to win every nomination contest, including a sweep of Super Tuesday, beating back the vacuum of challengers and maintaining the recent tradition of an easy primary for incumbent Presidents (the last time an incumbent was seriously challenged in a presidential primary contest was when Senator Ted Kennedy challenged Jimmy Carter for the Democratic nomination in 1980). Bush managed to raise US$130 million in 2003 alone, and expected to set a national primary fund-raising record of $200 million by the time of the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City.
Several states and territories canceled their respective Republican primaries altogether, citing Bush being the only candidate to qualify on their respective ballot, including Connecticut,[5] Florida,[6] Mississippi,[7] New York,[8] Puerto Rico,[9] and South Dakota.[10]
Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, an opponent of the war in Iraq, Bush's tax cuts, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and much of Bush's social agenda, considered challenging Bush in the New Hampshire primary in the fall of 2003. He decided not to run, after the capture of Saddam Hussein in December 2003.[11] He would later change his party affiliation to Democratic and run in that party's 2016 presidential primaries.[12][13]
Candidates[]
Nominee[]
| Candidate | Most recent office | Home state | Campaign Withdrawal date |
Popular
vote |
Contests won | Running mate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George W. Bush | 
|
43rd President of the United States (2001–2009) Incumbent |
 Texas |
 (Campaign • Positions) Secured nomination: March 10, 2004 |
7,853,863 (98.01%) |
49 | Dick Cheney | |
Challengers[]
On the ballot in two or more primaries[]
- William Tsangares[14] ran for president under the pseudonym "Bill Wyatt." The then-43-year-old T-shirt maker left the Democratic Party to become a Republican after Democrats voted for the war in Iraq, an action he saw as a betrayal. Tsangares traveled 12,000 miles and spent an estimated $20,000 on his Presidential campaign. He managed to get on the ballot in New Hampshire, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, and even the Democratic Primary ballot in Arizona. He finished tenth in the New Hampshire primary with 0.23% of the vote (153 votes), placed second in Missouri, where he received 1,268 votes (1.03%). However, a major upset occurred on Mini-Tuesday when Tsangares won just over 10% of the vote in Oklahoma and 4% in Louisiana. He also received 233 votes (0.10%) in the Arizona Democratic primary.
- Blake Ashby, a Republican entrepreneur frustrated with the explosion of debt under President Bush, ran as a protest candidate in the Republican primaries. On the ballot in New Hampshire and Missouri, he spent approximately $20,000 on his campaign, visiting New Hampshire and campaigning in his home state of Missouri and participated in the C-Span Minor Candidates Forum [15] He finished seventh in New Hampshire with 264 votes [16] and third in Missouri with 981 votes.
| Candidate | home state | total votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uncommitted | – |
91,926 | 1.1% |
| (others) | various | 49,281 | 0.8% |
| Bill Wyatt | California | 10,847 | 0% |
| Missouri | 1.145 | 0% |
On the ballot in one primary[]
All but one of the following were on the ballot only in the state of New Hampshire.
Retired engineer Jack Fellure of West Virginia
got 14 votes in the North Dakota Caucases
Actor Tom Laughlin of California
Declined to be candidates[]
Businessman
Donald Trump
from New York
Governor
Jesse Ventura
from Minnesota
U.S Senator
Lincoln Chafee
from Rhode Island
U.S Representative
Ron Paul
from Texas
State Chief Justice
Roy Moore
from Alabama
| Candidate | Home state | total votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Bosa | New Hampshire | 841 | 1.2% |
| John Buchanan | Georgia | 836 | 1.2% |
| John Rigazio | New Hampshire | 803 | 1.2% |
| Robert Haines | New Hampshire | 579 | 0.9% |
| Michael Callis | New Hampshire | 388 | 0.6% |
| Millie Howard | Ohio | 239 | 0.4% |
| Tom Laughlin | California | 154 | 0.2% |
| Jim Taylor | 124 | 0.2% | |
| Mark "Dick" Harnes | 87 | 0.1% | |
| Cornelius E. O'Connor, | 77 | 0.1% | |
| George Gostigian, | 52 | 0.1% | |
| Jack Fellure | West Virginia | 14[17] | 0 |
Results[]
There were 2,509 total delegates to the 2004 Republican National Convention, of which 650 were so-called "superdelegates" who were not bound by any particular state's primary or caucus votes and could change their votes at any time. A candidate needs 1,255 delegates to become the nominee. Except for the Northern Mariana Islands and Midway Atoll, all states, territories, and other inhabited areas of the United States offer delegates to the 2004 Republican National Convention.
| George W. Bush | John Buchanan | Jack Fellure | Tom Laughlin | Bill Wyatt | ||||||||||||||||
| Total Delegates¹ | – | – | 1608 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Superdelegates¹ | – | – | 168 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Jan. 19 | Iowa³ (caucus) |
– | – | 100.00% (32) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
| Jan. 27 | New Hampshire (primary) |
0.39% | 1.24% | 79.55% (29) |
1.23% | 0.57% | – | 0.85% | 0.35% | 0.23% | 1.18% | 0.23% | ||||||||
| Feb. 3 (Mini Tuesday) | Missouri (primary) |
0.80% | – | 95.06% (57) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1.03% | ||||||||
| North Dakota (caucus) |
– | – | 99.11% (26) |
– | – | 0.69% | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Oklahoma (primary) |
– | – | 90.00% (41) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10.00% | |||||||||
| South Carolina (convention) |
– | – | 100.00% (46) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Feb. 10 | District of Columbia (caucus) |
– | – | 100.00% (16) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
| Tennessee (primary) |
– | – | 95.45% (39) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Feb. 17 | Wisconsin (primary) |
– | – | 99.25% (37) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
| Mar. 2 (Super Tuesday) | California (primary) |
– | – | 100.00% (170) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
| Connecticut (none) |
– | – | - (30) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Georgia (primary) |
– | – | 100.00% (66) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Maryland (primary) |
– | – | 100.00% (36) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Massachusetts (primary) |
– | – | 91.13% (41) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Minnesota (caucus) |
– | – | 100.00% (38) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| New York (none) |
– | – | - (87) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Ohio (primary) |
– | – | 100.00% (81) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Rhode Island (primary) |
– | – | 84.89% (18) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Vermont (primary) |
– | – | 100.00% (15) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Mar. 9 | Florida (primary) |
– | – | - (109) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
| Louisiana (primary) |
– | – | 96.09% (41) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3.91% | |||||||||
| Mississippi (primary) |
– | – | - (35) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Texas (primary) |
– | – | 92.49% (135) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Mar. 16 | Illinois (primary) |
– | – | 100.00% (60) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
| Apr. 27 | Pennsylvania (primary) |
– | – | 100.00% | – | ��� | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
| May 4 | Indiana (primary) |
– | – | 100.00% (27) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
| May 11 | West Virginia (primary) |
– | – | 100.00% (26) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
| May 18 | Arkansas (primary) |
– | – | 97.25% (32) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
| Kentucky (primary) |
– | – | 92.64% (43) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Oregon (primary) |
– | – | - (28) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| May 25 | Idaho (primary) |
– | – | 89.50% (24) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
| Jun. 1 | Alabama (primary) |
– | – | 92.83% (45) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
| New Mexico (primary) |
– | – | 100.00% (21) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| South Dakota (primary) |
– | – | - (25) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Jun. 8 | New Jersey (primary) |
– | – | 100.00% (52) |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
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Counties carried[]
 Republican presidential primary, 2004 results by county (exceptions: Minnesota, Maryland, Nebraska & North Dakota – at-large) George W. Bush No votes/information available |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=23198
- ^ https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=5379
- ^ http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P04/tally.phtml
- ^ https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=5379
- ^ "Connecticut Republican Allocation - 2004". The Green Papers. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- ^ "Florida Republican Allocation - 2004". The Green Papers. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- ^ "Mississippi Republican Allocation - 2004". The Green Papers. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- ^ "New York Republican Allocation - 2004". The Green Papers. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- ^ "Puerto Rico Republican Allocation - 2004". The Green Papers. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- ^ "South Dakota Republican Allocation - 2004". The Green Papers. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- ^ Chafee, Lincoln, Against the Tide: How A Compliant Congress Empowered A Reckless President, p.119-120
- ^ DelReal, Jose A. (June 3, 2015). "Lincoln Chafee announces long-shot presidential bid". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
- ^ "Rhode Island's Chafee enters 2016 Democratic contest". Boston Herald. Associated Press. June 3, 2015. Archived from the original on February 8, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
- ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=23198
- ^ "Blake Ashby | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- ^ "Republican President of the United States - NHSOS". sos.nh.gov. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- ^ "Bush big winner in North Dakota". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. February 5, 2004. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
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- 2004 United States Republican presidential primaries