2004 United States presidential election in Maine

2004 United States presidential election in Maine

← 2000 November 2, 2004 2008 →

Nominee John Kerry George W. Bush Party Democratic Republican Home state Massachusetts Texas Running mate John Edwards Dick Cheney Electoral vote 4 0 Popular vote 396,842 330,201 Percentage 53.57% 44.58%

County Results Kerry   40-50%   50-60% Bush   40-50%   50-60%

President before election George W. Bush Republican Elected President George W. Bush Republican

Elections in Maine
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The 2004 United States presidential election in Maine took place on November 2, 2004, and was part of the 2004 United States presidential election. Starting which, Maine is one of two states in the U.S. that instead of all of the state's four electors of the Electoral College to vote based upon the statewide results of the voters, two of the individual electors vote based on their congressional district because Maine has two congressional districts. The other two electors vote based upon the statewide results.

Maine was considered by some to be a swing state, because of the closeness of some polls.^[1] However, the polls were consistently won by Kerry and neither campaign prioritized the state. On election day, Democrat John Kerry won the popular vote with 53.57% over George W. Bush with 44.58%. This is the most recent presidential election in which a losing Democrat won Maine's 2nd congressional district.

Caucuses[]

• 2004 Maine Democratic presidential caucuses

Campaign[]

Polling[]

Out of 15 pre-election polls, Kerry won thirteen of them. By the end of October, all polls showed Kerry over 50%. The final Real Clear Politics average showed Kerry leading 51% to 41.5% with a margin of 9.5%.^[2] In three Survey USA polls taken in October, Kerry's numbers increased each time from 49% to 51% to 52%. Also, the final three polls averaged Kerry with 51% to Bush at 45%.^[3]

Fundraising[]

Bush raised $362,522.^[4] Kerry raised $1,057,209.^[5]

Advertising and visits[]

Since March 3, 2004 Kerry didn't visit the state once, as Bush visited the state 5 times.^[6] A rough total estimate of $400,000 was spent on advertising each week, excluding the last week.^[7]

Analysis[]

Once a typical Yankee Republican state, Maine has not been carried by a Republican presidential nominee since George H. W. Bush did so in 1988. While the younger Bush did make a play for the state in 2004, John Kerry ultimately won it by a fairly comfortable 9-point margin, including its two Congressional districts. Maine is one of two states, the other being Nebraska, which allocate their electoral votes by Congressional district. A candidate is awarded an electoral vote for each district won, even if the candidate loses statewide, while the statewide winner is awarded two additional electoral votes. In 2016 and 2020, Republican Donald Trump won Maine's 2nd district despite losing the state overall, and thus he received one electoral vote from the state both times. This makes George W. Bush the last Republican, and the last candidate of either party until Joe Biden in 2020, to win a presidential election without carrying Maine's 2nd district.

Results[]

Statewide[]

2004 United States presidential election in Maine
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Democratic	John Kerry	396,842	53.57%	4
	Republican	George W. Bush (incumbent)	330,201	44.58%	0
	Independent	Ralph Nader	8,069	1.09%	0
	Green	David Cobb	2,936	0.40%	0
	Libertarian	Michael Badnarik	1,965	0.27%	0
	Others	-	739	0.10%	0
Totals			740,752	100.00%	4
Voter turnout			72.69%		—

Congressional district[]

Kerry won both congressional districts.^[8]

District	Bush	Kerry	Representative
1st	43%	55%	Tom Allen
2nd	46%	52%	Michael Michaud

By county[]

County	Kerry%	Kerry#	Bush%	Bush#	Others%	Others#	Total
Androscoggin	54.40%	30,503	43.73%	24,519	1.86%	1,045	56,067
Aroostook	51.86%	19,569	46.55%	17,564	1.59%	600	37,733
Cumberland	58.20%	94,846	40.12%	65,384	1.68%	2,732	162,962
Franklin	54.83%	9,465	42.74%	7,378	2.42%	418	17,261
Hancock	54.49%	18,048	43.49%	14,405	2.02%	669	33,122
Kennebec	53.34%	35,616	44.57%	29,761	2.09%	1,395	66,772
Knox	54.59%	12,690	43.46%	10,103	1.95%	454	23,247
Lincoln	51.26%	11,351	46.83%	10,370	1.90%	421	22,142
Oxford	52.68%	16,618	45.00%	14,196	2.32%	732	31,546
Penobscot	49.22%	40,417	49.10%	40,318	1.68%	1,377	82,112
Piscataquis	44.36%	4,409	53.31%	5,299	2.33%	232	9,940
Sagadahoc	52.69%	11,107	45.05%	9,497	2.25%	475	21,079
Somerset	50.00%	13,555	47.78%	12,953	2.21%	600	27,108
Waldo	51.77%	11,555	46.19%	10,309	2.03%	454	22,318
Washington	48.47%	8,391	49.79%	8,619	1.73%	300	17,310
York	53.35%	58,702	45.01%	49,526	1.64%	1,805	110,033

Electors[]

Technically the voters of Maine cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Maine is allocated 4 electors because it has 2 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 4 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 just 2 of the electoral votes. The other 2 electoral votes are based upon the congressional district results. 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.^[9] 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. Since Kerry won both congressional districts, all 4 were pledged to Kerry/Edwards.

1. Lu Bauer, elector for the 1st Congressional district.
2. David Garrity, elector for the 2nd Congressional district.
3. Jill Duson, at-large elector.
4. Samuel Shapiro, at-large elector.

See also[]

• United States presidential elections in Maine

References[]

External links[]

• US Election Atlas: Maine 2004, by David Leip
• 2004 election results, Maine Secretary of State