The 2004 Presidential Election

First falling behind in the polls, he enjoys the lack of dynamism of his opponent to make a significant advance, with an argument based on the lack of a consistent policy of the senator. The latter, however, surprised the public at the first televised debate, attacking the president head-on “colossal error” of the Iraq war: the campaign is relaunched. During the following two debates, the candidates compete without one really takes the advantage.

The election is once again to be very tight and it is George W. Bush is reelected in the November 2 vote in 2004 with a score of historic more than 62 million voters against 59 million to John Kerry admits that his defeat in the aftermath of the election. The Republican camp also won a historic victory in the elections for the Senate and House of Representatives.

The division between “red states” Republicans and “blue states” Democrats are also settled in 2000 between Bush and Gore.

Cities intellectual North-East and North Boston, New York and Chicago, cities on the West Coast as San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle, which represent the states with the highest concentrations of people, rooted in the Democratic camp. In fact, the 32 cities with more than 500 000 inhabitants that make up the United States almost all Democrats voted while the majority of them are, however, Republicans in states (Atlanta, Miami, Las Vegas, New Orleans , etc.)..

In terms of counties that the advantage switches clearly and widely to the Republicans. Three-quarters of U.S. counties have voted for Bush and only those of the States of New England and Hawaii have voted overwhelmingly for John Kerry. Thus, 54 of the 67 counties of Pennsylvania voted for George W. Bush, but the state has just been won by Kerry through his scores in the cities of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Democrats also could have lost the states of Illinois, Michigan, Washington and Wisconsin if they had not benefited from their huge majority in Chicago, Detroit, Seattle or Milwaukee. By contrast, voters in San Diego in California choose George W. Bush in a “pro-Kerry.”

The opposition geo-political reasons is the sociological profile of the people in most major cities that corresponds to that of the traditional Democratic voter (preponderance of singles, women and ethnic minorities), while the sociology of banlieues (the borough of Staten Island in New York or Orange County near Los Angeles for example) and rural towns (Charleston, South Carolina) matches that of Republican voters (white men, married couples with children ).

The final result of the election is as follows: George W. Bush gets 62 041 268 votes (50% 7) 59 028 against 548 to John Kerry (48 3%), 463 635 to Ralph Nader (0 4%) and 397 to 157 Michal Badnarik (Libertarian, 0 3%). Other candidates collect all 365 170 votes (0% 3). The electors are divided as follows: 286 for George W. Bush, 251 for John Kerry and John Edwards 1 for the colistier of John Kerry.

Because of the high voter turnout, George W. Bush and John Kerry have both set records in terms of the number of votes received. George Bush has increased from 50.4 to 62 million (gain of $ 11.6 million), John Kerry over Al Gore won 8 million votes (51 to 59 million). Ralph Nader fell from 2.9 to 0.46 million.