2004 United States Senate elections

2004 United States Senate elections

← 2002 November 2, 2004 2006 →

34 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate
51 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Bill Frist Tom Daschle
(lost re-election)
Party Republican Democratic
Leader since January 3, 2003 January 3, 1995
Leader's seat Tennessee South Dakota
Seats before 51 48
Seats after 55 44
Seat change Increase 4 Decrease 4
Popular vote 39,920,562 44,754,618
Percentage 45.3% 50.8%
Seats up 15 19
Races won 19 15

  Third party
 
Party Independent
Seats before 1[1]
Seats after 1
Seat change Steady
Popular vote 186,231
Percentage 0.2%
Seats up 0
Races won 0

2004 United States Senate election in Alabama2004 United States Senate election in Alaska2004 United States Senate election in Arizona2004 United States Senate election in Arkansas2004 United States Senate election in California2004 United States Senate election in Colorado2004 United States Senate election in Connecticut2004 United States Senate election in Florida2004 United States Senate election in Georgia2004 United States Senate election in Hawaii2004 United States Senate election in Idaho2004 United States Senate election in Illinois2004 United States Senate election in Indiana2004 United States Senate election in Iowa2004 United States Senate election in Kansas2004 United States Senate election in Kentucky2004 United States Senate election in Louisiana2004 United States Senate election in Maryland2004 United States Senate election in Missouri2004 United States Senate election in Nevada2004 United States Senate election in New Hampshire2004 United States Senate election in New York2004 United States Senate election in North Carolina2004 United States Senate election in North Dakota2004 United States Senate election in Ohio2004 United States Senate election in Oklahoma2004 United States Senate election in Oregon2004 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania2004 United States Senate election in South Carolina2004 United States Senate election in South Dakota2004 United States Senate election in Utah2004 United States Senate election in Vermont2004 United States Senate election in Washington2004 United States Senate election in Wisconsin
Results of the elections:
     Democratic gain      Democratic hold
     Republican gain      Republican hold
     No election

Majority Leader before election

Bill Frist
Republican

Elected Majority Leader

Bill Frist
Republican

The 2004 United States Senate elections were held on November 2, 2004, with all Class 3 Senate seats being contested. They coincided with the re-election of George W. Bush as president and the United States House elections, as well as many state and local elections. Senators who were elected in 1998, known as Senate Class 3, were seeking re-election or retiring in 2004.

Republicans won 6 seats but lost two themselves, giving them a net gain of four seats. 5 of the 6 gains came from Southern states. Conservative Democrat Zell Miller of Georgia, who campaigned for President Bush, chose not to run for re-election and Republican Johnny Isakson won his seat; Democrat Fritz Hollings of South Carolina chose not to run for re-election and was succeeded by Republican Jim DeMint; Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards chose not to run for re-election and Republican Richard Burr won his North Carolina seat; Democrat Bob Graham of Florida chose not to run for re-election, and his seat went to Republican Mel Martinez; and Louisiana Democrat John Breaux chose not to run for re-election and Republican David Vitter won his seat.

In South Dakota, Republican John Thune defeated the incumbent Senate minority leader Tom Daschle, marking the first and only time since 1952 that a sitting party leader lost re-election, as well as the only time that person was the minority leader. Republican Senator Peter Fitzgerald of Illinois chose not to run for re-election and Democrat Barack Obama won in a landslide, becoming the Senate's only black member and only the third popularly elected in American history and only the third elected since Reconstruction. Also, Republican Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado chose not to run for re-election and Democrat Ken Salazar won the open seat.

This was the third consecutive election cycle for Senate Class 3 where the Democrats either broke even or lost seats. This also marked the first time since 1980 in which a presidential candidate from either party won with coattails in the Senate. Republicans would not make a net gain of seats during a presidential election year again until 2024. Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, was first elected to the Senate from Illinois in this election.

Results summary

[edit]
44 1 55
Democratic Independent Republican

Summary of the 2004 United States Senate elections results

Parties Total
Democratic Republican Independent Libertarian Others
Before these elections 48 51 1 100
End of this Congress (two months later) 48 51 1 100
Not Up 29 36 1 66
Up 19 15 34
Incumbent
retired
Total before 5 3 8
Held by same party 1 1
Replaced by other party Decrease 2 Republicans replaced by Increase 2 Democrats
Decrease 5 Democrats replaced by Increase 5 Republicans
7
Result after 2 6 8
Incumbent
ran
Total before 14 12[a] 26
Won re-election 13 12 25
Lost re-election Decrease 1 Democrat replaced by Increase 1 Republican 1
Lost renomination, held by same party 0
Lost renomination, and party lost 0
Result after 13 13 26
Net gain/loss Decrease 4 Increase 4 4
Total elected 15 19 34
Result 44 55 1 100
Popular
vote
Votes 44,754,618 39,920,562 186,231 754,861 2,481,075 88,097,347
Share 50.80% 45.31% 0.21% 0.86% 2.82% 100%

Sources:

Change in composition

[edit]

Before the elections

[edit]
D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9 D10
D20 D19 D18 D17 D16 D15 D14 D13 D12 D11
D21 D22 D23 D24 D25 D26 D27 D28 D29 D30
Ark.
Ran
D40
N.Y.
Ran
D39
Nev.
Ran
D38
Md.
Ran
D37
La.
Retired
D36
Ind.
Ran
D35
Hawaii
Ran
D34
Ga.
Retired
D33
Fla.
Retired
D32
Conn.
Ran
D31
Calif.
Ran
D41
N.C.
Retired
D42
N.Dak.
Ran
D43
Ore.
Ran
D44
S.C.
Retired
D45
S.Dak.
Ran
D46
Vt.
Ran
D47
Wash.
Ran
D48
Wisc.
Ran
I1 R51
Utah
Ran
Majority →
R41
Idaho
Ran
R42
Ill.
Retired
R43
Iowa
Ran
R44
Kans.
Ran
R45
Ky.
Ran
R46
Mo.
Ran
R47
N.H.
Ran
R48
Ohio
Ran
R49
Okla.
Retired
R50
Pa.
Ran
R40
Colo.
Retired
R39
Ariz.
Ran
R38
Alaska
Ran
R37
Ala.
Ran
R36 R35 R34 R33 R32 R31
R21 R22 R23 R24 R25 R26 R27 R28 R29 R30
R20 R19 R18 R17 R16 R15 R14 R13 R12 R11
R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10

After the elections

[edit]
D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9 D10
D20 D19 D18 D17 D16 D15 D14 D13 D12 D11
D21 D22 D23 D24 D25 D26 D27 D28 D29 D30
Ark.
Re-elected
D40
Vt.
Re-elected
D39
Ore.
Re-elected
D38
N.Dak.
Re-elected
D37
N.Y.
Re-elected
D36
Nev.
Re-elected
D35
Md.
Re-elected
D34
Ind.
Re-elected
D33
Hawaii
Re-elected
D32
Conn.
Re-elected
D31
Calif.
Re-elected
D41
Wash.
Re-elected
D42
Wisc.
Re-elected
D43
Colo.
Gain
D44
Ill.
Gain
I1 R55
S.Dak.
Gain
R54
S.C.
Gain
R53
N.C.
Gain
R52
La.
Gain
R51
Ga.
Gain
Majority →
R41
Iowa
Re-elected
R42
Kans.
Re-elected
R43
Ky.
Re-elected
R44
Mo.
Re-elected
R45
N.H.
Re-elected
R46
Ohio
Re-elected
R47
Okla.
Hold
R48
Pa.
Re-elected
R49
Utah
Re-elected
R50
Fla.
Gain
R40
Idaho
Re-elected
R39
Ariz.
Re-elected
R38
Alaska
Elected[b]
R37
Ala.
Re-elected
R36 R35 R34 R33 R32 R31
R21 R22 R23 R24 R25 R26 R27 R28 R29 R30
R20 R19 R18 R17 R16 R15 R14 R13 R12 R11
R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10
Key:
D# Democratic
I# Independent
R# Republican

Gains and losses

[edit]

Retirements

[edit]
Map of retirements:
  Republican incumbent
  Democratic incumbent
  Democratic incumbent retired
  Republican incumbent retired

Three Republicans and five Democrats retired instead of seeking re-election.

State Senator Replaced by
Colorado Ben Nighthorse Campbell Ken Salazar
Florida Bob Graham Mel Martínez
Georgia Zell Miller Johnny Isakson
Illinois Peter Fitzgerald Barack Obama
Louisiana John Breaux David Vitter
North Carolina John Edwards Richard Burr
Oklahoma Don Nickles Tom Coburn
South Carolina Fritz Hollings Jim DeMint

Defeats

[edit]

One Democrat sought re-election but lost in the general election.

State Senator Replaced by
South Dakota Tom Daschle John Thune

Post-election changes

[edit]

One Democrat resigned on January 17, 2006, and was replaced by a Democratic appointee.

State Senator Replaced by
New Jersey
(Class 1)
Jon Corzine Bob Menendez

Final pre-election predictions

[edit]

Several sites and individuals publish predictions of competitive seats. These predictions look at factors such as the strength of the incumbent (if the incumbent is running for reelection) and the other candidates, and the state's partisan lean (reflected in part by the state's Cook Partisan Voting Index rating). The predictions assign ratings to each seat, indicating the predicted advantage that a party has in winning that seat.

Most election predictors used:

  • "tossup": no advantage
  • "tilt" (used by some predictors): advantage that is not quite as strong as "lean"
  • "lean": slight advantage
  • "likely" or "favored": significant, but surmountable, advantage
  • "safe" or "solid": near-certain chance of victory

Where a site gives a percentage probability as its primary indicator of expected outcome, the chart below classifies a race as follows:

  • Tossup: 50-55%
  • Tilt: 56-60%
  • Lean: 61-75%
  • Likely: 76-93%
  • Safe: 94-100%
Constituency Incumbent 2004 election ratings
State Senator Last
election[c]
Sabato's Crystal Ball
Nov. 1
2004
[2]
Result
Alabama Richard Shelby 63.2% R Safe R Shelby
67.5% R
Alaska Lisa Murkowski Appointed
(2002)[d]
Lean D (flip) Murkowski
48.6% R
Arizona John McCain 68.7% R Safe R McCain
76.7% R
Arkansas Blanche Lincoln 55.1% D Safe D Lincoln
55.9% D
California Barbara Boxer 53.1% D Safe D Boxer
57.7% D
Colorado Ben Nighthorse Campbell
(retired)
62.5% R Lean D (flip) Salazar
51.3% D
(flip)
Connecticut Chris Dodd 65.2% D Safe D Dodd
66.4% D
Florida Bob Graham
(retired)
62.5% D Lean R (flip) Martínez
49.4% R
(flip)
Georgia Zell Miller
(retired)
58.2% D
(2000 special)[e]
Safe R (flip) Isakson
57.9% R
(flip)
Hawaii Daniel Inouye 79.2% D
Safe D Inouye
75.5% D
Idaho Mike Crapo 69.5% R Safe R Crapo
99.2% R
Illinois Peter Fitzgerald
(retired)
50.4% R Safe D (flip) Obama
70.0% D
(flip)
Indiana Evan Bayh 63.7% D Safe D Bayh
61.7% D
Iowa Chuck Grassley 68.4% R Safe R Grassley
70.2% R
Kansas Sam Brownback 65.3% R Safe R Brownback
69.2% R
Kentucky Jim Bunning 49.7% R Lean R Bunning
50.7% R
Louisiana John Breaux
(retired)
64.0% D Lean R (flip) Vitter
51.0% R
(flip)
Maryland Barbara Mikulski 70.5% D Safe D Mikulski
64.8% D
Missouri Kit Bond 52.7% R Safe R Bond
56.1% R
Nevada Harry Reid 47.9% D Safe D Reid
61.0% D
New Hampshire Judd Gregg 67.8% R Safe R Gregg
66.2% R
New York Chuck Schumer 54.6% D Safe D Schumer
71.2% D
North Carolina John Edwards
(retired)
51.2% D Lean R (flip) Burr
51.6% R
(flip)
North Dakota Byron Dorgan 63.2% D Safe D Dorgan
68.3% D
Oklahoma Don Nickles
(retired)
66.4% R Lean R Coburn
52.2% R
Ohio George Voinovich 56.5% R Safe R Voinovich
63.9% R
Oregon Ron Wyden 61.1% D Safe D Wyden
63.4% D
Pennsylvania Arlen Specter 61.3% R Safe R Specter
52.6% R
South Carolina Fritz Hollings
(retired)
52.7% D Likely R (flip) DeMint
53.7% R
(flip)
South Dakota Tom Daschle 62.1% D Lean R (flip) Thune
50.6% R
(flip)
Utah Bob Bennett 64.0% R Safe R Bennett
68.7% R
Vermont Patrick Leahy 72.2% D Safe D Leahy
70.6% D
Washington Patty Murray 58.4% D Likely D Murray
55.0%
Wisconsin Russ Feingold 55.0% D Safe D Feingold
55.3% D

Race summary

[edit]

Special elections during the 108th Congress

[edit]

There were no special elections during the 108th Congress.

Elections leading to the next Congress

[edit]

In these general elections, the winners were elected for the term beginning January 3, 2005; ordered by state.

All of the elections involved the Class 3 seats.

State Incumbent Results Candidates
Senator Party Electoral history
Alabama Richard Shelby Republican 1986[f]
1992
1998
Incumbent re-elected.
Alaska Lisa Murkowski Republican 2002 (appointed) Interim appointee elected.
Others
  • Jerry Sanders (AKIP) 1.2%
  • Jim Sykes (Green) 1.0%
  • Scott Kohlhaas (Libertarian) 0.4%
Arizona John McCain Republican 1986
1992
1998
Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY John McCain (Republican) 76%
  • Stuart Starky (Democratic) 21%
  • Ernest Hancock (Libertarian) 3%
Arkansas Blanche Lincoln Democratic 1998 Incumbent re-elected.
California Barbara Boxer Democratic 1992
1998
Incumbent re-elected.
Others
Colorado Ben Nighthorse Campbell Republican 1992[g]
1998
Incumbent retired.
Democratic gain.
Others
  • Doug Cambell (Constitution) 1%
  • Richard Randall (Libertarian) 0.5%
  • John Harris (Independent) 0.4%
  • Victor Good (Reform) 0.3%
Connecticut Chris Dodd Democratic 1980
1986
1992
1998
Incumbent re-elected.
Others
  • Timothy Knibbs (Constitution) 0.9%
  • Lenny Rasch (Libertarian) 0.6%
Florida Bob Graham Democratic 1986
1992
1998
Incumbent retired.
Republican gain.
Georgia Zell Miller Democratic 2000 (appointed)
2000 (special)
Incumbent retired.
Republican gain.
Hawaii Daniel Inouye Democratic 1962
1968
1974
1980
1986
1992
1998
Incumbent re-elected.
Others
  • James Brewer (Independent) 2.2%
  • Lloyd Mallan (Libertarian) 1.3%
Idaho Mike Crapo Republican 1998 Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY Mike Crapo (Republican) 99.2%
  • Scott McClure (Democratic write-in) 0.8%
Illinois Peter Fitzgerald Republican 1998 Incumbent retired.
Democratic gain.
Others
  • Albert Franzen (Independent) 1.6%
  • Jerry Kohn (Libertarian) 1.3%
Indiana Evan Bayh Democratic 1998 Incumbent re-elected.
Iowa Chuck Grassley Republican 1980
1986
1992
1998
Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY Chuck Grassley (Republican) 70.1%
  • Arthur Small (Democratic) 27.9%
Others
  • Christy Welty (Libertarian) 1.0%
  • Daryl Northrop (Green) 0.8%
  • Edwin Fruit (Socialist Workers) 0.1%
Kansas Sam Brownback Republican 1996 (special)
1998
Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY Sam Brownback (Republican) 69%
  • Lee Jones (Democratic) 28%
  • Stephen A. Rosile (Libertarian) 2%
  • George Cook (Reform) 1%
Kentucky Jim Bunning Republican 1998 Incumbent re-elected.
Louisiana John Breaux Democratic 1986
1992
1998
Incumbent retired.
Republican gain.
Others
  • Richard Fontanesi (Independent) 1%
  • R. A. Galan (Independent) 1%
  • Sam Melton (Democratic) 1%
Maryland Barbara Mikulski Democratic 1986
1992
1998
Incumbent re-elected.
Others
  • Maria Allwine (Green) 1.1%
  • Thomas Trump (Constitution) 0.4%
Missouri Kit Bond Republican 1986
1992
1998
Incumbent re-elected.
Others
  • Kevin Tull (Libertarian) 0.7%
  • Don Griffin (Constitution) 0.4%
Nevada Harry Reid Democratic 1986
1992
1998
Incumbent re-elected.
Others
  • None of These Candidates 1.6%
  • Tomas Hurst (Libertarian) 1.2%
  • David Schumann (Constitution) 0.7%
  • Gary Marinch (Natural Law) 0.3%
New Hampshire Judd Gregg Republican 1992
1998
Incumbent re-elected.
New York Chuck Schumer Democratic 1998 Incumbent re-elected.
Others
North Carolina John Edwards Democratic 1998 Incumbent retired to run for Vice President.
Republican gain.
North Dakota Byron Dorgan Democratic-NPL 1992
1998
Incumbent re-elected.
Ohio George Voinovich Republican 1998 Incumbent re-elected.
Oklahoma Don Nickles Republican 1980
1986
1992
1998
Incumbent retired.
Republican hold.
Oregon Ron Wyden Democratic 1996 (special)
1998
Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY Ron Wyden (Democratic) 63.4%
  • Al King (Republican) 31.8%
Others
  • Teresa Keane (Pacific Green) 2.4%
  • Dan Fitzgerald (Libertarian) 1.7%
  • David Brownlow (Constitution) 0.7%
Pennsylvania Arlen Specter Republican 1980
1986
1992
1998
Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY Arlen Specter (Republican) 52.6%
  • Joe Hoeffel (Democratic) 42.0%
  • Jim Clymer (Constitution) 4.0%
  • Betsy Summers (Libertarian) 1.4%
South Carolina Fritz Hollings Democratic 1966 (special)
1968
1974
1980
1986
1992
1998
Incumbent retired.
Republican gain.
Others
  • Patrick Tyndall (Constitution) 0.8%
  • Rebekah Sutherland (Libertarian) 0.7%
  • Tee Ferguson (United Citizens) 0.4%
  • Efia Nwangaza (Green) 0.3%
South Dakota Tom Daschle Democratic 1986
1992
1998
Incumbent lost re-election.
Republican gain.
Utah Bob Bennett Republican 1992
1998
Incumbent re-elected.
Others
  • Gary R. Van Horn (Constitution) 1.9%
  • Joe Labonte (Personal Choice) 1%
Vermont Patrick Leahy Democratic 1974
1980
1986
1992
1998
Incumbent re-elected.
Others
  • Cris Ericson (Marijuana) 2.1%
  • Craig Hill (Green) 1.3%
  • Keith Stern (Independent) 1.1%
  • Ben Mitchell (Liberty Union) 0.3%
Washington Patty Murray Democratic 1992
1998
Incumbent re-elected.
Others
  • J. Mills (Libertarian) 1.2%
  • Mark Wilson (Green) 1.1%
Wisconsin Russ Feingold Democratic 1992
1998
Incumbent re-elected.
  • Green tickY Russ Feingold (Democratic) 55.4%
  • Tim Michels (Republican) 44.1%
Others
  • Arif Khan (Libertarian) 0.3%
  • Eugene A. Hem (Independent) 0.2%

Closest races

[edit]

In seven races the margin of victory was under 10%.

District Winner Margin
Florida Republican (flip) 1.1%
South Dakota Republican (flip) 1.2%
Kentucky Republican 1.4%
Alaska Republican 3.0%
Colorado Democratic (flip) 3.9%
North Carolina Republican (flip) 4.6%
South Carolina Republican (flip) 9.6%[h]

Alabama

[edit]
Alabama Election

← 1998
2010 →
 
Nominee Richard Shelby Wayne Sowell
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,242,200 595,018
Percentage 67.6% 32.4%

County results
Shelby:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Sowell:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election

Richard Shelby
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Richard Shelby
Republican

Incumbent Republican Richard Shelby won re-election to a fourth term over Democratic perennial candidate Wayne Sowell.

Shelby, who switched parties ten years prior, had over $11 million cash on hand.[3] Shelby was chairman of the Banking Committee.[4] Wayne Sowell became the first black U.S. Senate nominee of a major party in Alabama.[5]

Alabama general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Richard Shelby (incumbent) 1,242,038[6] 67.6
Democratic Wayne Sowell 594,439 32.4
Independent Write Ins 1,848 0.1
Total votes 1,836,477 100.0
Turnout N/A

Alaska

[edit]
Alaska Election

← 1998
2010 →
 
Nominee Lisa Murkowski Tony Knowles
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 149,773 140,424
Percentage 48.9% 45.5%

Results by borough and census area
Murkowski:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Knowles:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election

Lisa Murkowski
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Lisa Murkowski
Republican

Incumbent Republican Lisa Murkowski of Anchorage, sought election to her first full term after being appointed to serve out the rest of her father's unexpired term when he resigned in December 2002 to become Governor of Alaska. Her main challenger was Democratic former Governor Tony Knowles, her father's predecessor as governor. Murkowski won by a slight margin.

Although Alaska is heavily Republican, popular opinion had swung against the Murkowski family because of a tax increase passed by Governor Frank Murkowski, Lisa Murkowski's father. In addition, many voters disapproved of apparent nepotism in the appointment of Lisa Murkowski to the Senate. Knowles, who as mentioned above preceded Frank Murkowski as governor, had enlisted extensive out-of-state support for his bid to take over Lisa Murkowski's Senate seat. However, veteran Republican Senator Ted Stevens taped advertisements warning Alaskans that electing a Democrat could result in less federal dollars for Alaska.

Democratic primary[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tony Knowles 40,881 95.0
Democratic Don Wright 1,080 2.5
Democratic Theresa Obermeyer 1,045 2.4
Total votes 43,006 100.0
Republican primary[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Lisa Murkowski (Incumbent) 45,710 58.1
Republican Mike Miller 29,313 37.3
Republican Wev Shea 2,857 3.6
Republican Jim Dore 748 0.9
Total votes 78,628 100.0

Lisa Murkowski had very low approval ratings as senator due to her father, Frank Murkowski, who at the time was the Governor of Alaska with extremely low approval ratings himself. Former Governor Tony Knowles ran against Murkowski. He ran as a Democrat who supported drilling in ANWR, in contrast to most Democrats. Ted Stevens tried to "rescue" her campaign and help her maintain her seat.[8]

Alaska general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Lisa Murkowski (Incumbent) 149,773 48.58 −25.91%
Democratic Tony Knowles 140,424 45.55 +25.82%
Independent Marc J. Millican 8,885 2.88
Independence Jerry Sanders 3,785 1.23
Green Jim Sykes 3,053 0.99 2.22%
Libertarian Scott A. Kohlhaas 1,240 0.40 −1.87%
Independent Ted Gianoutsas 732 0.24
Write-ins 423 0.14
Majority 9,349 3.03 −51.74%
Turnout 308,315

Arizona

[edit]
Arizona Election

← 1998
2010 →
 
Nominee John McCain Stuart Starky
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,505,372 404,507
Percentage 76.7% 20.6%

County results
McCain:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election

John McCain
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

John McCain
Republican

Incumbent Republican John McCain won re-election to a fourth term with his largest victory over Democratic teacher Stuart Starky.[10]

Since 1998, McCain challenged Texas Governor George W. Bush in the presidential primary and despite winning the New Hampshire primary, he lost the nomination. Solidifying his image as a maverick, he voted against the Bush tax cuts. He supported limits on stem cell research. He had a lopsided favorable ratings of 39% to 9% unfavorable in the most recent The New York Times/CBS News poll.

Stuart Starky, an eighth-grade teacher in South Phoenix, was widely known as a long-shot challenger. Starky stated that "I truly believe he's going to run for president again."[11] Starky was called by The Arizona Republic a "sacrificial lamb"[12] put on ballot because there were no chances to beat McCain. During his campaign, he debated McCain twice, once in Tucson and once in Flagstaff. He was also featured on the cover of Teacher Magazine, dubbed the "Unsinkable Stu Starky." Starky was defeated in a landslide. But, despite the relatively low percentage, he gained the highest vote per dollar amount in the country, spending only about $15,000 for his campaign (Starky's campaign may have been aided by John Kerry running for president).[13]

Arizona general election[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican John McCain (Incumbent) 1,505,372 76.74 +7.99%
Democratic Stuart Starky 404,507 20.62 −6.54%
Libertarian Ernest Hancock 51,798 2.64 +0.37%
Majority 1,100,865 56.12 +14.54%
Turnout 1,961,677

Arkansas

[edit]
2004 United States Senate election in Arkansas

← 1998 November 2, 2004 2010 →
 
Nominee Blanche Lincoln Jim Holt
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 580,973 458,036
Percentage 55.9% 44.1%

County results
Lincoln:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Holt:      50–60%

Senator before election

Blanche Lincoln
Democratic

Elected Senator

Blanche Lincoln
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Blanche Lincoln ran for re-election. Lincoln won re-election over Republican State Senator Jim Holt while President George W. Bush carried the state with almost the same margin of victory.

The Democratic Party held super-majority status in the Arkansas General Assembly. A majority of local and statewide offices were also held by Democrats. This was rare even for the time in the South, where a majority of statewide offices were and still are held by Republicans. Arkansas had the distinction in 1992 of being the only state in the country to give the majority of its vote to a single candidate in the presidential election—native son Bill Clinton—while every other state's electoral votes were won by pluralities of the vote among the three candidates. Arkansas had since become more reliably Republican in presidential elections. The state voted for George W. Bush over John Kerry in 2004. Lincoln won by 2% less than she had in 1998.[15]

Democrats at the time had an overwhelming majority of registered voters, and the Democratic Party of Arkansas was more conservative than the national entity. Two of Arkansas' three Democratic Representatives at the time were members of the Blue Dog Coalition, which tends to be more pro-business, pro-military spending, and socially conservative than the Democratic mainstream.

Republican primary[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jim Holt 37,254 68.9
Republican Andy Lee 10,709 19.8
Republican Rosemarie Clampitt 6,078 11.3
Total votes 54,041 100.0

Lincoln was a popular incumbent. In March, she had an approval rating of 55%.[17] Lincoln calls herself an advocate for rural America, having grown up on a farm herself. Holt is from Northwest Arkansas, who also lives on a farm.[18] Holt was widely perceived as a long shot. By the end of June, he only raised $29,000, while Lincoln had over $5 million cash on hand.[19] Lincoln won re-election by over 11%.[15]

Arkansas Senate election 2004
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Blanche Lincoln (Incumbent) 580,973 55.90
Republican Jim Holt 458,036 44.07
Independent Write Ins 340 0.0
Majority 122,937 11.83
Turnout 1,039,349

California

[edit]
California Election

← 1998
2010 →
 
Nominee Barbara Boxer Bill Jones
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 6,955,728 4,555,922
Percentage 57.7% 37.8%

County results
Boxer:      40-50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Jones:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election

Barbara Boxer
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Barbara Boxer
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer defeated Republican former Secretary of State Bill Jones. Boxer's 6.96 million votes set the record for the most votes cast for one candidate in one state in one election, until it was surpassed by Senator Dianne Feinstein's 7.75 million votes in 2012.

Democratic Primary Election
Candidate Votes %
Barbara Boxer (Incumbent) 2,566,298 100.00
Republican Primary Election
Candidate Votes %
Bill Jones 1,015,748 44.81
Rosario Marin 454,176 20.03
Howard Kaloogian 253,331 11.17
Toni Casey 142,080 6.27
Tim Stoen 124,940 5.51
James Stewart 78,264 3.45
Barry L. Hatch 71,244 3.14
John M. Van Zandt 56,925 2.51
Danney Ball 37,745 1.66
Bill Quraishi 32,515 1.43
Total votes 2,266,968 100.00
American Independent primary
Candidate Votes %
Don J. Grundmann 32,025 100.00
Libertarian primary
Candidate Votes %
Jim Gray 13,656 57.30
Gail Lightfoot 10,177 42.70
Total votes 23,833 100.00
Peace and Freedom primary
Candidate Votes %
Marsha Feinland 4,864 100.00

Boxer originally had decided to retire in 2004 but changed her mind to "fight for the right to dissent" against conservatives like Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Jones was widely considered as the underdog.[17] Jones got a major endorsement from the popular Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.[20] The two major candidates had a debate. Pre-election polling had Boxer leading in double digits.[21] But he never released a single TV ad. Boxer portrayed Jones as too conservative for California, citing his votes in the California Assembly (1982 to 1994) against gun control, increased minimum wage, support for offshore drilling, and a loosening of environmental regulations.[22]

Jones raised about $700,000 more than Boxer during the third quarter, pulling in $2.5 million to Boxer's $1.8 million. But overall, Boxer has raised $16 million to Jones' $6.2 million. And Boxer has spent about $7 million on radio and television ads alone.[23]

The election was not close, with Boxer winning by an authoritative 20 point margin. Jones only performed well in rural parts of the state. Boxer on the other hand won almost all major metropolitan areas in the state. The race was called right when the polls closed at 11:00 P.M. EST, and 7:00 P.M. PTZ. Jones conceded defeat to Boxer at 11:12 P.M. EST, and 7:12 PTZ.

California general election[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Barbara Boxer (Incumbent) 6,955,728 57.71
Republican Bill Jones 4,555,922 37.80
Peace and Freedom Marsha Feinland 243,846 2.02
Libertarian James P. "Jim" Gray 216,522 1.80
American Independent Don J. Grundmann 81,244 0.67
No party Dennis Richter (write-in) 43 0.00
No party Howard Johnson (write-in) 8 0.00
No party John Emery Jones (write-in) 2 0.00
Invalid or blank votes 536,388 4.26
Total votes 12,589,703 100.00
Turnout   57.03

Colorado

[edit]
Colorado Election

← 1998
2010 →
 
Nominee Ken Salazar Pete Coors
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,081,188 980,668
Percentage 51.3% 47.4%

County results
Salazar:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Coors:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election

Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Ken Salazar
Democratic

Incumbent Republican Ben Nighthorse Campbell decided to retire instead of seeking a third term. The Democratic Attorney General of Colorado Ken Salazar won the open seat.

Before Campbell's retirement, no prominent Democrat had entered the race, with educator Mike Miles and businessman Rutt Bridges pursuing the Democratic nomination. After Campbell's retirement, many expected popular Republican Governor Bill Owens to enter the race,[25] however he declined to run. Campbell's retirement and Owens' decision not to run prompted a number of prominent Democrats to reexamine the race.[26]

On March 10, the same day Owens announced he would not run, U.S. Congressman Mark Udall entered the race.[27] The next day, state Attorney General Ken Salazar entered the race, leading Udall to immediately withdraw and endorse him.[28] Salazar lost to Mike Miles at the State nominating convention. In spite of this loss, the national Democratic Party backed Salazar with contributions from the DSCC and promotion of Salazar as the only primary candidate.[29]

Democratic primary[30]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ken Salazar 173,167 73.02
Democratic Mike Miles 63,973 26.98
Total votes 237,140 100.00

The two candidates got into an ideological battle, as U.S. Representative Bob Schaffer attacked Pete Coors, former CEO and chairman of Coors Brewing Company, because his company had provided benefits to the partners of its gay and lesbian employees, in addition to promoting its beer in gay bars. Coors defended himself by saying that he was opposed to same-sex marriage, and supported a constitutional amendment to ban it, although he noted that he supported civil unions for gay couples. According to the Rocky Mountain News, Coors described his company's pro-LGBT practices as "good business, separate from politics."[31] Coors defeated Schaffer with 61% of the vote in the primary, with many analysts citing his high name recognition in the state as a primary factor.[32][33]

Republican primary[30]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Pete Coors 203,157 60.57
Republican Bob Schaffer 132,274 39.43
Total votes 335,431 100.00

Pete Coors ran as a moderate conservative. However, Salazar was also a moderate and a highly popular State Attorney General.[34] Coors is also a great-grandson of Adolph Coors, founder of the brewing company. His father is Joseph Coors, president of the company and founding member of The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Salazar narrowly won the open seat. It was one of only two Democratic pickups in the 2004 Senate elections; Illinois was the other.

According to the non-partisan OpenSecrets, Coors gave his own campaign $1,213,657 and received individual donations of $60,550 from other Coors family members[citation needed].

A state record of over $11 million was raised during the election.[35]

Colorado general election[36]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Ken Salazar 1,081,188 51.30 +16.29%
Republican Pete Coors 980,668 46.53 −15.96%
Constitution Douglas Campbell 18,783 0.89 +0.15%
Libertarian Richard Randall 10,160 0.48
Independent John R. Harris 8,442 0.40
Reform Victor Good 6,481 0.31
Independent Finn Gotaas 1,750 0.08
Majority 100,520 4.77 −22.70%
Turnout 2,107,472

Connecticut

[edit]
2004 United States Senate election in Connecticut

← 1998 November 2, 2004 2010 →
 
Nominee Chris Dodd Jack Orchulli
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 945,347 457,749
Percentage 66.4% 32.1%

Dodd:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Orchulli:      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. senator before election

Chris Dodd
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Chris Dodd
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Chris Dodd won re-election for a fifth term, beating Republican Jack Orchulli, CEO and co-founder of a Michael Kors's apparel company.[37]

Chris Dodd was one of the most powerful senators in congress. In the election cycle, Dodd raised over $7 million. His top five contributors were Bear Stearns, Citigroup, National Westminster Bank, Lehman Brothers, and Goldman Sachs.[38]

Republican nominee, Jack Orchulli, ran as fiscal conservative and social moderate[citation needed]. He broke ranks with his party on gay marriage and abortion.[39] That put him on the same side as most voters in the blue state of Connecticut[citation needed]. He often talked about a "broken education system." He argued that Dodd has not done anything in his 30 years in congress to fix such issues as traffic problems in Fairfield County.[40]

Orchulli launched a statewide TV ad campaign in September, as he spent over $1.1 million and pledged to spend "whatever it takes" if polls show he is gaining ground on Dodd.[41]

Connecticut General election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Chris Dodd (Incumbent) 945,347 66.35
Republican Jack Orchulli 457,749 32.13
Concerned Citizens Timothy Knibbs 12,442 0.87
Libertarian Leonard Rasch 9,188 0.64
Majority 487,598 34.22
Turnout 1,424,726

Florida

[edit]
Florida Election

← 1998
2010 →
 
Nominee Mel Martínez Betty Castor
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 3,672,864 3,590,201
Percentage 49.4% 48.3%

County results

Martinez:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Castor:      40-50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election

Bob Graham
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Mel Martínez
Republican

Incumbent Democrat Bob Graham retired after three terms. The primary elections were held on August 31, 2004. Republican Mel Martínez won the open seat, beating Democrat Betty Castor, former president of the University of South Florida, former Education Commissioner of Florida, and former state senator. Martínez, a former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, was supported by the Bush administration.

Democratic primary[42]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Betty Castor 669,346 58.1
Democratic Peter Deutsch 321,922 27.9
Democratic Alex Penelas 115,898 10.1
Democratic Bernard E. Klein 45,347 3.9
Total votes 1,152,513 100.0%
Republican primary[42]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mel Martínez 522,994 44.9
Republican Bill McCollum 360,474 30.9
Republican Doug Gallagher 158,360 13.6
Republican Johnnie Byrd 68,982 5.9
Republican Karen Saull 20,365 1.8
Republican Sonya March 17,804 1.5
Republican Larry Klayman 13,257 1.1
Republican William Billy Kogut 3,695 0.3
Total votes 1,165,931 100.0%

In the spring, the campaign hired fundraising staff from the defunct presidential campaigns of Howard Dean and Bob Graham,[43] and subsequently posted much higher fundraising numbers over the summer.[44] Online grassroots techniques devised for the Dean campaign (Castor became a Dean Dozen candidate in August[citation needed]) were one contributing factor:[45] another was the support of EMILY's List, which named Castor as its highest-rated candidate for the 2004 election cycle[citation needed], even when her support for banning intact dilation and extraction (D&X) abortions was not in line with the EMILY's List support for woman's issues.[46][47] The latter was a source of criticism during the August primary heat - a complaint was filed by a Deutsch supporter with the Federal Election Commission accusing inappropriate coordination with EMILY's List[citation needed]. The complaint was dismissed by the Federal Election Commission in 2005.[48]

Castor's handling of Sami Al-Arian became another source of criticism during the campaign[citation needed]. In June, The American Democracy Project, a 527 group founded by Bernie Friedman[citation needed], began attacking Castor's handling of the incident, alleging that she had sufficient evidence to fire Al-Arian in the mid-1990s[citation needed]. Castor responded by stating that she never had sufficient evidence to fire Al-Arian, who was a tenured professor at the time[citation needed]. On June 29, Senator Graham, who had previously remained outside of the Al-Arian controversy, released a statement that "Betty Castor acted appropriately as President of the University of South Florida to deal with Sami Al-Arian"[citation needed]: later, Graham and Senator Bill Nelson brokered an agreement between the Democratic candidates to refrain from negative campaigning against each other[citation needed], although this agreement appeared to break down in the final weeks of the race, when Deutsch launched attack ads on television[citation needed].

Despite these controversies, Castor won the Democratic nomination on August 31. She was defeated, however, by Republican candidate Mel Martínez in a close race on November 2, 2004. The overwhelming support for Martínez among Latinos effectively counterbalanced Castor's relatively high popularity among swing voters throughout the state.

There was some speculation that Castor would run for Governor of Florida in 2006 to replace Jeb Bush, who was ineligible for re-election due to term limits, but she announced in 2005 that she would not be a candidate.

2004 United States Senate election in Florida[49]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Melquíades Rafael Martínez Ruiz 3,672,864 49.43 +11.9%
Democratic Elizabeth Castor 3,590,201 48.32 −14.15%
Veterans Dennis F. Bradley 166,642 2.24 +2.24%
Write-ins 187 0.00 +0.0%
Majority 82,663 1.11 −23.83%
Turnout 7,429,894 70.92[50] +24.08%
Total votes 7,429,894 100.00 +3,529,732

Georgia

[edit]
Georgia Election

 
Nominee Johnny Isakson Denise Majette
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,864,205 1,287,695
Percentage 57.9% 40.0%

Isakson:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Majette:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election

Zell Miller
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Johnny Isakson
Republican

Incumbent Democrat Zell Miller retired. Democratic U.S. Representative Denise Majette became both the first African American and the first woman to be nominated for the U.S. Senate in Georgia. Republican U.S. Representative Johnny Isakson won the open seat.

The results were almost a complete reversal from the previous election in 2000.

Majette's announcement that she would seek to replace Miller also caught Democrats by surprise, as she was not on anyone's call list when Democrats began seeking a candidate to replace Miller. Further skepticism among Democrats about the viability of her candidacy surfaced when she announced that "God" had told her to run for the Senate. She received important endorsements from U.S. Senators Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, along with many others in Washington who campaigned and raised money for Majette. Her Senate campaign slogan was "I'll be nobody's Senator, but yours."

A number of factors led to Majette's loss. These include her late start, her valuable time and money spent in the runoff, larger conservative turnout from a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages (which Majette opposed), the popularity of President George W. Bush in Georgia, and her lack of experience (being a one-term congresswoman).

Republican primary[51]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Johnny Isakson 346,765 53.2%
Republican Herman Cain 170,464 26.2%
Republican Mac Collins 134,053 20.6%
Georgia general election[52]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Johnny Isakson 1,864,205 57.88 +19.97%
Democratic Denise Majette 1,287,695 39.98 −18.22%
Libertarian Allen Buckley 69,051 2.14 +2.14%
Majority 576,510 17.90
Turnout 3,220,951

Hawaii

[edit]
Hawaii Election

← 1998
2010 →
 
Nominee Daniel Inouye Cam Cavasso
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 313,629 87,172
Percentage 75.5% 21.0%

County results
Inouye:      70–80%

U.S. senator before election

Daniel Inouye
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Daniel Inouye
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye won re-election to an eighth term over Republican, Campbell Cavasso, a former state representative.

Inouye won every single county with at least 70% of the vote. His best performance was in Kauai County, where he won with an estimated 80%; also was Cavasso's weakest performance, getting just 16.5% of the vote there.

Hawaii General election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Daniel Inouye (incumbent) 313,629 75.5
Republican Campbell Cavasso 87,172 21.0
Independent Jim Brewer 9,269 2.2
Libertarian Lloyd Jeffrey Mallan 5,277 1.3
Total votes 415,347 100.00

Idaho

[edit]
Idaho Election

← 1998
2010 →
 
Nominee Mike Crapo
Party Republican
Popular vote 499,796
Percentage 99.2%

County results
Crapo:      >90%      100%

U.S. senator before election

Mike Crapo
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Mike Crapo
Republican

Incumbent Republican Mike Crapo won a second term in a landslide after no one filed for the Democratic nomination. Democrat Scott McClure conducted a write-in campaign but only received 4,136 votes, or about 1% of those cast.

Republican primary[53]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mike Crapo (Incumbent) 118,286 100.00
Total votes 118,286 100.00%

Crapo won every county with over 95% of the vote. His weakest performance by far was in Latah County, where he got 95.6% of the vote to McClure's 4.4%.

2004 United States Senate election in Idaho[54]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Mike Crapo (Incumbent) 499,796 99.18 +29.64%
Democratic Scott F. McClure (write-in) 4,136 0.82 +0.82%
Majority 495,660 98.36 +57.22%
Turnout 503,932

Illinois

[edit]
Illinois Election

← 1998
2010 →
 
Nominee Barack Obama Alan Keyes
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 3,597,456 1,390,690
Percentage 70.0% 27.0%

County results
Obama:      40-50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Keyes:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election

Peter Fitzgerald
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Barack Obama
Democratic

Incumbent Republican Peter Fitzgerald decided to retire after one term. The Democratic and Republican primary elections were held in March, which included a total of 15 candidates who combined to spend a record total of over $60 million seeking the open seat.

State Senator and future President Barack Obama won the Democratic primary and Jack Ryan won the Republican primary. Ryan later withdrew from the race four days after the Chicago Tribune persuaded a California court to release child custody records. The Illinois Republican State Central Committee chose former Diplomat Alan Keyes to replace Ryan as the Republican candidate.

The election was the first for the U.S. Senate in which both major party candidates were African American. Obama's 43% margin of victory was the largest in the state history of U.S. Senate elections. The inequality in the candidates spending for the fall elections – $14,244,768 by Obama and $2,545,325 by Keyes – is also among the largest in history in both absolute and relative terms.[55]

Obama-for-Senate float at the 2004 Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic

Fitzgerald's predecessor, Democrat Carol Moseley Braun, declined to run. Barack Obama, a member of the Illinois Senate since 1997 and an unsuccessful 2000 Democratic primary challenger to four-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush for Rush's U.S House seat, launched a campaign committee at the beginning of July 2002 to run for the U.S. Senate, 21 months before the March 2004 primary,[56] and two months later had David Axelrod lined up to do his campaign media.[57] Obama formally announced his candidacy on January 21, 2003,[58] four days after former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun announced she would not seek a rematch with U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald.[59]

On April 15, 2003, with six Democrats already running and three Republicans threatening to run against him,[60] incumbent Fitzgerald announced he would not seek a second term in 2004,[61] and three weeks later popular Republican former Governor Jim Edgar declined to run,[62] leading to wide open Democratic and Republican primary races with 15 candidates, including 7 millionaires[63] (triggering the first application of the Millionaires' Amendment of the 2002 McCain–Feingold Act), in the most expensive Senate primary in U.S. history.[64]

Obama touted his legislative experience and early public opposition to the Iraq War to distinguish himself from his Democratic primary rivals. Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes won the endorsement of the AFL–CIO. Obama succeeded in obtaining the support of three of the state's largest and most active member unions: AFSCME, SEIU, and the Illinois Federation of Teachers. Hynes and multimillionaire former securities trader Blair Hull each won the endorsements of two of the nine Democratic Illinois members of the US House of Representatives. Obama had the endorsements of four: Jesse Jackson, Jr., Danny Davis, Lane Evans, and Jan Schakowsky.

Obama surged into the lead after he finally began television advertising in Chicago in the final three weeks of the campaign, which was expanded to downstate Illinois during the last six days of the campaign. The ads included strong endorsements by the five largest newspapers in Illinois—the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Daily Herald, The Rockford Register Star, and Peoria Journal Star—and a testimonial by Sheila Simon that Obama was "cut from that same cloth" as her father, the late former U.S. Senator Paul Simon, who had planned to endorse and campaign for Obama before his unexpected death in December 2003. [65][66][67][68][69][70]

On March 16, 2004, Obama won the Democratic primary by an unexpected landslide—receiving 53% of the vote, 29% ahead of his nearest Democratic rival, with a vote total that nearly equaled that of all eight Republican candidates combined—which overnight made him a rising star in the national Democratic Party, started speculation about a presidential future, and led to the reissue of his memoir, Dreams from My Father.[71][72][73] The Democratic primary election, including seven candidates who combined to spend over $46 million, was the most expensive U.S. Senate primary election in history.

Democratic Primary, United States Senate, March 16, 2004
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Barack Obama 655,923 52.8
Democratic Daniel W. Hynes 294,717 23.7
Democratic Blair Hull 134,453 10.8
Democratic Maria Pappas 74,987 6.0
Democratic Gery Chico 53,433 4.3
Democratic Nancy Skinner 16,098 1.3
Democratic Joyce Washington 13,375 1.1
Democratic Estella Johnson-Hunt (write-in) 10 0.0
Majority 361,206 29.4
Turnout 1,242,996

GOP frontrunner Jack Ryan had divorced actress Jeri Ryan in 1999, and the records of the divorce were sealed at their mutual request. Five years later, when Ryan's Senate campaign began, the Chicago Tribune newspaper and WLS-TV, the local ABC affiliate, sought to have the records released. On March 3, 2004, several of Ryan's GOP primary opponents urged Ryan to release the records.[74] Both Ryan and his wife agreed to make their divorce records public, but not make the child custody records public, claiming that the custody records could be harmful to their son if released. Ryan went on to win the GOP primary on March 16, 2004, defeating his nearest competitor, Jim Oberweis, by twelve percentage points.[75]

Ryan was a proponent of across-the-board tax cuts and tort reform, an effort to limit payout in medical malpractice lawsuits. He was also a proponent of school choice and supported vouchers for private school students.

Oberweis's 2004 campaign was notable for a television commercial where he flew in a helicopter over Chicago's Soldier Field, and claimed enough illegal immigrants came into America in a week (10,000 a day) to fill the stadium's 61,500 seats.[76][77] Oberweis was also fined $21,000 by the Federal Election Commission for a commercial for his dairy that ran during his 2004 Senate campaign. The FEC ruled that the commercial wrongly benefited his campaign and constituted a corporate contribution, thus violating campaign law.[78]

Republican Primary, March 16, 2004
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Jack Ryan 234,791 35.5
Republican Jim Oberweis 155,794 23.5
Republican Steven J. Rauschenberger 132,655 20.0
Republican Andrew McKenna 97,238 14.7
Republican Jonathan C. Wright 17,189 2.6
Republican John Borling 13,390 2.0
Republican Norm Hill 5,637 0.9
Republican Chirinjeev Kathuria 5,110 0.8
Majority 78,997 11.9
Turnout 661,804

As a result of the GOP and Democratic primaries, Democrat Barack Obama was pitted against Republican Jack Ryan.

Ryan trailed Obama in early polls, after the media reported that Ryan had assigned Justin Warfel, a Ryan campaign worker, to track Obama's appearances.[79] The tactic backfired when many people, including Ryan's supporters, criticized this activity. Ryan's spokesman apologized, and promised that Warfel would give Obama more space. Obama acknowledged that it is standard practice to film an opponent in public, and Obama said he was satisfied with Ryan's decision to have Warfel back off.[79]

As the campaign progressed, the lawsuit brought by the Chicago Tribune to open child custody files from Ryan's divorce was still continuing. Barack Obama's backers emailed reporters about the divorce controversy, but refrained from on-the-record commentary.[80] On March 29, 2004, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Schnider ruled that several of the Ryans' divorce records should be opened to the public, and ruled that a court-appointed referee would later decide which custody files should remain sealed to protect the interests of Ryan's young child.[81] A few days later, on April 2, 2004, Barack Obama changed his position about the Ryans' soon-to-be-released divorce records, and called on Democrats to not inject them into the campaign.[80]

On June 22, 2004, after receiving the report from the court appointed referee, the judge released the files that were deemed consistent with the interests of Ryan's young child. In those files, Jeri Ryan alleged that Jack Ryan had taken her to sex clubs in several cities, intending for them to have sex in public.[82][83]

The decision to release the files generated much controversy because it went against both parents' direct request, and because it reversed the earlier decision to seal the papers in the best interest of the child. Jim Oberweis, Ryan's defeated GOP opponent, commented that "these are allegations made in a divorce hearing, and we all know people tend to say things that aren't necessarily true in divorce proceedings when there is money involved and custody of children involved."[82]

Although their sensational nature made the revelations fodder for tabloid and television programs specializing in such stories, the files were also newsworthy because of questions about whether Ryan had accurately described the documents to GOP party leaders. Prior to release of the documents, Ryan had told leading Republicans that five percent of the divorce file could cause problems for his campaign.[84] But after the documents were released, GOP officials including state GOP Chair Judy Baar Topinka said they felt Ryan had misleadingly indicated the divorce records would not be embarrassing.[85]

That charge of dishonesty led to intensifying calls for Ryan's withdrawal, though Topinka, who was considering running herself, said after the June 25 withdrawal that Ryan's "decision was a personal one" and that the state GOP had not pressured Ryan to drop out.[86] Ryan's campaign ended less than a week after the custody records were opened, and Ryan officially filed the documentation to withdraw on July 29, 2004. Obama was left without an opponent.

The Illinois Republican State Central Committee chose former diplomat Alan Keyes to replace Ryan as the Republican candidate. Keyes, a conservative Republican from Maryland, faced an uphill battle. First, Keyes had few ties to Illinois political leaders. Second, the lack of an opponent allowed Obama to campaign throughout the more conservative downstate regions to build up name recognition. Third, Keyes was seen as a carpetbagger, only establishing legal residency in Calumet City, Illinois days before running.

The Chicago Tribune in an editorial, stated that "Mr. Keyes may have noticed a large body of water as he flew into O'Hare. That is called Lake Michigan."[87] In 2000, Keyes attacked Hillary Clinton for running for US Senator from New York even though she had never lived there, calling her a carpetbagger.[88] Keyes attacked Barack Obama for voting against a bill that would have outlawed a form of late-term abortion.[89]

Obama ran the most successful Senate campaign in 2004, and was so far ahead in polls that he soon began to campaign outside of Illinois in support of other Democratic candidates. He gave large sums of campaign funds to other candidates and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and sent many of his volunteers to work on other races, including that of eventual three-term Congresswoman Melissa Bean who defeated then-Congressman Phil Crane in that year's election. Obama and Keyes differed on many issues including school vouchers and tax cuts, both of which Keyes supported and Obama opposed.[90]

Illinois general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Barack Obama 3,597,456 70.0 +22.6%
Republican Alan Keyes 1,390,690 27.0 −23.3%
Independent Al Franzen 81,164 1.6
Libertarian Jerry Kohn 69,253 1.3
Write-ins 2,957 0.1
Majority 2,206,766 43.0 +40.1%
Turnout 5,350,493 71.3

The Obama-Keyes race was one of the first to be called on Election Day, November 2, 2004.

At the start of Keyes's candidacy in August, Keyes had 24% support in the polls. He received 27% of the vote in the November general election to Obama's 70%.[91]

Following the election, Keyes refused to call Obama to congratulate him. Media reports claimed that Keyes also failed to concede the race to Obama.[citation needed] Two days after the election, a Two days after the electionradio interviewer asked Keyes whether he had conceded the race. Keyes replied, "Of course I've conceded the race. I mean, I gave my speech to that effect."[92]

On the radio program, Keyes explained that his refusal to congratulate Obama was "not anything personal," but was meant to make a statement against "extend[ing] false congratulations to the triumph of what we have declared to be across the line." He said that Obama's position on moral issues regarding life and the family had crossed that line. "I'm supposed to make a call that represents the congratulations toward the triumph of that which I believe ultimately stands for ... a culture evil enough to destroy the very soul and heart of my country? I can't do this. And I will not make a false gesture," Keyes said.[92]

Indiana

[edit]
Indiana Election

← 1998
2010 →
 
Nominee Evan Bayh Marvin Scott
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,496,976 903,913
Percentage 61.7% 37.2%

County results
Bayh:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Scott:      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. senator before election

Evan Bayh
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Evan Bayh
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Evan Bayh won re-election to a second term, beating Republican Marvin Scott, a professor at Butler University.

In September, Bayh had $6.5 million cash on hand. Scott's strategy of trying to paint Bayh as too liberal failed to gain traction. Bayh was viewed early in 2004 as a serious vice presidential candidate for John Kerry. Bayh was on the final shortlist for a Kerry running mate, but North Carolina Senator John Edwards was chosen as Kerry's running mate.

Bayh won 86 of Indiana's counties compared to 6 for Scott.[93]

Indiana general election[94]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Evan Bayh (incumbent) 1,496,976 61.7
Republican Marvin Scott 903,913 37.2
Libertarian Albert Barger 27,344 1.1
Majority 593,063
Turnout 2,428,233 58.0

Iowa

[edit]
Iowa Election

← 1998
2010 →
 
Nominee Chuck Grassley Arthur A. Small
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,038,175 412,365
Percentage 70.2% 27.9%

County results
Grassley:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90%      >90%

U.S. senator before election

Chuck Grassley
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Chuck Grassley
Republican

Incumbent Republican Chuck Grassley won a fifth term, beating former Democratic Iowa State Senator Arthur A. Small. Though this election coincided with the highly competitive presidential election in Iowa, Grassley was in little danger of losing his seat and defeated Small handily.

Democratic primary[95]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Arthur A. Small 52,318 99.25
Democratic Write-ins 398 0.75
Total votes 52,716 100.00
Republican primary[95]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Chuck Grassley (Incumbent) 78,819 99.72
Republican Write-ins 218 0.28
Total votes 79,037 100.00%
Iowa general election[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Chuck Grassley (Incumbent) 1,038,175 70.18 +1.77%
Democratic Arthur A. Small 412,365 27.88 −2.62%
Libertarian Christy Ann Welty 15,218 1.03
Green Daryl A. Northrop 11,121 0.75
Socialist Workers Edwin Fruit 1,874 0.13 −0.14%
Write-ins 475 0.03
Majority 625,810 42.31 +4.39%
Turnout 1,479,228

Kansas

[edit]
Kansas Election

← 1998
2010 →
 
Nominee Sam Brownback Lee Jones
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 780,863 310,337
Percentage 69.2% 27.5%

County results
Brownback:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
     80–90%      >90%
Jones:      50–60%

U.S. senator before election

Sam Brownback
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Sam Brownback
Republican

Incumbent Republican Sam Brownback won re-election to a second term over Democratic railroad engineer Lee Jones.

Democratic primary[96]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Robert A. Conroy 61,052 55.92
Democratic Lee Jones 48,133 44.08
Total votes 109,185 100.00

Though Robert Conroy won the Democratic nomination, he dropped out of the race shortly after becoming the nominee, noting that he expected Jones to win and was tired of campaigning. The Kansas Democratic Party selected Lee Jones as the replacement candidate.[97]

Republican primary[96]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Sam Brownback (Incumbent) 286,839 86.99
Republican Arch Naramore 42,880 13.01
Total votes 329,719 100.00

Brownback raised $2.5 million for his re-election campaign, while Jones raised only $90,000. Kansas last elected a Democratic senator in 1932. Brownback was very popular in the state.[98]

Kansas general election[99]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Sam Brownback (Incumbent) 780,863 69.16 +3.90%
Democratic Lee Jones 310,337 27.49 −4.10%
Libertarian Steven A. Rosile 21,842 1.93 +0.35%
Reform George Cook 15,980 1.42 −0.14%
Majority 470,526 41.68 +8.00%
Turnout 1,129,022

Kentucky

[edit]
Kentucky Election

← 1998
2010 →
 
Nominee Jim Bunning Daniel Mongiardo
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 873,507 850,855
Percentage 50.7% 49.3%

County results
Bunning:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Mongiardo:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

U.S. senator before election

Jim Bunning
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Jim Bunning
Republican

Incumbent Republican Jim Bunning won re-election to a second term. Democratic primary front runner Paul E. Patton, the governor, saw his career implode in a scandal over an extramarital affair. Eventually, the Democrats settled on Daniel Mongiardo, a relatively unknown doctor and state senator from Hazard, Kentucky.[100]

Democratic primary[101]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Daniel Mongiardo 142,162 64.92
Democratic David L. Williams 76,807 35.08
Total votes 218,969 100.00
Republican primary[101]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jim Bunning (incumbent) 96,545 84.00
Republican Barry Metcalf 18,395 16.00
Total votes 114,940 100.00

During his re-election bid in 2004, controversy erupted when Bunning described Mongiardo as looking "like one of Saddam Hussein's sons." Bunning apologized, then later went on to declare that Mongiardo's "thugs" had assaulted his wife.[102][103]

Bunning had an estimated $4 million campaign war chest, while Mongiardo had only $600,000. The Democrats began increasing financial support to Mongiardo when it became apparent that Bunning's bizarre behavior was costing him votes, purchasing more than $800,000 worth of additional television airtime on his behalf.

The November 2 election was one of the closest in Kentucky history. The race turned out to be very close, with Mongiardo leading with as many as 80% of the returns coming in. However, Bunning eventually won by just over one percentage point. Some analysts felt that because of President George Bush's 20% margin of victory in the state, Bunning was able to effectively ride the President's coattails to victory.

Kentucky general election[104]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Jim Bunning (incumbent) 873,507 50.66 +0.91%
Democratic Daniel Mongiardo 850,855 49.34 +0.18%
Turnout 1,724,362

Louisiana

[edit]
Louisiana Election

← 1998
2010 →
 
Nominee David Vitter Chris John
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 943,014 542,150
Percentage 51.0% 29.3%

 
Nominee John Neely Kennedy
Party Democratic
Popular vote 275,821
Percentage 14.9%

Parish results
Vitter:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
John:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. senator before election

John Breaux
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

David Vitter
Republican

Incumbent Democrat John Breaux retired. Republican U.S. Representative David Vitter won the jungle primary over Democratic U.S. Representative Chris John with 51% of the vote and avoided a runoff.

Breaux endorsed Chris John prior to the jungle primary.[105]

During the campaign, Vitter was accused by a member of the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee of having had a lengthy affair with a prostitute in New Orleans. Vitter responded that the allegation was "absolutely and completely untrue" and that it was "just crass Louisiana politics." The allegation later turned out to be true.[106]

Vitter won the Louisiana jungle primary with 51% of the vote, avoiding the need for a runoff. John received 29.2% of the vote and Kennedy (no relation to the Massachusetts Kennedys), took 14.9%.

Vitter won at least a plurality in 56 of Louisiana's 64 parishes. John carried nine parishes, all but two of which (Iberville and Orleans) are part of the House district he represented.

Kennedy changed parties and ran as Republican in 2008 against Louisiana's senior senator, Democrat Mary Landrieu. Landrieu was re-elected. Kennedy succeeded Vitter when he won the 2016 election for the seat over Democrat Foster Campbell.

Vitter was the first Republican in Louisiana to be popularly elected as a U.S. Senator. The previous Republican Senator, William Pitt Kellogg, was chosen by the state legislature in 1876, in accordance with the process used before the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution went into effect in 1914.[107]

2004 Louisiana United States Senate election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican David Vitter 943,014 51.03
Democratic Chris John 542,150 29.34
Democratic John Neely Kennedy 275,821 14.92
Democratic Arthur A. Morrell 47,222 2.56
Independent Richard M. Fontanesi 15,097 0.82
Independent R. A. "Skip" Galan 12,463 0.67
Democratic Sam Houston Melton, Jr. 12,289 0.66
Majority 400,864 21.69
Turnout 1,848,056

Maryland

[edit]
Maryland Election

← 1998
2010 →
 
Nominee Barbara Mikulski E. J. Pipkin
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,504,691 783,055
Percentage 64.8% 33.7%

County results
Mikulski:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Pipkin:      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election

Barbara Mikulski
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Barbara Mikulski
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Barbara Mikulski won re-election to a fourth term over Republican State Senator E. J. Pipkin.

Democratic primary[108]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Barbara A. Mikulski (Incumbent) 408,848 89.88
Democratic A. Robert Kaufman 32,127 7.06
Democratic Sid Altman 13,901 3.06
Total votes 454,876 100.00
Republican primary[108]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican E. J. Pipkin 70,229 50.58
Republican John Stafford 14,661 10.56
Republican Eileen Martin 11,748 8.46
Republican Dorothy Curry Jennings 10,401 7.49
Republican Earl S. Gordon 8,233 5.93
Republican Gene Zarwell 6,865 4.94
Republican Ray Bly 6,244 4.50
Republican James A. Kodak 5,328 3.84
Republican Corrogan R. Vaughn 5,146 3.71
Total votes 138,855 100.00
Maryland general election[109]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Barbara A. Mikulski (Incumbent) 1,504,691 64.80 −5.70%
Republican E. J. Pipkin 783,055 33.72 +4.23%
Green Maria Allwine 24,816 1.07
Constitution Thomas Trump 9,009 0.39
Write-ins 360 0.02
Majority 721,636 31.08 −9.93%
Total votes 2,321,931 100.00

Missouri

[edit]
Missouri Election

← 1998
2010 →
 
Nominee Kit Bond Nancy Farmer
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,518,089 1,158,261
Percentage 56.1% 42.8%

County results

Bond:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90%

Farmer:      50–60%      70–80%

U.S. senator before election

Kit Bond
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Kit Bond
Republican

Incumbent Republican Kit Bond won re-election to a fourth term over Nancy Farmer, State Treasurer of Missouri and former Missouri State Representative.[110]

Democratic primary[111]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Nancy Farmer 544,830 73.68
Democratic Charles Berry 143,229 19.37
Democratic Ronald Bonar 51,375 6.95
Total votes 739,434 100.00
Libertarian primary[111]
Party Candidate Votes %
Libertarian Kevin Tull 3,916 100.00
Total votes 3,916 100.00
Republican primary[111]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Kit Bond (Incumbent) 541,998 88.08
Republican Mike Steger 73,354 11.92
Total votes 615,352 100.00
Missouri general election[112]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Kit Bond (Incumbent) 1,518,089 56.09 +3.42%
Democratic Nancy Farmer 1,158,261 42.80 −0.97%
Libertarian Kevin Tull 19,648 0.73 −1.30%
Constitution Don Griffin 10,404 0.38
Majority 359,828 13.30 +4.39%
Turnout 2,706,402

Nevada

[edit]
Nevada Election

← 1998
2010 →
 
Nominee Harry Reid Richard Ziser
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 494,805 284,640
Percentage 61.0% 35.1%

County results
Reid:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Ziser:      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. senator before election

Harry Reid
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Harry Reid
Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Harry Reid, the Senate Minority Whip, won re-election to a fourth term over Republican anti-gay marriage activist Richard Ziser.


Republican primary[113]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Richard Ziser 40,533 33.50
Republican Kenneth A. Wegner 21,406 17.69
Republican Robert Brown 19,553 16.16
Republican None of these candidates 16,827 13.91