2004 United States presidential election in Alaska
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The 2004 United States presidential election in Alaska took place on November 2, 2004, and was part of the 2004 United States presidential election. Voters chose 3 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
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November 2, 2004
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Alaska was won by incumbent President George W. Bush by a 25.6% margin of victory. Prior to the election, all leading news organizations considered this a state Bush would win, or otherwise considered as a safe red state. It has voted for a Republican presidential nominee in every presidential election since statehood, except for 1964. As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the most recent time a presidential candidate has received over 60% of the vote in Alaska, as well as the last time that Bethel, Kusilvak, Yakutat, and Nome Census Areas voted for the Republican candidate.
Primaries
- 2004 Alaska Democratic presidential 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.[1]
| Source | Ranking |
|---|---|
| D.C. Political Report | Solid R |
| Associated Press | Solid R |
| CNN | Likely R |
| Cook Political Report | Solid R |
| Newsweek | Solid R |
| New York Times | Solid R |
| Rasmussen Reports | Likely R |
| Research 2000 | Solid R |
| Washington Post | Likely R |
| Washington Times | Solid R |
| Zogby International | Likely R |
| Washington Dispatch | Likely R |
Polling
Only one pre-election poll was conducted in this state. Bush won the poll with 57% to 30%.[2]
Fundraising
Advertising and visits
Neither campaign advertised or visited this state during the fall campaign.[5][6]
Analysis
The Democratic presidential ticket did better here in 2004 compared to 2000, narrowing the Republican advantage from around 31 percentage points in 2000 to approximately 25 percentage points in 2004. John Kerry obtained nearly 36 percent of the vote, approximately 8 percentage points (or 32,021 votes) more than Al Gore's showing of around 28 percent in 2000. In comparison, incumbent President George W. Bush only increased his vote in Alaska by around 2 percent (or 23,491 votes) from nearly 59 percent in 2000 to approximately 61 percent in 2004.
Results
| 2004 United States presidential election in Alaska[7] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | George W. Bush (incumbent) | 190,889 | 61.07% | 3 | |
| Democratic | John Kerry | 111,025 | 35.52% | 0 | |
| Independent | Ralph Nader | 5,069 | 1.62% | 0 | |
| Alaska Independence | Michael Peroutka | 2,092 | 0.67% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Michael Badnarik | 1,675 | 0.54% | 0 | |
| Green | David Cobb | 1,058 | 0.34% | 0 | |
| Independent | Write-ins | 790 | 0.25% | 0 | |
| Totals | 312,598 | 100.00% | 3 | ||
| Voter turnout (Voting age) | 68% | ||||
Boroughs and census areas that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Juneau
- Sitka
- Skagway
- Hoonah–Angoon Census Area (largest town: Hoonah)
Boroughs and census areas that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Bethel Census Area (largest town: Bethel)
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Democratic
Gain from Republican |
Republican
Hold
Gain from Democratic
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By congressional district
Due to the state's low population, only one congressional district is allocated. This district, an at-large district because it covers the entire state, is thus equivalent to the statewide election results.
Electors
Technically the voters of Alaska cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Alaska is allocated 3 electors because it has 1 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 3 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and their running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 3 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 their 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.[8]
- Gloria J. Tokar
- Frederick H. Hahn
- Roberly R. Waldron