United States presidential election in Utah, 2004

United States presidential election in Utah, 2004

November 2, 2004

Nominee George W. Bush John Kerry Party Republican Democratic Home state Texas Massachusetts Running mate Dick Cheney John Edwards Electoral vote 5 0 Popular vote 663,742 241,199 Percentage 71.5% 26.0%

County Results   Bush—50-60%   Bush—60-70%   Bush—70-80%   Bush—80-90%

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

The 2004 United States presidential election in Utah took place on November 2, 2004 throughout all 50 states and D.C., which was part of the 2004 United States presidential election. Voters chose 5 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for President and Vice President.

Utah was won by incumbent President George W. Bush by a 45.5% margin of victory. Prior to the election, all 12 news organizations considered this a state Bush would win, or otherwise considered as a safe red state. It is a strongly Republican state that in 2004 had a state legislature with a "super-majority" of Republicans in its make-up (meaning the minority parties are unable to block a veto by its members), both U.S. Senators being Republican as well as two of the three members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Utah was Bush's strongest state in the 2004 election.

Primaries

• Utah Democratic primary, 2004

Campaign

Predictions

Elections in Utah
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State government General elections 2014 2016 Gubernatorial elections 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2010 (special) 2012 2016 Utah Senate elections 2016
Ballot measures 2004 Amendment 3

There were 12 news organizations who made state by state predictions of the election. Here are their last predictions before election day.^[1]

1. D.C. Political Report: Solid Republican
2. Associated Press: Solid Bush
3. CNN: Bush
4. Cook Political Report: Lean Republican
5. Newsweek: Solid Bush
6. New York Times: Solid Bush
7. Rasmussen Reports: Bush
8. Research 2000: Solid Bush
9. Washington Post: Bush
10. Washington Times: Solid Bush
11. Zogby International: Bush
12. Washington Dispatch: Bush

Polling

The final 3 polls averaged Bush with 67% to Kerry with 25%.^[2]

Fundraising

Bush raised $561,645.^[3] Kerry raised $262,031.^[4]

Advertising and visits

Neither campaign advertised or visited this state during the fall election.^[5][6]

Analysis

Republicans dominate Utah state politics because of the very high Mormon population that accounts for almost 70% of the residents throughout the state. Mormons have been known for having very conservative values. While every county voted for Bush, areas such as Park City (ski resort), Moab (becoming an outpost for environmental activists), Carbon County (largely blue collar), Salt Lake City (urban area with some diversity) and San Juan County (economically distressed and mostly Native American) did give a number of their votes to Kerry. However, other areas were uniformly Republican in voting. Utah County's (home of Provo and Brigham Young University) Republican vote (86%) was by far the largest percentage of any county its size in America.

Results

Results breakdown

By county

By congressional district

Bush won all three congressional districts.

Electors

Technically the voters of Utah cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Utah is allocated 5 electors because it has 3 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 5 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 all 5 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 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. All 5 were pledged to Bush/Cheney:

1. Olene S. Walker
2. Gayle McKeachnie
3. Lewis K. Billings
4. Joseph A. Cannon
5. Scott F. Simpson

References

• US Election Atlas, by David Leip
• Official 2004 Utah General Election Results

See also

State results of the United States presidential election, 2004
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