2004 United States Presidential Election (The New Millennium)

The 2004 United States Presidential Election was the 55th quadrennial United States presidential election held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. The Democratic ticket of incumbent President Al Gore and incumbent Vice-President Joe Lieberman were re-elected to a second term, defeating the Republican ticket of U.S. Senator John McCain from Arizona and former Governor Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania. Due to the high turnout, both major party nominees set records for the most popular votes received by candidates, with both surpassing Reagan's record from 1984.

Gore and Lieberman were easily re-nominated however there was discussion among Democratic leaders to drop Lieberman from the ticket due to his war hawk and centrist views. This discussion did not result in any action as Gore stood by keeping Lieberman on the ticket. In the Republican primaries, McCain emerged as the front-runner but faced an intensive battle against the more conservative members of the party who rallied around Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. Eventually McCain clinched the nomination in March and chose Tom Ridge to be his running mate.

Gore's popularity soared to record heights in the aftermath of the September 11 Attacks in 2001, but by 2004 his popularity had waned. Foreign policy and Gore's handling of the War on Terror and Operation Enduring Freedom dominated national discussion. Gore presented himself as a decisive and strong leader who took the necessary steps to eliminate al-Queda and ensure Americans remain safe and free. McCain meanwhile attacked Gore for not taking a stronger stance of Iraq and advocated for potential military operations to remove Saddam Hussein from power. Domestic policy was also a theme in the election season, with Gore touting his successful policies including the Patient's Bill of Rights, his widely praised bipartisan campaign finances reform, his reforms to Medicare spending, and his economic policies in response to the early 2000s recession.

Gore won in an landslide, winning 362 electoral votes and winning 52.6% of the popular vote while McCain managed to win 175 electoral votes, with 1 faithless elector from Arkansas casting their vote for Mike Huckabee, and 46.3% of the popular vote. Gore swept the Northeast and Rustbelt while managing to win several states in the Southwest, including Nevada, which last voted for a Democrat in 1996 and Colorado, which last voted for a Democrat in 1992, and managed to win back several southern states including Missouri, which last voted for Bill Clinton in 1996, Tennessee, which also last voted for a Democrat in 1996, and North Carolina, which last voted for a Democrat in 1976. Gore won Florida by over 3%, a major improvement over his razor-thin margin in the state 4 years earlier. This is the first time since 1948 that a single party has been able to win four consecutive presidential elections.

Primary
Gore's popularity skyrocketed as a wartime president and managed to secure liberal support through his major healthcare reforms and social spending policies. On March 10, Gore officially obtained the necessary delegates to secure the nomination at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. He accepted the nomination and kept Joe Lieberman on the ticket even though many liberals in the party pushed for an alternate candidate, such as U.S. Senator John Kerry from Massachusetts.

Delegate Totals:
 * President Al Gore. - 4,322

Primary
Delegate Totals:
 * Senator John McCain - 2,007
 * Governor Mike Huckabee - 211
 * Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich - 136
 * Former Senator Fred Thompson - 98
 * Former Governor Jesse Ventura - 18
 * Uncommitted - 39

Libertarian Party Nomination
The Libertarian Party nominated Michael Badnarik from Texas and Richard Campagna from Iowa.

Green Party Nomination
The Green Party nominated David Cobb from Texas and Pat LaMarche from Maine.

Independent/Reform Party Nomination
Ralph Nader ran an independent campaign after previously running in 2000 and chose Peter Camejo from California. Their ticket was endorsed by the Reform Party, Better Life Party, Populist Party of Maryland, Peace and Justice Party, Independent Parties of Delaware, New York, and South Carolina, and the Vermont Green Party.

Constitution Party Nomination
The Constitution Party nominated Michael Peroutka from Maryland and Chuck Badlwin from Florida

General Election Campaign
Gore focused on a balanced campaign, highlighting his leadership and decisive response in the aftermath of the September 11 Attacks, and promoting his popular domestic accomplishments and legislation that garnered wide bipartisan support. Gore mostly avoided directly attacking John McCain, but instead sought to portray himself as a "new generation" candidate in comparison to McCain. McCain meanwhile, focused his campaign primarily on foreign policy, advocating for more troops in Afghanistan and military action against Saddam Hussein and sought to portray Vice-President Joe Lieberman's sometimes vocal disapproval of Gore as an example of the Gore administration being "incompetent" and unable to effectively lead. Lieberman generated controversy after publicly agreeing with McCain's position, saying that Hussein needs to be "removed from power".

Throughout Gore's first term in office, he maintained extremely high approval ratings due to 9/11, although in the lead-up to the election his approval had slightly waned. Polling at the beginning of election season showed a close contest, but over the course of the following months, Gore quickly pulled away and maintained a large lead heading into election day.

Results
On election day, Gore won in a landslide. He easily swept the Northeast, West Coast, and Midwest, mostly improving on his margins from 2000 across the board. He also managed to flip several states that had formerly voted for Bill Clinton including Colorado, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, and his home-state of Tennessee. Gore also pulled off an upset by winning North Carolina, which had last voted for a Democrat in 1976.

Close States
{{legend|#1560BD|Al Gore|border=1px #AAAAAA solid}} {{legend|#E32636|John McCain|border=1px #AAAAAA solid}}

States where the margin of victory was less than 1%:
 * 1) Virginia, 0.13%
 * 2) North Carolina, 0.28%
 * 3) Arkansas, 0.30%

States where the margin of victory was more than 1% but less than 5%:
 * 1) Tennessee, 2.47%
 * 2) Nevada, 2.88%
 * 3) Missouri, 3.05%
 * 4) Ohio, 3.46%
 * 5) Florida, 3.59%

States where the margin of victory was more than 5% but less than 10%:
 * 1)  Colorado, 5.12% (Tipping Point State)
 * 2) West Virginia, 6.72%
 * 3) Georgia, 6.78%
 * 4) Louisiana, 7.97%
 * 5) Alaska, 8.86%
 * 6) New Hampshire, 8.92%
 * 7) Wisconsin, 8.92%