2004 United States presidential election in Connecticut

Primaries

• 2004 Connecticut 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.

Polling

Main article: Statewide opinion polling for the 2004 United States presidential election#Connecticut

Kerry won every single pre-election poll. The final 3 poll averaged Kerry leading 52% to 42% for Bush and 2% for Nader.

Fundraising

Bush raised $4,256,438. Kerry raised $4,195,038.

Advertising and visits

Neither campaign visited or advertised in this state during the fall campaign.

Analysis

All counties but Litchfield County and congressional districts went Democratic. Litchfield County is regarded as the most conservative county in the state, along with adjacent Fairfield County to the south, although this county does tend to vote majority Democratic. Hartford County, Middlesex County, New Haven County, and New London County each are regarded as the most loyally democratic counties in Connecticut. The Republican Party's last presidential victory in Connecticut was during the 1988 election of Bush's father, George H. W. Bush. However, Kerry's victory in Connecticut was not as large as Al Gore's lead in 2000, when the then-vice president won the state by 17.47% percent and a majority of all the state's counties. However, in 2000 Gore's running mate was Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman.

George W. Bush lost Connecticut decisively even though he was born in New Haven and is part of a family that has been a political dynasty in Connecticut for much of the 20th century. Despite his family background, as a presidential candidate, Bush was considered a Texan and largely perceived as a Southern candidate, and consequently, he had little appeal to voters in Northeastern states like Connecticut. Ironically, despite not winning his own birth state, Bush did win Colorado, Kerry's birth state, making this the only presidential election since 1864 where no candidate was able to win their state of birth. This is the first election since 1968 in which the Republican nominee won the popular vote without carrying Connecticut. Bush was the first Republican to ever win two terms without ever carrying the state.

Results

By county

Democratic Republican ]]

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Litchfield (largest municipality: Torrington)

By congressional district

Kerry won all five congressional districts, including three that elected Republicans.

Electors

Main article: List of 2004 United States presidential electors

Technically the voters of Connecticut cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Connecticut is allocated 7 electors because it has 5 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 9 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 7 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 Connecticut. All were pledged to John Kerry and John Edwards:

1. Elizabeth O'Neill
2. Andrea J. Jackson-Brooks
3. Donna King
4. Larry Pleasant
5. David J. Papandrea
6. Andres Ayala
7. Joshua King

References

References

1. "Summary of election day registration, turnout and absentee ballot statistics, November 2, 2004".
2. "Archived copy".
3. "Election 2004 Polls - Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
4. "George W Bush - $374,659,453 raised, '04 election cycle, Republican Party, President".
5. "John F Kerry - $345,826,176 raised, '04 election cycle, Democrat Party, President".
6. "CNN.com Specials".
7. "CNN.com Specials".
8. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - Connecticut 2004".
9. "Statement of Vote".