United States presidential election in South Dakota, 2004

United States presidential election in South Dakota, 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 3 0 Popular vote 232,584 149,244 Percentage 59.9% 38.4%

County Results   Kerry—80-90%   Kerry—70-80%   Kerry—60-70%   Kerry—50-60%   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 South Dakota 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 3 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for President and Vice President.

South Dakota was won by incumbent President George W. Bush by a 21.5% 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. Since 1940, the state has voted for the Republican nominee in every Presidential election, except 1964.

Primaries

• South Dakota Democratic primary, 2004

Campaign

Predictions

Elections in South Dakota
Federal government Presidential Elections 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 Presidential Primaries Democratic 2008 Republican 2008 2012 U.S. Senate elections 1980 1986 1992 1996 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 U.S. House elections 2002 2004 (special) 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
State government General elections 2014 Gubernatorial elections 1889 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1972 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Ballot measures 2006 Amendment C

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: Solid 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

Bush won every pre-election by a double digit margin. The final 3 poll average showed Bush with 55% to Kerry at 39%.^[2]

Fundraising

Bush raised $399,805.^[3] Kerry raised $71,553.^[4]

Advertising and visits

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

Analysis

South Dakota politics are generally dominated by the Republican Party, and the state has not supported a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964 — even George McGovern, the Democratic nominee in 1972 and himself a South Dakotan, did not carry the state.^[7][8] Additionally, a Democrat has not won the governorship since 1978. As of 2006, Republicans hold a 10% voter registration advantage over Democrats^[9] and hold majorities in both the state House of Representatives^[10] and Senate.^[11]

Despite the state's general Republican and conservative leanings, Democrats have found success in various statewide elections, most notably in those involving South Dakota's congressional representatives in Washington. Two of the three current members of the state's congressional delegation are Democrats, and until his electoral defeat in 2004 Senator Tom Daschle was the Senate minority leader (and briefly its majority leader during Democratic control of the Senate in 2001–02).^[12]

Results

Results breakdown

By county

By congressional district

Due to the state's low population, only one congressional district is allocated. This district, called the At-Large district, because it covers the entire state, and thus is equivalent to the statewide election results.

Electors

Technically the voters of SD cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. SD 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 his or her 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 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 3 were pledged for Bush/Cheney.^[13]

1. Dennis Daugaard
2. Larry Long
3. Mike Rounds

References

See also

State results of the United States presidential election, 2004
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming