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 County results Precinct resultsEasley: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Ballantine: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Tie: 40–50% | |||||||||||||||||
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The2004 North Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 2004. The general election was between theDemocratic incumbentMike Easley and theRepublican nomineePatrick J. Ballantine. Easley won by 56% to 43%, winning his second term asgovernor.
Mike Easley was first elected as governor in 2000 and opted to run for a second term. He faced opposition in the Democratic primary from Rickey Kipfer, a former corporate manager fromLee County. Kipfer campaigned on a platform of abolishing North Carolina's personal income tax and exploring potential natural gas resources in the state. He envisioned the state replacing income tax revenue with revenue from natural gas exploration. Kipfer also proposed a system similar to theAlaska Permanent Fund as a means of distributing potential natural gas revenues to citizens in North Carolina.[1][2]
Easley's campaign manager stated that they did not consider Kipfer as serious competition.[1] Easley did not campaign against Kipfer.
Mike Easley won the primary comfortably with over 85% of the vote.[2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mike Easley (incumbent) | 379,498 | 85.37 | |
| Democratic | Rickey Kipfer | 65,061 | 14.63 | |
| Turnout | 444,559 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Patrick J. Ballantine | 110,726 | 30.38 | |
| Republican | Richard Vinroot | 109,217 | 29.97 | |
| Republican | Bill Cobey | 97,461 | 26.74 | |
| Republican | Dan Barrett | 19,097 | 5.24 | |
| Republican | Fern Shubert | 14,445 | 3.96 | |
| Republican | George Little | 13,474 | 3.70 | |
| Turnout | 364,420 | 100 | ||
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[7] | Likely D | November 1, 2004 |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | Mike Easley (D) | Patrick Ballantine (R) | Other / Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA[8] | October 29–31, 2004 | 617 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 55% | 41% | 5% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mike Easley (incumbent) | 1,939,154 | 55.62% | +3.60% | |
| Republican | Patrick J. Ballantine | 1,495,021 | 42.88% | −3.38% | |
| Libertarian | Barbara Howe | 52,513 | 1.51% | +0.06% | |
| Turnout | 3,486,688 | ||||
| Democratichold | Swing | ||||
Official campaign websites (Archived)
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