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 County results Congressional district results
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The2004 United States presidential election in Kentucky took place on November 2, 2004, and was part of the2004 United States presidential election. Voters chose eight representatives, or electors to theElectoral College, who voted forpresident andvice president.
Kentucky was won by incumbentPresidentGeorge W. Bush by a 19.86% margin of victory. Prior to the election, all 12 news organizations considered this a state Bush would win, or otherwise ared state. Bush widened his margin of victory since his victory in2000 againstAl Gore, the former Senator of neighboringTennessee, by 4.73%. He made his strongest progress in the eastern part of the state and at the border withVirginia. As of2024, this is the last election in whichFayette County home ofLexington, Kentucky has voted for the Republican candidate, and the last in whichKnott County,Floyd County,Breathitt County,Bath County,Pike County,Carter County, andMagoffin County voted for the Democratic candidate. This was the first time ever that a Republican won a majority inBallard County.
This victory coincided with aU.S. Senate election, where controversial Republican incumbentJim Bunning was narrowly reelected overDaniel Mongiardo, most likely due to Bush's landslide victory.
There were 12 news organizations who made state-by-state predictions of the election. Here are their last predictions before election day.[2]
| Source | Ranking |
|---|---|
| D.C. Political Report | Solid R |
| Cook Political Report | Solid R |
| Research 2000 | Solid R |
| Zogby International | Likely R |
| Washington Post | Likely R |
| Washington Dispatch | Likely R |
| Washington Times | Solid R |
| The New York Times | Solid R |
| CNN | Likely R |
| Newsweek | Solid R |
| Associated Press | Solid R |
| Rasmussen Reports | Likely R |
Bush won every single pre-election poll, and won each by a double-digit margin of victory and with at least 52% of the vote. The final 3 poll averaged Bush leading 57% to 38%.[3]
Bush raised $2,398,982.[4] Kerry raised $1,433,748.[5]
Neither campaign advertised or visited this state during the fall campaign.[6][7]
PresidentGeorge W. Bush easily defeated Massachusetts SenatorJohn F. Kerry in Kentucky, capturing the state's 8 electoral votes. Bush did well throughout the state. Kerry only won a handful of counties. Kerry performed decently in coal country in east Kentucky but fared poorly in other rural parts of the state. Kerry did winJefferson County, the most populous county in the state and home ofLouisville. However this was not enough to overcome Bush's lead. This race was not close, whereas the concurrent senate race was very tight.
| United States presidential election in Kentucky, 2004 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | George W. Bush (incumbent) | 1,069,439 | 59.55% | 8 | |
| Democratic | John Kerry | 712,733 | 39.69% | 0 | |
| Reform | Ralph Nader | 8,856 | 0.49% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Michael Badnarik | 2,619 | 0.15% | 0 | |
| Constitution | Michael Peroutka | 2,213 | 0.12% | 0 | |
| Totals | 1,795,860 | 100.00% | 8 | ||
| Voter turnout (Voting age population) | 57.5% | ||||
| County | George W. Bush Republican | John Kerry Democratic | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adair | 5,628 | 75.57% | 1,764 | 23.69% | 55 | 0.74% | 3,864 | 51.88% | 7,447 |
| Allen | 5,202 | 72.62% | 1,923 | 26.85% | 38 | 0.53% | 3,279 | 45.77% | 7,163 |
| Anderson | 6,363 | 66.34% | 3,141 | 32.75% | 87 | 0.91% | 3,222 | 33.59% | 9,591 |
| Ballard | 2,389 | 57.19% | 1,759 | 42.11% | 29 | 0.70% | 630 | 15.08% | 4,177 |
| Barren | 10,822 | 67.05% | 5,216 | 32.32% | 102 | 0.63% | 5,606 | 34.73% | 16,140 |
| Bath | 2,269 | 46.13% | 2,608 | 53.02% | 42 | 0.85% | -339 | -6.89% | 4,919 |
| Bell | 6,722 | 61.10% | 4,210 | 38.27% | 70 | 0.64% | 2,512 | 22.83% | 11,002 |
| Boone | 32,329 | 71.71% | 12,391 | 27.49% | 362 | 0.80% | 19,938 | 44.22% | 45,082 |
| Bourbon | 4,953 | 60.28% | 3,198 | 38.92% | 66 | 0.80% | 1,755 | 21.36% | 8,217 |
| Boyd | 11,501 | 52.81% | 10,132 | 46.53% | 144 | 0.66% | 1,369 | 6.28% | 21,777 |
| Boyle | 7,764 | 62.16% | 4,646 | 37.20% | 80 | 0.64% | 3,118 | 24.96% | 12,490 |
| Bracken | 2,363 | 65.46% | 1,213 | 33.60% | 34 | 0.95% | 1,150 | 31.86% | 3,610 |
| Breathitt | 2,542 | 42.77% | 3,327 | 55.97% | 75 | 1.26% | -785 | -13.20% | 5,944 |
| Breckinridge | 5,580 | 65.49% | 2,884 | 33.85% | 56 | 0.66% | 2,696 | 31.64% | 8,520 |
| Bullitt | 19,433 | 67.88% | 9,043 | 31.59% | 151 | 0.53% | 10,390 | 36.29% | 28,627 |
| Butler | 4,109 | 73.66% | 1,436 | 25.74% | 33 | 0.59% | 2,673 | 47.92% | 5,578 |
| Caldwell | 4,066 | 64.04% | 2,245 | 35.36% | 38 | 0.60% | 1,821 | 28.68% | 6,349 |
| Calloway | 9,293 | 61.36% | 5,728 | 37.82% | 124 | 0.81% | 3,565 | 23.54% | 15,145 |
| Campbell | 25,540 | 63.57% | 14,253 | 35.48% | 382 | 0.96% | 11,287 | 28.09% | 40,175 |
| Carlisle | 1,734 | 60.95% | 1,102 | 38.73% | 9 | 0.32% | 632 | 22.22% | 2,845 |
| Carroll | 2,175 | 55.81% | 1,688 | 43.32% | 34 | 0.87% | 487 | 12.49% | 3,897 |
| Carter | 5,422 | 48.77% | 5,577 | 50.17% | 118 | 1.06% | -155 | -1.40% | 11,117 |
| Casey | 5,109 | 80.83% | 1,174 | 18.57% | 38 | 0.60% | 3,935 | 62.26% | 6,321 |
| Christian | 13,935 | 66.31% | 6,970 | 33.17% | 110 | 0.52% | 6,965 | 33.14% | 21,015 |
| Clark | 9,540 | 62.28% | 5,661 | 36.96% | 116 | 0.76% | 3,879 | 25.32% | 15,317 |
| Clay | 5,726 | 74.49% | 1,901 | 24.73% | 60 | 0.77% | 3,825 | 49.76% | 7,687 |
| Clinton | 3,369 | 77.41% | 952 | 21.88% | 31 | 0.72% | 2,417 | 55.53% | 4,352 |
| Crittenden | 2,726 | 65.06% | 1,438 | 34.32% | 26 | 0.62% | 1,288 | 30.74% | 4,190 |
| Cumberland | 2,356 | 72.74% | 848 | 26.18% | 35 | 1.09% | 1,508 | 46.56% | 3,239 |
| Daviess | 25,372 | 61.16% | 15,788 | 38.06% | 323 | 0.78% | 9,584 | 23.10% | 41,483 |
| Edmonson | 3,595 | 65.59% | 1,856 | 33.86% | 30 | 0.55% | 1,739 | 31.73% | 5,481 |
| Elliott | 871 | 29.46% | 2,064 | 69.80% | 22 | 0.75% | -1,193 | -40.34% | 2,957 |
| Estill | 3,633 | 65.17% | 1,907 | 34.21% | 35 | 0.63% | 1,726 | 30.96% | 5,575 |
| Fayette | 66,406 | 52.88% | 57,994 | 46.18% | 1,176 | 0.94% | 8,412 | 6.70% | 125,576 |
| Fleming | 3,749 | 60.44% | 2,406 | 38.79% | 48 | 0.78% | 1,343 | 21.65% | 6,203 |
| Floyd | 6,612 | 36.97% | 11,132 | 62.24% | 141 | 0.79% | -4,520 | -25.27% | 17,885 |
| Franklin | 12,281 | 50.89% | 11,620 | 48.15% | 232 | 0.96% | 661 | 2.74% | 24,133 |
| Fulton | 1,527 | 52.84% | 1,340 | 46.37% | 23 | 0.80% | 187 | 6.47% | 2,890 |
| Gallatin | 1,869 | 60.82% | 1,188 | 38.66% | 16 | 0.52% | 681 | 22.16% | 3,073 |
| Garrard | 4,784 | 71.85% | 1,841 | 27.65% | 33 | 0.50% | 2,943 | 44.20% | 6,658 |
| Grant | 5,951 | 67.44% | 2,818 | 31.94% | 55 | 0.62% | 3,133 | 35.50% | 8,824 |
| Graves | 9,903 | 61.02% | 6,206 | 38.24% | 120 | 0.74% | 3,697 | 22.78% | 16,229 |
| Grayson | 7,170 | 70.69% | 2,905 | 28.64% | 68 | 0.67% | 4,265 | 42.05% | 10,143 |
| Green | 3,866 | 74.26% | 1,312 | 25.20% | 28 | 0.54% | 2,554 | 49.06% | 5,206 |
| Greenup | 8,696 | 52.91% | 7,630 | 46.43% | 109 | 0.67% | 1,066 | 6.48% | 16,435 |
| Hancock | 2,286 | 56.74% | 1,709 | 42.42% | 34 | 0.84% | 577 | 14.32% | 4,029 |
| Hardin | 24,627 | 67.58% | 11,507 | 31.58% | 307 | 0.84% | 13,120 | 36.00% | 36,441 |
| Harlan | 6,659 | 60.15% | 4,332 | 39.13% | 79 | 0.71% | 2,327 | 21.02% | 11,070 |
| Harrison | 4,855 | 62.80% | 2,807 | 36.31% | 69 | 0.89% | 2,048 | 26.49% | 7,731 |
| Hart | 4,269 | 62.93% | 2,470 | 36.41% | 45 | 0.67% | 1,799 | 26.52% | 6,784 |
| Henderson | 10,467 | 55.97% | 8,101 | 43.32% | 133 | 0.72% | 2,366 | 12.65% | 18,701 |
| Henry | 4,094 | 62.99% | 2,366 | 36.41% | 39 | 0.60% | 1,728 | 26.58% | 6,499 |
| Hickman | 1,395 | 59.56% | 926 | 39.54% | 21 | 0.90% | 469 | 20.02% | 2,342 |
| Hopkins | 12,314 | 65.35% | 6,420 | 34.07% | 109 | 0.58% | 5,894 | 31.28% | 18,843 |
| Jackson | 4,369 | 84.38% | 769 | 14.85% | 40 | 0.78% | 3,600 | 69.53% | 5,178 |
| Jefferson | 164,566 | 48.75% | 170,158 | 50.41% | 2,845 | 0.84% | -5,592 | -1.66% | 337,569 |
| Jessamine | 12,972 | 69.82% | 5,476 | 29.47% | 132 | 0.71% | 7,496 | 40.35% | 18,580 |
| Johnson | 5,940 | 63.84% | 3,288 | 35.34% | 76 | 0.81% | 2,652 | 28.50% | 9,304 |
| Kenton | 43,664 | 65.05% | 22,834 | 34.02% | 625 | 0.93% | 20,830 | 31.03% | 67,123 |
| Knott | 2,648 | 35.81% | 4,685 | 63.36% | 61 | 0.83% | -2,037 | -27.55% | 7,394 |
| Knox | 8,108 | 67.41% | 3,822 | 31.78% | 98 | 0.82% | 4,286 | 35.63% | 12,028 |
| LaRue | 4,111 | 68.88% | 1,823 | 30.55% | 34 | 0.57% | 2,288 | 38.33% | 5,968 |
| Laurel | 16,819 | 75.54% | 5,297 | 23.79% | 148 | 0.66% | 11,522 | 51.75% | 22,264 |
| Lawrence | 3,755 | 57.65% | 2,705 | 41.53% | 53 | 0.81% | 1,050 | 16.12% | 6,513 |
| Lee | 2,018 | 69.11% | 878 | 30.07% | 24 | 0.82% | 1,140 | 39.04% | 2,920 |
| Leslie | 3,661 | 73.75% | 1,266 | 25.50% | 37 | 0.74% | 2,395 | 48.25% | 4,964 |
| Letcher | 4,801 | 52.96% | 4,192 | 46.24% | 72 | 0.79% | 609 | 6.72% | 9,065 |
| Lewis | 3,778 | 68.89% | 1,667 | 30.40% | 39 | 0.71% | 2,111 | 38.49% | 5,484 |
| Lincoln | 5,996 | 67.65% | 2,796 | 31.55% | 71 | 0.80% | 3,200 | 36.10% | 8,863 |
| Livingston | 2,675 | 56.84% | 2,007 | 42.65% | 24 | 0.51% | 668 | 14.19% | 4,706 |
| Logan | 6,815 | 64.03% | 3,768 | 35.40% | 61 | 0.57% | 3,047 | 28.63% | 10,644 |
| Lyon | 2,132 | 54.32% | 1,769 | 45.07% | 24 | 0.61% | 363 | 9.25% | 3,925 |
| McCracken | 18,218 | 61.14% | 11,361 | 38.13% | 218 | 0.73% | 6,857 | 23.01% | 29,797 |
| McCreary | 4,121 | 72.39% | 1,530 | 26.88% | 42 | 0.74% | 2,591 | 45.51% | 5,693 |
| McLean | 2,584 | 58.26% | 1,823 | 41.10% | 28 | 0.64% | 761 | 17.16% | 4,435 |
| Madison | 18,922 | 61.62% | 11,525 | 37.53% | 260 | 0.85% | 7,397 | 24.09% | 30,707 |
| Magoffin | 2,836 | 49.60% | 2,843 | 49.72% | 39 | 0.68% | -7 | -0.12% | 5,718 |
| Marion | 3,905 | 53.10% | 3,399 | 46.22% | 50 | 0.68% | 506 | 6.88% | 7,354 |
| Marshall | 9,049 | 58.30% | 6,383 | 41.12% | 89 | 0.58% | 2,666 | 17.18% | 15,521 |
| Martin | 2,996 | 66.01% | 1,504 | 33.14% | 39 | 0.86% | 1,492 | 32.87% | 4,539 |
| Mason | 4,381 | 61.89% | 2,644 | 37.35% | 54 | 0.76% | 1,737 | 24.54% | 7,079 |
| Meade | 7,152 | 65.31% | 3,724 | 34.01% | 75 | 0.69% | 3,428 | 31.30% | 10,951 |
| Menifee | 1,215 | 48.06% | 1,284 | 50.79% | 29 | 1.15% | -69 | -2.73% | 2,528 |
| Mercer | 6,745 | 67.26% | 3,224 | 32.15% | 59 | 0.59% | 3,521 | 35.11% | 10,028 |
| Metcalfe | 2,645 | 63.63% | 1,472 | 35.41% | 40 | 0.96% | 1,173 | 28.22% | 4,157 |
| Monroe | 4,657 | 79.70% | 1,158 | 19.82% | 28 | 0.48% | 3,499 | 59.88% | 5,843 |
| Montgomery | 5,647 | 55.20% | 4,506 | 44.05% | 77 | 0.76% | 1,141 | 11.15% | 10,230 |
| Morgan | 2,682 | 50.87% | 2,532 | 48.03% | 58 | 1.10% | 150 | 2.84% | 5,272 |
| Muhlenberg | 6,749 | 50.07% | 6,636 | 49.23% | 94 | 0.70% | 113 | 0.84% | 13,479 |
| Nelson | 10,161 | 60.32% | 6,524 | 38.73% | 159 | 0.94% | 3,637 | 21.59% | 16,844 |
| Nicholas | 1,700 | 55.57% | 1,332 | 43.54% | 27 | 0.88% | 368 | 12.03% | 3,059 |
| Ohio | 6,311 | 62.93% | 3,627 | 36.17% | 80 | 0.80% | 2,684 | 26.76% | 10,028 |
| Oldham | 18,801 | 69.29% | 8,080 | 29.78% | 251 | 0.93% | 10,721 | 39.51% | 27,132 |
| Owen | 3,084 | 65.05% | 1,615 | 34.06% | 42 | 0.89% | 1,469 | 30.99% | 4,741 |
| Owsley | 1,558 | 77.94% | 430 | 21.51% | 11 | 0.55% | 1,128 | 56.43% | 1,999 |
| Pendleton | 4,045 | 67.14% | 1,940 | 32.20% | 40 | 0.67% | 2,105 | 34.94% | 6,025 |
| Perry | 6,187 | 53.08% | 5,400 | 46.33% | 68 | 0.58% | 787 | 6.75% | 11,655 |
| Pike | 12,611 | 47.11% | 14,002 | 52.30% | 157 | 0.59% | -1,391 | -5.21% | 26,770 |
| Powell | 2,687 | 54.17% | 2,249 | 45.34% | 24 | 0.48% | 438 | 8.83% | 4,960 |
| Pulaski | 19,535 | 76.56% | 5,829 | 22.84% | 152 | 0.60% | 13,706 | 53.72% | 25,516 |
| Robertson | 670 | 61.47% | 413 | 37.89% | 7 | 0.64% | 257 | 23.58% | 1,090 |
| Rockcastle | 4,804 | 77.91% | 1,320 | 21.41% | 42 | 0.68% | 3,484 | 56.50% | 6,166 |
| Rowan | 4,063 | 46.67% | 4,556 | 52.33% | 87 | 1.00% | -493 | -5.66% | 8,706 |
| Russell | 6,009 | 76.83% | 1,772 | 22.66% | 40 | 0.51% | 4,237 | 54.17% | 7,821 |
| Scott | 10,600 | 62.17% | 6,325 | 37.10% | 125 | 0.73% | 4,275 | 25.07% | 17,050 |
| Shelby | 10,909 | 66.87% | 5,277 | 32.35% | 127 | 0.78% | 5,632 | 34.52% | 16,313 |
| Simpson | 4,273 | 60.67% | 2,730 | 38.76% | 40 | 0.57% | 1,543 | 21.91% | 7,043 |
| Spencer | 4,816 | 70.60% | 1,970 | 28.88% | 36 | 0.53% | 2,846 | 41.72% | 6,822 |
| Taylor | 7,247 | 70.39% | 2,979 | 28.94% | 69 | 0.67% | 4,268 | 41.45% | 10,295 |
| Todd | 3,242 | 68.20% | 1,491 | 31.36% | 21 | 0.44% | 1,751 | 36.84% | 4,754 |
| Trigg | 4,023 | 65.83% | 2,046 | 33.48% | 42 | 0.69% | 1,977 | 32.35% | 6,111 |
| Trimble | 2,332 | 61.53% | 1,428 | 37.68% | 30 | 0.79% | 904 | 23.85% | 3,790 |
| Union | 3,534 | 59.13% | 2,398 | 40.12% | 45 | 0.75% | 1,136 | 19.01% | 5,977 |
| Warren | 25,100 | 63.21% | 14,326 | 36.08% | 285 | 0.72% | 10,774 | 27.13% | 39,711 |
| Washington | 3,479 | 66.44% | 1,724 | 32.93% | 33 | 0.63% | 1,755 | 33.51% | 5,236 |
| Wayne | 5,027 | 65.41% | 2,616 | 34.04% | 42 | 0.54% | 2,411 | 31.37% | 7,685 |
| Webster | 3,207 | 57.82% | 2,304 | 41.54% | 36 | 0.65% | 903 | 16.28% | 5,547 |
| Whitley | 9,559 | 70.14% | 3,985 | 29.24% | 85 | 0.62% | 5,574 | 40.90% | 13,629 |
| Wolfe | 1,385 | 43.90% | 1,744 | 55.28% | 26 | 0.82% | -359 | -11.38% | 3,155 |
| Woodford | 6,937 | 60.31% | 4,480 | 38.95% | 85 | 0.74% | 2,457 | 21.36% | 11,502 |
| Totals | 1,069,439 | 59.54% | 712,733 | 39.68% | 13,907 | 0.77% | 356,706 | 19.86% | 1,796,079 |
| Democratic Hold Gain from Republican | Republican Hold Gain from Democratic |
Bush won five of six congressional districts, both candidates won a district held by the other party.
| District | Bush | Kerry | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 63% | 36% | Ed Whitfield |
| 2nd | 65% | 34% | Ron Lewis |
| 3rd | 49% | 51% | Anne Northup |
| 4th | 63% | 36% | Geoff Davis |
| 5th | 61% | 39% | Hal Rogers |
| 6th | 58% | 41% | Ben Chandler |
Technically the voters of Kentucky cast their ballots for electors: representatives to theElectoral College. Kentucky is allocated 8 electors because it has 6congressional districts and 2senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 8 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 8 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 afaithless elector.
The electors of each state and theDistrict 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 8 were pledged to Bush/Cheney:
State and district results of the2004 United States presidential election | ||
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