2004 Oregon Democratic presidential primary

{{Infobox election

| election_name = 2004 Oregon Democratic presidential primary

| country = Oregon

| type = presidential

| ongoing = no

| previous_election = 2000 Oregon Democratic presidential primary

| previous_year = 2000

| next_election = 2008 Oregon Democratic presidential primary

| next_year = 2008

| election_date = {{Start date|2004|05|18}}

| votes_for_election = 59 Democratic National Convention delegates (46 pledged, 13 unpledged)
The number of pledged delegates received is determined by the popular vote

| image1 = File:John F. Kerry (cropped).jpg

| candidate1 = John Kerry

| color1 = 00539f

| home_state1 = Massachusetts

| delegate_count1 = 40

| popular_vote1 = 289,804

| percentage1 = 78.63%

| image2 = File:Dennis Kucinich (cropped).jpg

| candidate2 = Dennis Kucinich

| color2 = ff69b4

| home_state2 = Ohio

| delegate_count2 = 6

| popular_vote2 = 60,019

| percentage2 = 16.29%

| map_size = 280px

| map_image =

| map_caption =

| outgoing_members = KY

| elected_members = AL

}}

The 2004 Oregon Democratic presidential primary was held on May 18 in the U.S. state of Oregon as one of the Democratic Party's statewide nomination contests ahead of the 2004 presidential election.

Background

Through the first months of 2004, the Democratic Party presidential primaries took place throughout the United States to determine which candidate would run against incumbent Republican president George W. Bush in the general election. By the time of the May 18 primary, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry had already attained enough delegates to ensure his nomination, and most other candidates had dropped out of the race.

Campaign

Although Kerry had already secured the nomination, Kucinich spent weeks actively campaigning in the state, making public appearances and running TV ads. He hoped that a successful showing in Oregon would influence Kerry to adopt more liberal issue positions. Kucinich's best showings in the primary had been in the Hawaii and Alaska caucuses, having won over a quarter of the vote in each.

Results

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:right;"

|+ style="background-color:#f2f2f2;margin-bottom:-1px;border:1px solid #aaa;padding:0.2em 0.4em;" |2004 Oregon Democratic presidential primary{{Cite web|url=https://www.thegreenpapers.com/P04/OR-D.phtml#0518|title=Oregon Democratic Delegation 2004|website=www.thegreenpapers.com|access-date=2020-03-19}}

! style="text-align:left;" |Candidate

!Votes

!Pledged
delegates

| style="text-align:left;" |John Kerry

|289,804

|78.63

| style="text-align:center;" |40

style="text-align:left;" |Dennis Kucinich

|60,019

|16.29

| style="text-align:center;" |6

style="text-align:left;" |Write-ins

|10,150

|2.75

| style="text-align:center;" |0

style="text-align:left;" |Lyndon LaRouche

|8,571

|2.33

| style="text-align:center;" |0

class="sortbottom"

!Total

!368,544

!100%

!46

Analysis

Although the Oregon primary coincided with primaries in Kentucky and Arkansas, analysts were especially interested in the results in Oregon, as the state was expected to be a battleground in the general election.{{cite web |last1=Rainey |first1=James |title=Kerry Snares 3 More Primaries |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-may-19-na-oregon19-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=October 3, 2023 |date=May 19, 2004}} The Los Angeles Times quoted an Oregon pollster who interpreted the results as an indication that "Democrats will stomach a lot to get rid of George Bush this year", regardless of their feelings about Kerry.

References

Oregon

Democratic presidential primary

2004