2004 United States Senate election in North Carolina
{{Short description|none}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 2004 United States Senate election in North Carolina
| country = North Carolina
| type = presidential
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 1998 United States Senate election in North Carolina
| previous_year = 1998
| next_election = 2010 United States Senate election in North Carolina
| next_year = 2010
| election_date = November 2, 2004
| image_size = 150x150px
| image1 = File:Richard Burr official portrait crop.jpg
| nominee1 = Richard Burr
| party1 = Republican Party (United States)
| popular_vote1 = 1,791,450
| percentage1 = 51.60%
| image2 = File:Erskine Bowles in 2010 (cropped).jpg
| nominee2 = Erskine Bowles
| party2 = Democratic Party (United States)
| popular_vote2 = 1,632,527
| percentage2 = 47.02%
| map_image = {{switcher |325px |County results |325px |Precinct results |default=1}}
| map_size = 325px
| map_caption = Burr: {{legend0|#FFB2B2|40–50%}} {{legend0|#E27F7F|50–60%}} {{legend0|#d75d5d|60–70%}} {{legend0|#D72F30|70–80%}} {{legend0|#C21B18|80–90%}} {{legend0|#A80000|>90%}}
Bowles: {{legend0|#A5B0FF|40–50%}} {{legend0|#7996e2|50–60%}} {{legend0|#6674de|60–70%}} {{legend0|#584cde|70–80%}} {{legend0|#3933e5|80–90%}} {{legend0|#0D0596|>90%}}
Tie: {{legend0|#d2b1d9|40–50%}}
| title = U.S. Senator
| before_election = John Edwards
| before_party = Democratic Party (United States)
| after_election = Richard Burr
| after_party = Republican Party (United States)
}}
{{ElectionsNC}}
The 2004 United States Senate election in North Carolina was held on November 2, 2004. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator John Edwards decided to retire from the Senate after one term in order to run unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic Party presidential nomination, and become his party's vice presidential nominee. Republican Richard Burr won the open seat, making it the fifth consecutive election in which partisan control of the seat changed.
Primaries
= Democratic =
Erskine Bowles won the Democratic Party's nomination unopposed. He had been the party's nominee for the state's other Senate seat in 2002.
= Republican =
{{Election box begin no change
| title = Republican primary results}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| candidate = Richard Burr
| votes = 302,319
| percentage = 87.92%
| change = N/A
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| candidate = John Ross Hendrix
| votes = 25,971
| percentage = 7.55%
| change = N/A
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| candidate = Albert Wiley
| votes = 15,585
| percentage = 4.53%
| change = N/A
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 343,875
| percentage = 100.00%
| change = N/A
}}
{{Election box end}}
General election
= Candidates =
- Tom Bailey (L), Vietnam War veteran
- Erskine Bowles (D), businessman and President Bill Clinton's chief of staff
- Richard Burr (R), U.S. Representative from North Carolina's 5th congressional district since 1995
= Campaign =
Both major-party candidates engaged in negative campaign tactics, with Bowles' campaign attacking Burr for special interest donations and his positions on trade legislation, and Burr's campaign attacking Bowles for his connections to the Clinton administration. Both attacks had basis in reality: Burr's campaign raised funds from numerous political action committees and at least 72 of the 100 largest Fortune 500 companies, while Bowles departed from the Clinton administration in the midst of the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
Burr won the election by 4%. He joined the Senate in January 2005. Bowles went on to become the president of the UNC system.
= Predictions =
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |
| Source
! Ranking ! As of |
|---|
| align=left | Sabato's Crystal Ball{{cite web | title=The Final Predictions | url=https://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/ljs2004110101/ | website=Sabato's Crystal Ball | access-date=May 2, 2021}}
| {{USRaceRating|Lean|R|Flip}} | November 1, 2004 |
=Polling=
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90% |
| valign=bottom
! Poll source ! Date(s) ! Sample ! Margin ! style="width:100px;"| Richard ! style="width:100px;"| Erskine ! Other / |
| SurveyUSA[https://www.surveyusa.com/2004Elec.html SurveyUSA]
| align=center| October 29–31, 2004 | align=center| 616 (LV) | align=center| ± 4.0% | {{party shading/Republican}} align=center| 50% | align=center| 45% | align=center| 5% |
= Results =
{{Election box begin
| title = 2004 United States Senate election in North Carolina{{Cite web | title=North Carolina DataNet #46 | url=http://southnow.org/southnow-publications/nc-datanet/DataNet%20April08.pdf | date=April 2008 | publisher=University of North Carolina | access-date=June 12, 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725034758/http://southnow.org/southnow-publications/nc-datanet/DataNet%20April08.pdf | archive-date=July 25, 2008 | df=mdy-all }}}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| candidate = Richard Burr
| votes = 1,791,450
| percentage = 51.60%
| change = +4.58%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Erskine Bowles
| votes = 1,632,527
| percentage = 47.02%
| change = –4.13%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Libertarian Party (United States)
| candidate = Tom Bailey
| votes = 47,743
| percentage = 1.38%
| change = –0.46%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Nonpartisan candidate
| candidate = Walker F. Rucker (write-in)
| votes = 362
| percentage = 0.01%
| change = N/A
}}
{{Election box total
| votes = 3,471,720
| percentage = 100.00%
| change = N/A
}}
{{Election box gain with party link no swing
| winner = Republican Party (United States)
| loser = Democratic Party (United States)
| swing =
}}
{{Election box end}}
==Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican==
- Duplin (Largest city: Wallace)
- Franklin (Largest city: Wake Forest)
- Haywood (Largest city: Waynesville)
- Jones (Largest city: Maysville)
- Madison (Largest city: Mars Hill)
- Montgomery (Largest city: Troy)
- Nash (largest municipality: Rocky Mount)
- New Hanover (largest municipality: Wilmington)
- Brunswick (largest municipality: Leland)
- Greene (largest municipality: Snow Hill)
- Person (largest municipality: Roxboro)
- Pender (largest municipality: Hampstead)
- Swain (largest municipality: Cherokee)
- Washington (largest municipality: Plymouth)
- Perquimans (Largest city: Hertford)
- Camden (Largest city: Camden)
- Dare (Largest city: Kill Devil Hills)
- Forsyth (largest town: Winston-Salem)
- Pitt (largest town: Greenville)
- Lenoir (largest town: Kinston)
- Alleghany (largest town: Sparta)
- Beaufort (largest town: Washington)
- Burke (largest town: Morgantown)
- Cleveland (largest town: Shelby)
- Craven (largest town: New Bern)
- Pamlico (largest town: Bayboro)
See also
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
{{United States elections, 2004}}
{{North Carolina elections}}