There is very little chance of either a serious challenge to incumbent candidate George W. Bush in the Republican presidential nomination process or a third party candidate winning a significant portion of the vote in the general election; thus, the Democratic primary will probably receive the most media coverage of any 2004 Presidential primary.

Table of contents

1 Candidates 2 State-by-state results 3 Issues 3.1 Abortion 3.2 Civil Rights 3.3 Domestic Economy 3.4 Energy Policy 3.5 Education 3.6 Foreign Policy 3.7 Gun Control 3.8 Health Care 3.9 Social Welfare Programs 3.10 Taxes 3.11 Trade 4 See also 5 External links 5.12 General references 5.13 News articles

Candidates

• Running:
  • John Edwards, Senator from North Carolina
  • John Kerry, Senator from Massachusetts
  • Dennis Kucinich, Representative from Ohio
  • Al Sharpton, Reverend from New York
• Dropped out:
  • Bob Graham, Senator from Florida
  • Carol Moseley Braun, former Senator from Illinois
  • Richard Gephardt, former House of Representatives Minority Leader, Representative from Missouri
  • Joseph Lieberman, Senator from Connecticut
  • Wesley Clark, retired General and former NATO commander
  • Howard Dean, former Governor from Vermont
• Declined:
  • Al Gore, Vice President of the United States (1993-2001), Democratic Presidential candidate in the U.S. presidential election, 2000
  • Hillary Clinton, wife of former president Bill Clinton, Senator from New York

There are 4,322 total delegates to the Democratic National Convention, of which 802 are so-called "superdelegates" who are not bound by any particular state's primary or caucus votes (which even include some of the (former) candidates themselves) and can change their votes at any time. A candidate needs 2,162 delegates to become the nominee.

{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" style="margin-left:10px; text-align:center" |+ 2004 Democratic primaries and caucuses |------------------ bgcolor="#EEEEEE" |colspan="2"| |width="9%"| Carol Moseley Braun |width="9%"| Wesley Clark |width="9%"| Howard Dean |width="9%"| John Edwards |width="9%"| Richard Gephardt |width="9%"| John Kerry |width="9%"| Dennis Kucinich |width="9%"| Joseph Lieberman |width="9%"| Al Sharpton |------------------ |colspan="11"| |------------------

|colspan="2" bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Total Delegates¹ | -- | 57 |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"| 179 |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"| 214 | -- |bgcolor="#7788FF"| 735 | 8 | -- | 16 |------------------ |colspan="11" bgcolor="#000000"| |------------------ |colspan="2" bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Superdelegates¹ | -- | -- |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"| 73 |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"| 39 | -- |bgcolor="#7788FF"| 222 | 2 | -- | 4 |------------------ |colspan="11"| |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Jan. 14 |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| District of Columbia²
(primary) |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"| 12% | -- |bgcolor="#7788FF"| 43% | -- | -- | -- | 8% | -- |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"| 34% |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Jan. 19 |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Iowa³
(caucus) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- | -- |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"| 18% |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"| 32% | 11% |bgcolor="#7788FF"| 38% | 1% | -- | -- |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Jan. 27 |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| New Hampshire
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"| 12%⁴ |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"| 26%
(9) | 12% |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |bgcolor="#7788FF"| 38%⁴
(13) | 1% | 9% | -- |------------------ |rowspan="7" bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Feb. 3 (Mini Tuesday) |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Arizona
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"| 27%
(14) |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"| 14%
(3) | 7% |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |bgcolor="#7788FF"| 43%
(38) | 2% | 7% | -- |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Delaware
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- | 9%⁴ | 10% |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"| 11% |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| 1%⁴ |bgcolor="#7788FF"| 50%
(14) | 1% |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"| 11% | 6%
(1) |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Missouri
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- | 4% |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"| 9% |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"| 25%
(26) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| 2% |bgcolor="#7788FF"| 51%
(48) | 1% | 4% | 3% |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| New Mexico
(caucus) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"| 21%
(8) |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"| 16%
(4) | 11% |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| 1%⁴ |bgcolor="#7788FF"| 42%
(14) | 6% | 3% | -- |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| North Dakota
(caucus) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"| 24%
(5) |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"| 12% | 10%

|bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| 1% |bgcolor="#7788FF"| 51%⁴
(9) | 3% | 1% | -- |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Oklahoma
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |bgcolor="#7788FF"| 30%
(15) | 4% |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"| 30%
(13) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| 1%⁴ |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"| 27%
(12) | 1% | 7%⁴ | 1% |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| South Carolina
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- | 7% | 5% |bgcolor="#7788FF"| 45%
(27) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"| 30%
(17) | -- | 2% |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"| 10%
(1) |------------------ |rowspan="2" bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Feb. 7 |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Michigan
(caucus) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- | 7% |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"| 17%
(24) |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"| 13%
(6) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| 1%⁴ |bgcolor="#7788FF"| 52%
(91) | 3% |bgcolor=#FFE8E8| -- | 7%
(7)
|------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Washington
(caucus) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- | 3% |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"| 30%
(29) | 7% |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |bgcolor="#7788FF"| 48%⁴
(47) |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"| 8% |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- | -- |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Feb. 8 |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Maine
(caucus) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- | 4% |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"| 27%⁴
(9) | 8% |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |bgcolor="#7788FF"| 45%
(15) |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"| 16% |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- | -- |------------------ |rowspan="2" bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Feb. 10 |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Tennessee
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| 1%⁴ |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"| 23%
(18) | 4% |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"| 26%
(20) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |bgcolor="#7788FF"| 41%
(31) | 1% |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"|1% | 2% |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Virginia
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"| 9% | 7% |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"| 27%
(29) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |bgcolor="#7788FF"| 52%
(53) | 1% |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| 1% | 3% |------------------ |rowspan="2" bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Feb. 14 |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| District of Columbia²
(caucus) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"|-- |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"|1%⁴ |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"|17%⁴
(3) |10% |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"|-- |bgcolor="#7788FF"|47%
(9) |3% |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"|-- |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"|20%
(4) |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Nevada
(caucus) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"|-- |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"|-- |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"|17%
(2) |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"|10% |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"|-- |bgcolor="#7788FF"|63%
(18) |7% |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"|-- |1% |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Feb. 17 |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Wisconsin
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| 2% |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"| 18%
(13) |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"| 34%
(24) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |bgcolor="#7788FF"| 40%
(30) |3% |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |2% |------------------ |rowspan="3" bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Feb. 24 |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Hawaii
(caucus) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| 1%⁴ |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| 9%⁴ |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"| 14%
|bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |bgcolor="#7788FF"| 50%
(14) |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"| 26%
(6) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- | -- |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Idaho³
(caucus) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| 11% |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"| 22%
(6) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |bgcolor="#7788FF"| 54%
(12) | 6% |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- | -- |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Utah
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| 1%⁴ |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| 4% |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"| 30%
(3) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| -- |bgcolor="#7788FF"| 55%
(5) |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"| 7% |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| 1%⁴ | -- |------------------ |rowspan="10" bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Mar. 2 (Super Tuesday) |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| California
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Connecticut
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Georgia
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  | 

|bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Maryland
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Massachusetts
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Minnesota
(caucus) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  | 

|bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| New York
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Ohio
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Rhode Island
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Vermont
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |rowspan="4" bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Mar. 9 |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Texas
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Florida
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Louisiana
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Mississippi
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Mar. 16 |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Illinois
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Apr. 17 |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| North Carolina
(caucus) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"|

|  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Apr. 27 |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Pennsylvania
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| May 4 |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Indiana
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |rowspan="2" bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| May 11 |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Nebraska
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| West Virginia
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |rowspan="3" bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| May 18 |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Arkansas
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Kentucky
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Oregon
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| May 25 |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Idaho
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |rowspan="3" bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Jun. 1 |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Alabama
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| New Mexico
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| South Dakota
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |rowspan="2" bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Jun. 8 |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| Montana
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |bgcolor="#EEEEEE"| New Jersey
(primary) |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |  |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"| |  |------------------ |colspan="11"| {| align="center" |- |Color Key: | |bgcolor="#7788FF"| 1st place
  (delegates earned)   | |bgcolor="#BBCCFF"| 2nd place
  (delegates earned)   | |bgcolor="#E3F3FF"| 3rd place
  (delegates earned)   | |bgcolor="#FFE8E8"|   Withdrawn   |} |}

Notes:

¹ As of February 24, 2004; total delegate count includes "superdelegates," delegates not assigned directly from primary or caucus results. State delegate counts include only those delegates assigned as as result of the state primary or caucus.

² January 14 is a non-binding primary (no delegates apportioned). Ten of D.C.'s pledged delegates are awarded at ward-level caucuses on February 14; the other six are awarded based on the February 14 results in a convention on March 6.

³ Only local delegates were selected at the Iowa and Idaho caucuses. National delegates are to be selected later.

⁴ These figures, which differ slightly from those reported in most major media, are correctly-rounded percentages, based on the actual complete vote counts as reported in the Washington Post. Most of the other major media reports slightly mis-stated the percentages of votes for some candidates in some elections, either by applying inconsistent rounding or by inconsistently excluding minor candidates or candidates who had dropped out.

See also

• CNN: Election 2004
• The New Republic Online: The TNR Primary
• The Green Papers Online: 2004 Presidential Primaries At a Glance