2004 Arizona Democratic presidential primary explained

Election Name:2004 Arizona Democratic presidential primary
Popular Vote3:33,555
Percentage3:14.04%
Candidate4:John Edwards
Color4:e50100
Home State4:North Carolina
Delegate Count4:0
Popular Vote4:16,596
Percentage4:6.95%
Candidate5:Joe Lieberman
Home State3:Vermont
Color5:8E2791
Home State5:Connecticut
Delegate Count5:0
Popular Vote5:15,906
Percentage5:6.66%
Outgoing Members:NH
Elected Members:DE
Votes For Election:64 pledged delegates to the
2004 Democratic National Convention
Delegate Count3:3
Color3:e7cf1e
Country:Arizona
Home State1:Massachusetts
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2000 Arizona Democratic presidential primary
Previous Year:2000
Next Election:2008 Arizona Democratic presidential primary
Next Year:2008
Candidate1:John Kerry
Color1:00539f
Delegate Count1:30
Candidate3:Howard Dean
Popular Vote1:101,809
Percentage1:42.61%
Candidate2:Wesley Clark
Color2:039042
Home State2:Arkansas
Delegate Count2:22
Popular Vote2:63,256
Percentage2:26.47%
Map Size:200px

The 2004 Arizona Democratic presidential primary took place on February 3, 2004, as part of the 2004 United States Democratic presidential primaries. The delegate allocation is Proportional. the candidates are awarded delegates in proportion to the percentage of votes received and is open to registered Democrats only. A total of 55 (of 64) delegates are awarded proportionally. A 15 percent threshold is required to receive delegates. Frontrunner John Kerry won the primary with former general Wesley Clark coming second.

In 2003 the Arizona primary had been moved up from February 24 on Tuesday February 3, 2004 by Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano in order to give the state more influence in the nomination contest.[1]

Campaign

The candidates began campaigning in Arizona in September 2003 and by the time of the primary had spent 2.5 million dollars on television adverts in the state.[1] Arizona was the first primary in the Western United States and as such was regarded as the first chance to see how the candidates appealed among Hispanic voters.[1]

Howard Dean was the early favourite for the primary but by the time of the primary he had lost ground to both Wesley Clark and John Kerry. Kerry surged strongly in the polls after he had established himself as the strong frontrunner for the nomination in Iowa and New Hampshire. Exit polls showed Kerry did well among the half of voters who made up their minds in the last week before the primary.[2]

Endorsements

Wesley Clark got the endorsement of former Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona Paul Johnson[3] while Kerry got the endorsements of several state officials. Howard Dean received the endorsement of former Governor Bruce Babbitt.[3] However Governor Janet Napolitano avoided endorsing any of the candidates and only endorsed John Kerry after the primary was finished on March 1.[4]

Joe Lieberman made the most visits of any of the candidates to Arizona and this helped him to get the endorsement of Phoenix newspaper, The Arizona Republic.[1]

Polling

Candidate22 December 20039 January 200424 January 200429 January 20041 February 2004
John Kerry6%3%24%29%42%
Wesley Clark15%34%21%22%28%
Howard Dean26%27%10%13%15%
John Edwards1%3%15%8%7%
Joe Lieberman 9%6%7%3%6%
Dick Gephardt-6%---
Dennis Kucinich 1%--2%1%
Al Sharpton ---1%-
Carol Moseley Braun-1%---
Source: Arizona - 2004 Presidential Polls

Statewide results

United States presidential primary election in Arizona, 2004[5] [6]
PartyCandidateVotesPercentageDelegates
DemocraticJohn F. Kerry 101,80942.6%30
DemocraticWesley Clark63,25626.5%22
DemocraticHoward Dean33,55514.0%3
DemocraticJohn Edwards16,5967.0%0
Democratic15,9066.7%0
Democraticothers7,8203.3%0
Totals100.00%54
Voter turnout%

Reaction

John Kerry welcomed the results saying

"I am stunned by the results and truly honored and humbled by the confidence that so many voters in Arizona have shown me today".[2]

Analysis

On Mini Tuesday, John F. Kerry won the Arizona Primary election with about 43% of the vote. He also won every congressional district and county, except Greenlee County which voted for Clark. The largest turnouts in the state came from Maricopa County and Pima County. Exit polls showed he did well among older voters, Hispanics and veterans. He defeated his rivals among liberals, moderates and conservatives.[2]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Ariz. hosts first primary test out West . 2008-03-24 . 2004-01-29. . Martin . Kasindorf.
  2. Web site: Kerry wins Arizona primary . 2008-03-24 . 2004-02-03. Arizona Daily Star.
  3. News: Dean coming to Arizona to get Babbitt's endorsement . 2008-03-24 . 2003-12-12. Arizona Daily Star.
  4. Web site: Napolitano endorsing Obama . 2008-03-24 . 2008-01-11. Arizona Daily Star.
  5. Web site: Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
  6. News: CNN.com 2004 Primaries. CNN .