| Election Name: | 2004 North Carolina gubernatorial election |
| Country: | North Carolina |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2000 North Carolina gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 2000 |
| Next Election: | 2008 North Carolina gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 2008 |
| Election Date: | November 2, 2004 |
| Image1: | File:Mike Easley.jpg |
| Nominee1: | Mike Easley |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,939,154 |
| Percentage1: | 55.62% |
| Nominee2: | Patrick Ballantine |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 1,495,021 |
| Percentage2: | 42.88% |
| Map Size: | 325px |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | Mike Easley |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Mike Easley |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
The 2004 North Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 2004. The general election was between the Democratic incumbent Mike Easley and the Republican nominee Patrick J. Ballantine. Easley won by 56% to 43%, winning his second term as governor. This is the last time a Democrat was elected governor of North Carolina by double digits.
Mike Easley was first elected as governor in 2000 and opted to run for a second term. He faced opposition in the Democratic primary from Rickey Kipfer, a former corporate manager from Lee County. Kipfer campaigned on a platform of abolishing North Carolina's personal income tax and exploring potential natural gas resources in the state. He envisioned the state replacing income tax revenue with revenue from natural gas exploration. Kipfer also proposed a system similar to the Alaska Permanent Fund as a means of distributing potential natural gas revenues to citizens in North Carolina.[1] [2]
Easley's campaign manager stated that they did not consider Kipfer as serious competition. Easley did not campaign against Kipfer.
Mike Easley won the primary comfortably with over 85% of the vote.