2004 United States presidential election in Texas

• 2004 Texas Democratic presidential primary • 2004 Texas Republican presidential primary ==Campaign==

Predictions There were 12 news organizations who made state-by-state predictions of the election. Here are their last predictions before election day. Polling Bush won every single pre-election poll, and won each with at least 55% of the vote and a double-digit margin of victory. The final three polls averaged Bush leading 59% to 37%. Fundraising Bush raised $23,776,943. Kerry raised $5,554,831. Advertising and visits Neither campaign advertised or visited this state during the fall election. ==Analysis==

Texas, located in the South, has become a consistently Republican state at all levels. Economically and racially diverse, Texas includes a huge swath of the Bible Belt where many voters, especially those in rural Texas, identify as born-again or evangelical Christians and therefore tend to vote Republican due to the party's opposition to abortion. Although once part of the Solid South, the last time Texas voted for a Democratic presidential nominee was Jimmy Carter in 1976. George Bush achieved his party's best result in Texas since Ronald Reagan's second landslide in 1984. President Bush carried 236 of the state's 254 counties, improving on his performance from 2000. East Texas, historically the most Democratic region in the state, solidified its support for the Republican Party with only Jefferson County, home to Beaumont, voting for John Kerry. South Texas, while still voting heavily for Senator Kerry, swung towards Bush as well. Despite Bush's increased margin in the state compared to 2000, Kerry made major inroads in the state's suburban areas, especially in Metro Houston, the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex, and the Austin area. Kerry narrowed Bush's 2000 margins in Collin, Dallas, Denton, Fort Bend, Harris, Hays, Travis, and Williamson Counties. Out of those, however, only Travis County, home to Austin, flipped into the Democratic column, in part due to the city's strong liberal leanings and opposition to the Iraq War. Bush had won a plurality in the county in 2000 in part due to the Green Party's Ralph Nader winning 11% of the county's vote. Although Bush carried Dallas County by a narrow margin of 1.40%, the city of Dallas proper voted heavily for Kerry, giving him 58% of the vote. Bush is the last Republican to win any of the following counties in a presidential election: Bexar (home of San Antonio), Dallas (home of Dallas), and Harris (home of Houston). Frio, Kleberg, Reeves, Val Verde counties would not vote Republican again until 2020. Cameron and Culberson counties would not vote Republican again until 2024. ==Results==

By county Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican • Cameron (Largest city: Brownsville) • Culberson (Largest city: Van Horn) • Frio (Largest city: Pearsall) • Morris (Largest city: Daingerfield) • Newton (Largest city: Newton) • Reeves (Largest city: Pecos) • Robertson (Largest city: Hearne) Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic • Travis (Largest city: Austin) By congressional district Bush won 25 of 32 congressional districts, including four held by Democrats. ==Electors==

Technically the voters of Texas cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Texas is allocated 34 electors because it has 32 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 34 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and his or her running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 34 electoral votes. Their chosen electors then vote for president and vice president. Although electors are pledged to their candidate and running mate, they are not obligated to vote for them. An elector who votes for someone other than his or her candidate is known as a faithless elector. The electors of each state and the District of Columbia met on December 13, 2004, to cast their votes for president and vice president. The Electoral College itself never meets as one body. Instead the electors from each state and the District of Columbia met in their respective capitols. The following were the members of the Electoral College from the state. All 34 were pledged to Bush/Cheney: • Royce Hayes • Tom Cotter • Jay Pierce • Marjorie Chandler • Lance Lenz • Barbara Grusendorf • Bill Borden • Jim Wiggins • Anna Rice • Jan Galbraith • Sue Brannon • Cheryl Surber • Mike Ussery • Sid Young • Frank Morris • Roger O'Dell • Christopher DeCluitt • Martha Greenlaw • Marcus Anderson • Mike Provost • Bennie Bock • Kathy Haigler • Kim Hesley • Peter Wrench • Morris Woods • Rhealyn Samuelson • Nancy Stevens • Loyce McCarter • Larry Bowles • Dan Mosher • Glenn Warren • Kristina Kiik • Susan Weddington • Charles Burchett ==See also==