2004 North Carolina gubernatorial election
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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.
Primaries
Democratic
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.<ref name="StarNewsKipfer">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="WRALPrimary1">Template:Cite news</ref>
Easley's campaign manager stated that they did not consider Kipfer as serious competition.<ref name="StarNewsKipfer" /> Easley did not campaign against Kipfer.
Mike Easley won the primary comfortably with over 85% of the vote.<ref name="WRALPrimary1" />
Candidates
Declared
- Mike Easley, incumbent governor
- Rickey Kipfer, businessman<ref name="StarNewsKipfer" />
Results
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Republican
Candidates
Declared
- Patrick J. Ballantine, Minority Leader of the North Carolina Senate (1999–2004)<ref name="StarNewsBallantine"/>
- Dan Barett, attorney and Davie County Commissioner<ref name="StarNewsBarett"/>
- Bill Cobey, Chair of the North Carolina Republican Party (1999–2003) and U.S. Representative from NC-04 (1985–1987)
- George Little, insurance executive<ref name="StarNewsBallantine">Template:Cite news</ref>
- Fern Shubert, state senator (2003–2005)<ref name="StarNewsBallantine"/>
- Richard Vinroot, Mayor of Charlotte (1991–1995), nominee for governor in 2000 and candidate for governor in 1996<ref name="StarNewsBallantine"/>
Withdrawn
- Timothy Cook, chemist (running for lieutenant governor)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Declined
- James Cain, former president of the Carolina Hurricanes<ref name="StarNewsBarett">Template:Cite news</ref>
- I. Beverly Lake Jr., Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court (2001–2006)<ref name="StarNewsBarett"/>
Results
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General election
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Sabato's Crystal Ball<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:USRaceRating | November 1, 2004 |
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample sizeTemplate:Efn |
Margin Template:Nowrap |
Mike Easley (D) |
Patrick Ballantine (R) |
Other / Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA<ref>SurveyUSA</ref> | October 29–31, 2004 | 617 (LV) | ± 4.0% | Template:Party shading/Democratic align=center| 55% | 41% | 5% |
Results
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Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Cleveland (largest town: Shelby)
- Polk (Largest city: Tryon)
- Rutherford (Largest city: Forest City)
- Surry (Largest city: Mount Airy)
- Mecklenburg (Largest city: Charlotte)
- Alleghany (largest town: Sparta)
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Notes
References
External links
Official campaign websites (Archived)