2004 United States Senate election in California

2004 United States Senate election in California
← 1998 November 2, 2004 2010 →
 
Nominee Barbara Boxer Bill Jones
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 6,955,728 4,555,922
Percentage 57.71% 37.80%
County results
Boxer:      40-50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Jones:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
U.S. senator before election

Barbara Boxer
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Barbara Boxer
Democratic

Elections in California
Federal government
U.S. President
U.S. Senate
U.S. House of Representatives
State government
Executive
Governor
Lieutenant governor
Attorney general
Secretary of state
Treasurer
Controller
Insurance commissioner
Superintendent
Board of equalization
Legislature
Senate
Assembly
Judiciary
Court of appeals
Elections by year
State propositions
1910–1919
1960–1969
1970–1979
1980–1989
1990–1999
2000–2009
2010–2019
2020–2029
Full list
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County
Board of supervisors
Ballot measures
  • 1980
  • 2008
  • 2012
  • 2016
Elections
Los Angeles
Mayor
City attorney
Ballot measures
  • 1986
  • 2017
Elections
Long Beach
Mayor
Orange County
Orange County
Board of supervisors
District attorney
Anaheim
Mayor
Irvine
Mayor
Costa Mesa
Municipal
Sacramento
Mayor
San Diego County
San Diego County
Board of supervisors
San Diego
Mayor
City attorney
City council
San Francisco
Mayor
District attorney
Board of supervisors
Board of education
Ballot measures
  • 2024
Elections
San Jose
Mayor
Other localities
Bakersfield

Mayoral elections:

Fresno

Mayoral elections:

Oakland

Mayoral elections:

Riverside

Mayoral elections:

San Bernardino

Mayoral elections:

Stockton

Mayoral elections:

The 2004 United States Senate election in California took place on November 2, 2004, alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer ran for re-election and defeated Republican former Secretary of State Bill Jones. Boxer's 6.96 million votes set the all-time record for the most votes cast for one candidate in one state in one election, although it was surpassed by Senator Dianne Feinstein's 7.75 million votes in 2012.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

2004 United States Senate Democratic primary, California
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Barbara Boxer (Incumbent) 2,566,298 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

2004 California Republican primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bill Jones 1,015,748 44.81%
Republican Rosario Marin 454,176 20.03%
Republican Howard Kaloogian 253,331 11.17%
Republican Toni Casey 142,080 6.27%
Republican Tim Stoen 124,940 5.51%
Republican James Stewart 78,264 3.45%
Republican Barry L. Hatch 71,244 3.14%
Republican John M. Van Zandt 56,925 2.51%
Republican Danney Ball 37,745 1.66%
Republican Bill Quraishi 32,515 1.43%
Total votes 2,266,968 100.00%

Third party primaries

American Independent

2004 United States AI Senate primary, California
Party Candidate Votes %
American Independent Don J. Grundmann 32,025 100.00%

Libertarian

2004 United States Senate Libertarian primary, California
Candidate Votes %
Jim Gray 13,656 57.30%
Gail Lightfoot 10,177 42.70%
Total votes 23,833 100.00%

Peace and Freedom

2004 United States PF Senate primary, California
Party Candidate Votes %
Peace and Freedom Marsha Feinland 4,864 100.00%

General election

Candidates

Major

Minor

Campaign

Boxer originally had planned to retire in 2004 but changed her mind to "fight for the right to dissent" against conservatives such as House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Jones was widely considered as the underdog.[3] Jones got a major endorsement from the popular Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.[4] The two major candidates had a debate. Pre-election polling had Boxer leading in double digits.[5] But he never released a single TV ad. Boxer portrayed Jones as too conservative for California, citing his votes in the California Assembly (1982 to 1994) against gun control and an increased minimum wage, and in support of offshore drilling and a loosening of environmental regulations.[6]

Fundraising

Jones raised about $700,000 more than Boxer during the third quarter, pulling in $2.5 million to Boxer's $1.8 million. But overall, Boxer has raised $16 million to Jones' $6.2 million. And Boxer has spent about $7 million on radio and television ads alone.[7]

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[8] Safe D November 1, 2004

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Barbara
Boxer (D) 		Bill
Jones (R) 		Other /
Undecided
SurveyUSA[9] October 29–31, 2004 763 (LV) ± 3.6% 57% 36% 7%

Results

The election was not close, with Boxer winning by an authoritative 20 point margin. Jones only performed well in rural parts of the state. Boxer on the other hand won almost all major metropolitan areas in the state. The race was called right when the polls closed at 11:00 P.M. EST, and 7:00 P.M. PTZ. Jones conceded defeat to Boxer at 11:12 P.M. EST, and 7:12 PTZ.

2004 United States Senate election, California[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Barbara Boxer (Incumbent) 6,955,728 57.71%
Republican Bill Jones 4,555,922 37.80%
Peace and Freedom Marsha Feinland 243,846 2.02%
Libertarian James P. "Jim" Gray 216,522 1.80%
American Independent Don J. Grundmann 81,244 0.67%
No party Dennis Richter (write-in) 43 0.00%
No party Howard Johnson (write-in) 8 0.00%
No party John Emery Jones (write-in) 2 0.00%
Invalid or blank votes 536,388 4.26%
Total votes 12,589,703 100.00%
Turnout   57.03%
Democratic hold

By county

Final results from the Secretary of State of California.[11]

County Boxer Votes Jones Votes Feinland Votes Others Votes
San Francisco 82.67% 277,193 12.83% 43,029 2.15% 7,220 2.34% 7,862
Alameda 75.66% 403,892 20.23% 107,966 2.22% 11,851 1.89% 10,103
Marin 70.86% 94,164 25.81% 34,301 1.44% 1,915 1.89% 2,505
San Mateo 70.53% 196,285 26.29% 73,171 1.33% 3,715 1.84% 5,126
Santa Cruz 70.58% 84,840 23.49% 28,239 2.77% 3,329 3.15% 3,791
Los Angeles 66.75% 1,940,493 28.29% 822,351 2.36% 68,743 2.60% 75,449
Santa Clara 66.00% 380,551 29.83% 172,008 1.66% 9,550 2.51% 14,487
Sonoma 65.67% 143,124 29.57% 64,438 2.28% 4,962 2.49% 5,419
Contra Costa 63.49% 258,905 33.24% 135,559 1.48% 6,044 1.78% 7,277
Monterey 62.31% 76,647 32.96% 40,547 1.84% 2,263 2.89% 3,560
Yolo 61.94% 44,085 34.05% 24,234 1.88% 1,340 2.13% 1,518
Mendocino 61.87% 23,415 29.41% 11,131 2.76% 1,044 5.96% 2,254
Solano 61.32% 89,779 35.07% 51,354 1.61% 2,355 2.00% 2,929
Napa 60.30% 33,577 35.94% 20,012 1.59% 884 2.17% 1,208
Humboldt 58.76% 38,016 34.61% 22,394 3.47% 2,246 3.16% 2,044
Imperial 57.65% 19,498 36.06% 12,195 3.43% 1,159 2.87% 971
Lake 56.32% 13,812 39.22% 9,619 1.91% 469 2.55% 625
San Benito 55.82% 10,349 39.73% 7,365 1.96% 363 2.49% 462
Santa Barbara 55.10% 91,055 40.02% 66,146 2.03% 3,347 2.85% 4,717
Sacramento 54.16% 252,016 42.34% 196,984 1.50% 6,995 2.00% 9,283
Alpine 53.90% 373 41.76% 289 2.31% 16 2.02% 14
San Joaquin 53.00% 99,074 42.98% 80,350 1.92% 3,582 2.10% 3,921
Ventura 52.13% 159,920 43.66% 133,917 1.84% 5,630 2.37% 7,284
San Diego 51.45% 565,457 44.13% 484,948 2.04% 22,431 2.38% 26,125
Mono 49.95% 2,592 44.59% 2,314 2.14% 111 3.31% 172
San Bernardino 49.76% 251,776 45.36% 229,527 2.18% 11,038 2.70% 13,655
Merced 49.65% 27,975 46.18% 26,023 1.95% 1,098 2.22% 1,251
Riverside 47.39% 259,169 48.67% 266,197 1.93% 10,547 2.01% 11,015
Stanislaus 46.93% 67,539 49.70% 71,527 1.61% 2,324 1.75% 2,517
San Luis Obispo 46.49% 58,212 48.48% 60,708 2.12% 2,659 2.91% 3,646
Trinity 46.24% 2,960 47.93% 3,068 2.17% 139 3.66% 234
Del Norte 46.03% 4,264 48.72% 4,513 2.29% 212 2.97% 275
Nevada 45.79% 24,367 49.46% 26,321 1.90% 1,013 2.85% 1,518
Fresno 45.36% 109,849 51.59% 124,937 1.61% 3,905 1.44% 3,495
Butte 44.96% 42,512 49.12% 46,446 2.52% 2,385 3.39% 3,204
Tuolumne 44.38% 11,538 52.39% 13,620 1.23% 319 2.00% 519
Orange 43.73% 458,604 50.86% 533,406 1.94% 20,394 3.47% 36,374
Kings 42.71% 13,485 54.07% 17,075 1.71% 539 1.51% 478
Amador 42.16% 7,445 54.15% 9,562 1.53% 271 2.15% 380
Calaveras 42.17% 9,339 53.58% 11,865 1.51% 334 2.75% 608
Inyo 40.68% 3,474 54.37% 4,643 2.08% 178 2.86% 244
Mariposa 40.38% 3,437 55.82% 4,751 1.69% 144 2.10% 179
Siskiyou 39.92% 8,215 54.95% 11,308 1.94% 399 3.18% 655
Placer 39.70% 59,554 56.78% 85,163 1.46% 2,197 2.06% 3,086
Plumas 39.59% 4,347 54.82% 6,019 2.21% 243 3.38% 371
El Dorado 39.58% 33,715 56.09% 47,775 2.05% 1,743 2.29% 1,950
Madera 39.15% 15,058 57.84% 22,249 1.67% 641 1.35% 519
Yuba 38.94% 6,926 55.80% 9,925 2.21% 393 3.05% 542
Kern 38.13% 79,769 56.82% 118,882 2.17% 4,543 2.88% 6,026
Tulare 37.11% 36,181 59.55% 58,066 1.84% 1,798 1.50% 1,464
Colusa 36.61% 2,228 60.10% 3,657 1.23% 75 2.05% 125
Sutter 36.61% 10,864 60.06% 17,824 1.47% 436 1.86% 553
Tehama 36.18% 8,285 58.89% 13,488 1.76% 403 3.17% 726
Shasta 35.21% 26,795 60.00% 45,667 1.86% 1,412 2.94% 2,235
Sierra 34.89% 679 58.74% 1,143 1.90% 37 4.47% 87
Glenn 33.87% 3,147 61.77% 5,739 1.86% 173 2.50% 232
Lassen 32.36% 3,655 62.43% 7,051 1.97% 223 3.24% 366
Modoc 28.48% 1,253 66.27% 2,916 1.52% 67 3.73% 164

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear

References

  1. ^ "GOP race in state draws little cash, attention : 4 candidates seek chance to replace Boxer in Senate". June 29, 2011. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c "NewsLibrary Search Results". nl.newsbank.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
  3. ^ "John J. Miller on U.S. Senate & Election 2004 on National Review Online". Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  4. ^ "USATODAY.com - Schwarzenegger to endorse Jones for Senate". Usatoday.com.
  5. ^ "CAMPAIGN 2004 / Jones, Boxer mix it up in only live debate / Challenger plays up Schwarzenegger ties, senator counters". Sfgate.com. August 11, 2004. Archived from the original on September 5, 2010.
  6. ^ [1]
  7. ^ "Los Angeles Times: Archives - CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS; Jones Pulls Out Cash He Lent to Campaign". Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  8. ^ "The Final Predictions". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Archived from the original on May 2, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  9. ^ SurveyUSA
  10. ^ [2]
  11. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 31, 2008. Retrieved July 31, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)