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  Easley: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Ballantine: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Tie: 40–50% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in North Carolina |
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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.
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. [1] Easley did not campaign against Kipfer.
Mike Easley won the primary comfortably with over 85% of the vote. [2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mike Easley (incumbent) | 379,498 | 85.37 | |
| Democratic | Rickey Kipfer | 65,061 | 14.63 | |
| Turnout | 444,559 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Patrick J. Ballantine | 110,726 | 30.38 | |
| Republican | Richard Vinroot | 109,217 | 29.97 | |
| Republican | Bill Cobey | 97,461 | 26.74 | |
| Republican | Dan Barrett | 19,097 | 5.24 | |
| Republican | Fern Shubert | 14,445 | 3.96 | |
| Republican | George Little | 13,474 | 3.70 | |
| Turnout | 364,420 | 100 | ||
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Sabato's Crystal Ball [7] | Likely D | November 1, 2004 |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [a] | Margin of error | Mike Easley (D) | Patrick Ballantine (R) | Other / Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA [8] | October 29–31, 2004 | 617 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 55% | 41% | 5% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mike Easley (incumbent) | 1,939,154 | 55.62% | +3.60% | |
| Republican | Patrick J. Ballantine | 1,495,021 | 42.88% | −3.38% | |
| Libertarian | Barbara Howe | 52,513 | 1.51% | +0.06% | |
| Turnout | 3,486,688 | ||||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||
Richard A. Vinroot is an American politician and attorney from Charlotte, North Carolina. He served as the 52nd Mayor of Charlotte from 1991 to 1995. Vinroot ran unsuccessfully for Governor of North Carolina in 1996, 2000 and 2004. The City of Charlotte's Richard Vinroot International Achievement Award is named in his honor.
Michael Francis Easley is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 72nd governor of North Carolina from 2001 to 2009. He is the first governor of North Carolina to have been convicted of a felony. The conviction was later expunged by the Chief Judge of the Superior Court of Wake County. A member of the Democratic Party, Easley was North Carolina's second Catholic governor.
Patrick J. Ballantine is an American attorney and politician who was a Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly, rising to become the Senate Minority Leader and the Republican Party's nominee for governor in 2004.
Fern H. Shubert is a former Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the state's thirty-fifth Senate district, including constituents in Mecklenburg and Union counties. An accountant from Marshville, North Carolina, Shubert served in the State House from 1994 to 1998 and again from 2000 to 2002. She served in the State Senate from 2002 to 2004, where she was the Republican whip.
William Wilfred Cobey Jr. is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served one term in the United States House of Representatives for North Carolina's 4th congressional district from 1985 to 1987.
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