2004 United States Senate election in Nevada

2004 United States Senate election in Nevada

←  1998 November 2, 2004 (2004-11-02) 2010  →

Nominee Harry Reid Richard Ziser Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 494,805 284,640 Percentage 61.08% 35.14%

County results Reid:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Ziser:     40–50%     50–60%

U.S. senator before election Harry Reid Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Harry Reid Democratic

Republican primary results by county

  Ziser

•   20–30%
•   30–40%
•   40–50%

  Wegner

•   20–30%

  None of These Candidates

•   20–30%
•   30–40%

  Tilley

•   20–30%

The 2004 United States Senate election in Nevada was held on November 2, 2004. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Harry Reid, the Senate Minority Whip, won re-election to a fourth term despite Republican President George W. Bush carrying the state in the concurrent presidential race.

Background

Having only won re-election in 1998 by 428 votes, Harry Reid initially looked vulnerable given Nevada's position as a swing state for the presidential election. However the decision of top Republican recruit Jim Gibbons and other of other high profile potential challengers to pass on the race, left Reid appearing to be safe for a fourth term in the senate. ^[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Harry Reid, incumbent U.S. Senator and Senate Minority Whip

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Richard Ziser, anti-gay marriage activist

Eliminated in primary

• Kenneth A. Wegner, U.S. Army veteran
• Robert Brown
• Royle Melton
• Cherie Tilley, businessman
• Carlo Poliak, perennial candidate

Declined

• Kathy Augustine, Nevada State Controller ^[2]
• Lynette Boggs-McDonald, Las Vegas City Council member and nominee for 1st district in 2002 ^[3]
• Jim Gibbons, incumbent U.S. Representative and nominee for Governor in 1994 ^[2]
• Dean Heller, Secretary of State of Nevada ^[2]
• Brian Krolicki, Nevada State Treasurer

Results

Republican primary results ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Richard Ziser	40,533	33.50
	Republican	Kenneth A. Wegner	21,406	17.69
	Republican	Robert Brown	19,553	16.16
	Republican	None of these candidates	16,827	13.91
	Republican	Royle Melton	10,552	8.72
	Republican	Cherie M. Tilley	10,357	8.56
	Republican	Carlo Poliak	1,769	1.46
Total votes			120,997	100.0

General election

Candidates

• Thomas Hurst (L)
• Gary Marinch (NL)
• Harry Reid (D), incumbent U.S. Senator
• David Schumann (I)
• Richard Ziser (R), conservative activist

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Harry Reid (D)	Richard Ziser (R)	Other	Undecided
Mason-Dixon (Las Vegas Review-Journal) [5]	October 26–27, 2004	625 (LV)	±4.0%	59%	35%	3%	3%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [6]	Safe D	October 26, 2004
Sabato's Crystal Ball [7]	Safe D	November 1, 2004

Results

General election results ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Harry Reid (incumbent)	494,805	61.08	+13.22
	Republican	Richard Ziser	284,640	35.14	–12.63
	None of These Candidates		12,968	1.60	–0.26
	Libertarian	Thomas Hurst	9,559	1.18	–0.69
	Independent American Party (Nevada)	David Schumann	6,001	0.74	N/a
	Natural Law	Gary Marinch	2,095	0.26	–0.38
Majority			210,165	25.94	+25.85
Turnout			810,068
	Democratic hold		Swing

By county

County Harry Reid Democratic Richard Ziser Republican None of These Candidates Thomas L. Hurst Libertarian David K. Schumann IAPN Gary Marinch Natural Law Margin Total votes # % # % # % # % # % # % # % Carson City 12,478 54.68 9,559 41.89 330 1.45 188 0.82 197 0.86 67 0.29 2,919 12.79 22,819 Churchill 3,995 39.47 5,647 55.79 209 2.06 102 1.00 131 1.29 38 0.38 -1,652 -16.32 10,122 Clark 345,694 65.02 167,104 31.43 8,207 1.54 6,487 1.22 2,988 0.56 1,222 0.23 178,590 33.59 531,702 Douglas 10,409 44.66 12,120 52.00 304 1.30 210 0.90 205 0.88 61 0.26 -1,711 -7.34 23,309 Elko 6,084 40.57 7,912 52.76 384 2.56 270 1.80 265 1.77 82 1.26 -1,828 -12.19 14,997 Esmeralda 162 33.96 257 53.88 23 4.82 13 2.73 20 4.19 2 0.42 -95 -19.92 477 Eureka 267 36.38 404 55.04 33 4.50 12 1.63 14 1.91 4 0.54 -137 -18.66 734 Humboldt 2,524 47.98 2,431 46.22 137 2.60 73 1.39 85 1.62 10 0.19 93 1.76 5,260 Lander 908 44.86 989 48.86 59 2.92 19 0.94 39 1.93 10 0.49 -89 -4.00 2,024 Lincoln 745 36.81 1,128 55.73 81 4.00 22 1.09 42 2.08 6 0.30 -383 -18.92 2,024 Lyon 7,526 44.68 8,633 51.25 261 1.55 148 0.88 224 1.33 54 0.32 -1,107 -6.57 16,846 Mineral 1,565 68.73 591 25.96 37 1.62 20 0.88 51 2.24 13 0.57 974 42.77 2,277 Nye 7,521 53.52 5,798 41.26 273 1.94 178 1.27 223 1.59 60 0.43 1,723 12.26 14,053 Pershing 960 50.47 817 43.18 49 2.59 30 1.59 27 1.43 9 0.43 143 7.29 1,892 Storey 1,133 53.17 914 42.89 28 1.31 25 1.17 26 1.22 5 0.23 219 10.28 2,131 Washoe 90,706 58.27 58,994 37.90 2,432 1.56 1,705 1.10 1,399 0.90 416 0.27 31,712 20.37 155,652 White Pine 2,128 56.76 1,342 35.80 121 3.23 57 1.52 65 1.73 36 0.96 786 20.96 3,749 Totals 494,805 61.08 284,640 35.14 12,968 1.60 9,559 1.18 6,001 0.74 2,095 0.26 210,165 25.94 810,068 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Carson City Humboldt (largest municipality: Winnemucca) Nye (largest municipality: Pahrump) Pershing (largest municipality: Lovelock) Storey (largest municipality: Virginia City) White Pine (largest municipality: Ely)

See also

• 2004 United States Senate elections

Notes

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

References

1. Josh Kurtz (25 August 2003). "Gibbons Passes on Senate Challenge; Reid Appears Safe". rollcall.com. Roll Call. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
2. Josh Kurtz (22 August 2003). "Gibbons Expected to Announce Decision on Reid Challenge Next Week". rollcall.com/. Roll Call. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
3. Bree Hocking (3 July 2003). "A look at Nevada". rollcall.com. Roll Call. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
4. 2004 Statewide Primary Election Reports
5. "U.S. Senate Race Oct 29 Poll". reviewjournal.com. Las Vegas Review-Journal. 29 October 2004. Archived from the original on 30 November 2004. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
6. "2004 Competitive House Race Chart" (PDF). House: Race Ratings. Cook Political Report. 26 October 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2006. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
7. "The Final Predictions". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
8. "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives".