2004 Democratic National Convention, Demonstrations and protests
The largest protest was held on the Sunday evening before the convention was set to start. An estimated 2,000 anti-war members marched at the same time as approximately 1,000 anti-abortion activists, and the two groups crossed paths en route to the convention center. The following day, this anti-abortion group had its permit revoked to protest outside of the Kerry family home. They challenged the decision, but it was upheld by a federal judge, who sided with the Secret Service in determining that the protest would be too close to Kerry's home, potentially endangering the presidential candidate.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address
The keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention (DNC) was given by then Illinois State Senator, United States senatorial candidate, and future President Barack Obama on the night of Tuesday, July 27, 2004, in Boston, Massachusetts. His unexpected landslide victory in the March 2004 Illinois U.S. Senate Democratic primary made him a rising star within the national Democratic Party overnight, and led to the reissue of his memoir, Dreams from My Father. His keynote address was well received, which further elevated his status within the Democratic Party and led to his reissued memoir becoming a bestseller.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address
Obama first met Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in the spring of 2004, and was one of several names considered for the role of keynote speaker at the party's convention that summer. Obama was told in early July 2004 that he was chosen to deliver the address, and he largely wrote the speech himself, with later edits from the Kerry presidential campaign. Delivered on the second night of the DNC in just under 20 minutes, the address included both a biographical sketch of Obama, his own vision of America, and the reasons for his support of Kerry for the presidency.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address
Unlike almost all prior and all subsequent convention keynote addresses, it was not televised by the commercial broadcast networks, and was only seen by a combined PBS, cable news and C-SPAN television audience of about nine million. Since its delivery, several academics have studied the speech, both for the various narratives it describes as well as its implications for racial reconciliation.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Background
In 1996, Obama was first elected to the Illinois Senate by that state's 13th District, and he would go on to hold that seat for eight years. While still a sitting state senator he entered the 2004 Illinois Senate race, which would end on the same day as the 2004 presidential election. The Democratic presidential primary in Illinois was held that March 16, and later that spring Obama had his first opportunity to meet the soon to be nominated Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, doing two joint Chicago campaign stops that left Kerry impressed.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Background
That April, Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill began listing possible candidates to be the 2004 Democratic National Convention's keynote speaker—including Jennifer Granholm, Janet Napolitano, Tom Vilsack, Mark Warner, and Bill Richardson—searching for speakers who would generate a significant buzz in the media. Others involved in the process included convention manager Jack Corrigan and Kerry media advisor Robert Shrum. Corrigan's friend, Lisa Hay, knew Obama from their time together working on the Harvard Law Review and strongly recommended him.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Background
Cahill had previously seen Obama in a photo in TIME and began asking for opinions from people who knew and had worked with him. Although there were some internal worries about his style of speaking, lack of experience with a teleprompter, opposition to the Iraq War that Kerry initially supported, and the fact that he was only a state senator, they eventually chose Obama over the other finalist, Jennifer Granholm, in part because polls showed Kerry with less support among African-Americans than Democrats normally enjoyed and because he was running for an important Senate seat. During the process, the Obama senate campaign provided the Kerry camp with an eight-minute audition video, and several Obama advisors lobbied on his behalf with members of the Kerry staff.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Background
According to Obama, he was told just several weeks after his campaigning with Kerry that he would be given some kind of speaking role at that summer's convention; he was later called by Cahill, reportedly sometime right before the Independence Day holiday, who told him that he was chosen to be the convention's keynote speaker. Kerry first publicly hinted that Obama would deliver the convention's keynote address on June 29, though it was not until July 14 when the official announcement was made.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Writing
Obama began drafting his speech while staying in a hotel in Springfield, Illinois, several days after learning he would deliver the address. According to his account of that day in The Audacity of Hope, Obama states that he began by considering his own campaign themes and those specific issues he wished to address, and while pondering the various people he had met and stories he had heard during his campaign, was reminded of the phrase "The audacity of hope", which was previously used in a sermon by his pastor Jeremiah Wright. The title of Wright's sermon was "The Audacity to Hope" but Obama recalled it as "The Audacity of Hope", which became the title for his conference address, and later the title of his second book. This seemingly minor change turned Wright's verb into Obama's noun.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Writing
Wright had attended a lecture by Dr Frederick G. Sampson in Richmond, Virginia, in the late 1980s, on the George Frederic Watts painting Hope, which inspired him to give a sermon in 1990 based on the subject of the painting - "with her clothes in rags, her body scarred and bruised and bleeding, her harp all but destroyed and with only one string left, she had the audacity to make music and praise God ... To take the one string you have left and to have the audacity to hope ...  that's the real word God will have us hear from this passage and from Watt's painting."


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Writing
The first draft was written longhand, and Obama reportedly labored over it for some two weeks, often beyond midnight. Described by his campaign political director as "a greatest hits collection of rhetoric drawn from his stump speeches", Obama also watched and read previous keynote addresses during the process. Originally given 8 minutes to speak, Obama's completed address ran 25 minutes, leading to two more weeks of edits with advisors that brought it down to 17 minutes.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Writing
The final draft was sent to a Democratic speechwriting team at the FleetCenter on roughly July 20, at which time some biographical material was removed so as to include more on the presidential ticket; one report indicated that roughly three quarters was reported to have been left intact after the Kerry campaign's edits, while another indicated that very little had been changed. After delivering it, Obama acknowledged that his and Kerry's staffs had reviewed the speech for length, noting, however, that he was proud to have written it himself along with most of his other speeches.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Convention
The 2004 Democratic National Convention (DNC), held at the FleetCenter (now the TD Garden) in Boston, Massachusetts, began on July 26, with Obama scheduled to address the delegates the following evening. The Obama campaign was unhappy with the time slot and hoped to change it, as that night would not be covered by the major networks.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Convention
Obama arrived in Boston at 1:30 am EDT Sunday the 25th on a chartered Hawker jet, delayed in Illinois because of a hold up on the state budget. The aircraft was provided for him because that same morning Obama made his first appearance on Meet the Press, hosted by Tim Russert. During the interview, Obama touched upon what he hoped to achieve in the speech:


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Convention
What I'd like to do is talk about the vision the Democratic Party has for this country.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Convention
You know, I think that there's enormous strength in the country, enormous resilience in the country, but people are struggling, and as I've been traveling throughout Illinois over the last 18 months, what I've been seeing are people who are concerned about their economic security, concerned about their ability to pay for their health care, their kids, sending them to college, and if we can project an optimistic vision that says we can be stronger at home, more respected abroad, and that John Kerry has the message and the strength to lead us in that fashion, then I think we'll be successful.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Convention
This was followed by appearances on Face the Nation and Late Edition.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Convention
Obama appeared on Good Morning America the day of the speech, and when asked how he would deal with the fact that he was against the invasion of Iraq while Kerry and Edwards supported the resolution approving the use of military force, responded that they were focused on the future instead of looking back at the past, and that now everyone was interested in seeing a successful policy on the war. Obama also stated the advice his wife Michelle had given him for the night's address: "Don't screw it up."


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Convention
During another interview that morning with NPR, Obama said, "I'm sure I'm going to be excited, although I was here last night and something that really takes the pressure off, you realize that nobody's listening... So, you know, who knows what lines I could slip in there... No one would notice. So as long as I'm smiling and waving, I think I'll be OK." He referred to talk about his presidential prospects as silly, and also addressed the risk of being typecast, as another young African-American politician, Harold Ford, had given the keynote address in 2000. That afternoon he was at Boston Harbor where he gave a speech on environmental policy to a small crowd.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Convention
According to Martin Nesbitt, a close friend of Obama, the two were walking together the afternoon before the speech, and when Nesbitt likened him to a rock star because of the crowd growing behind them, Obama replied: "Yeah, if you think it’s bad today, wait until tomorrow... My speech is pretty good."


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Speech, Preparation
Obama was scheduled to give his keynote address on the night of Tuesday, July 27. Some Obama advisors were concerned prior to his delivery, because it amounted to the first time he used a teleprompter. He would have three one-hour practice sessions in what were normally the FleetCenter locker rooms of the Boston Bruins and the Boston Celtics, reportedly having difficulty with the teleprompter while also learning various techniques in speaking to a live and TV audience.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Speech, Preparation
Once while Obama was backstage rehearsing his speech, he met Kerry staffer and speechwriter Jon Favreau (later to become Obama's speechwriter), who instructed him that to avoid overlap with Kerry, a sentence had to be changed.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Speech, Preparation
The sentence involved, later recalled as "We're not red states and blue states; we're all Americans, standing up together for the red, white, and blue" was to conclude his paragraph on red states and blue states, but was instead used by Kerry as "Maybe some just see us divided into those red states and blue states, but I see us as one America: red, white, and blue"; it is unclear whether or not this already existed in Kerry's speech, but regardless, its removal left Obama incensed.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Speech, Delivery
Stepping on stage shortly before 9:45 pm EDT to the 1964 song "Keep On Pushing" by The Impressions, Obama would go on to speak for 17 minutes, interrupted 33 times by the audience's applause. The final speech would amount to 2,297 words.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Speech, Delivery
After thanking Illinois Senator Dick Durbin for the introduction and acknowledging the privilege of speaking there, Obama immediately launched into a brief auto-biographical sketch, from his Kenyan grandfather's work as a domestic servant for the British, to his own father who obtained a scholarship to come to the United States. He then spoke of his mother's family, describing his grandfather fighting under Patton in World War II while his grandmother worked on a bomber assembly line and raised his mother. Obama explained that the African name given to him by his parents, Barack, meant "blessed", concluding that:


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Speech, Delivery
I stand here today, grateful for the diversity of my heritage, aware that my parents’ dreams live on in my two precious daughters. I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Speech, Delivery
Obama then alluded to the basic freedoms enunciated in the Declaration of Independence, and stated that the 2004 election was a time to reaffirm these values and realize that "We have more work to do." He went on to mention several Americans he had met who were struggling with jobs, healthcare, and education, stating that "they don't expect government to solve all their problems... But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all."


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Speech, Delivery
In the next segment of his address, Obama mentioned John Kerry for the first time, enumerating his major values and beliefs on a host of issues, interrupted by a story of a young Marine he had met and the affirmation that when military action is undertaken, the families and soldiers involved must be cared for and that there is an obligation to "never ever go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the world." Obama subsequently returned to Kerry and affirmed his commitment to keep America secure.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Speech, Delivery
Obama then addressed the ideas of community and unity in America, that a person struggling somewhere affects us even if we are not directly involved. Referring to the "spin masters" and "negative ad peddlers" who he claimed were ready to divide the country, Obama declared:


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Speech, Delivery
Well, I say to them tonight, there is not a liberal America and a conservative America — there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America — there's the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too: We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States, and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Speech, Delivery
Asking whether the country wished to engage in a politics of cynicism or hope, he stated that Kerry and Edwards called on the American people to hope, which he assured was not simply "blind optimism".


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Speech, Delivery
It's the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs. The hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores. The hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta. The hope of a mill worker's son who dares to defy the odds. The hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him too. Hope! Hope in the face of difficulty! Hope in the face of uncertainty! The audacity of hope! In the end, that is God's greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation. A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Speech, Delivery
Stating his own beliefs on what could be done, Obama said that he believed "we have a righteous wind at our backs" and expressed confidence in the country's ability to meet the current challenges. He concluded by expressing his belief that in November Kerry and Edwards would be elected, and with their inauguration, "this country will reclaim its promise, and out of this long political darkness, a brighter day will come."


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Reception, Family
After the speech Obama and his wife were interviewed by Brian Williams, and when asked about what she thought, Michelle replied, "And all I have to say is, honey, you didn't screw it up, so good job." Obama said that he hoped his two daughters had watched the whole event, as their baby-sitter was permitted to let them stay up only if they watched the convention. Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, called Obama after the speech and told him, "You did well...I just kind of worry about you. I hope you keep your head on straight." She was later quoted by a journalist: "I was a little amazed. It was really quite an exceptional speech, or I'm being prejudiced, I don't know. But, to me, it was really quite exceptional."


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Reception, News media and pundits
Immediately after the speech MSNBC host Chris Matthews admitted, "I have to tell you, a little chill in my legs right now. That is an amazing moment in history right there. It is surely an amazing moment. A keynoter like I have never heard." He added later in the night, "...I have seen the first black president there.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Reception, News media and pundits
And the reason I say that is because I think the immigrant experience combined with the African background, combined with the incredible education, combined with his beautiful speech, not every politician gets help with the speech, but that speech was a piece of work." Commenting the next day, Pat Buchanan, while complimentary towards Obama, was more critical of what he called a centrist speech: "He is hiding what he truly believes. What does Obama believe about this war?" On PBS, columnist David Brooks responded positively, "This is why you go to conventions, to watch a speech like this," while Mark Shields said, "A star is born."


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Reception, News media and pundits
Former Jimmy Carter speechwriter Hendrik Hertzberg considered it slightly better than Mario Cuomo's 1984 keynote address, stating, "If he wrote that speech, then he should be president, because it's such a great speech. If he didn't, he should be president because he found such a great speechwriter." Martin Medhurst, a professor of rhetoric and communications at Baylor University, disagreed about it being better than Cuomo's, even if it was an exceptional performance. Stressing that it was too early to make any predictions, he noted that new political stars were not normally created because of keynote addresses.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Reception, News media and pundits
Tom Brokaw asked rhetorically whether Obama or Kerry would be the man more remembered from the convention, while CNN's Jeff Greenfield called it "one of the really great keynote speeches of the last quarter-century." Howard Fineman noted that Obama's emphasis on parents, not government in teaching children was the same kind of language that could have been heard amongst Republicans. Rice University historian Douglas Brinkley stated, "Obama trumped Bill Clinton. Clinton gave a good speech yesterday. Obama was better. That's hard to do in American politics."


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Reception, News media and pundits, Newspapers
The day after the speech, a Chicago Tribune editorial declared Obama "The Phenom". The Washington Times acknowledged that it would likely disagree with Obama's policies, but compared with John Edwards' speech, "his sentiments had a freshness and a realness that Mr. Edwards' lacked." A reporter for Britain's The Independent declared that the mantle of who was most likely to be the first black president had passed from Colin Powell to Obama, though another was left unimpressed, finding the speech "disappointingly free of original thought".


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Reception, News media and pundits, Newspapers
Kenya's The Nation also covered the speech, and noted his use of biography, particularly his Kenyan heritage. A columnist for The Christian Science Monitor acknowledged that many aspects of his speech were typical of political speeches, but that Obama had managed to make it appear as though they were something new and exciting. Speaking of the broadcast networks that had not covered the address, the column said, "They missed the national debut of what could be one of the most exciting and important voices in American politics in the next half century."


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Reception, Politicians
Obama's fellow Illinois Democrats praised him after the speech. Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan reacted by saying, "He is a star... For Barack, the sky's the limit," while Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley said, "He hit a grand slam home run." Senate President Emil Jones responded, "It was such a moving speech that I had tears in my eyes... It was electrifying. When I looked around the room, all across the people were so emotional, tears in their eyes. They're crying. A great individual, a great Illinoisan."


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Reception, Politicians
Governor Rod Blagojevich stated, "After the speech last night, I would think that even if he had an opponent, he might get 100 percent of the vote." Former Illinois Senator Carol Moseley Braun said, "Obama represents the best of what we brought from our generation...he represents a kind of division within the Democratic Party. It's not the old left."


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Reception, Politicians
New York Senator Hillary Clinton, who would later run against Obama for the Democratic nomination in 2008 and go on to serve as his Secretary of State during his first term as U.S. President, was quoted saying, "I thought that was one of the most electrifying moments that I can remember at any convention." Alabama Representative Artur Davis pushed the idea of Obama running for president, stating, "If anyone can do it, Obama can...Obama may help break down the stereotypes that an African-American politician is someone only for other blacks... When Obama runs for the White House, he will run not as a candidate for blacks. He has the capacity to run as a candidate for everyone."


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Reception, Academics
In an article entitled "An Immigrant's Dream and the Audacity of Hope" in the American Behavioral Scientist, Babak Elahi and Grant Cos compare Obama's speech to the one given by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at the 2004 Republican National Convention, both utilizing an "immigrant dream narrative". They observe that in Obama's rhetorical shift away from his own biography and back toward that of John Kerry, he was able to make a convincing argument that Senator Kerry, through his own service to the country, was an "honorary immigrant", and thus that Kerry too had chosen to be an American citizen.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Reception, Academics
In "Recasting the American Dream and American Politics", Robert C. Rowland and John M. Jones, two professors of communications, argue that the disconnect between what policies the majority of the American public reported supporting (more liberal) and the political label the plurality used to describe themselves as (conservative) had to do with the fact that America's romantic narrative, the search for the American Dream, had become closely associated with Ronald Reagan and conservatives, and that in a keynote address unremarkable in its basic themes, Obama sought to recast the narrative as one associated with liberals. Whereas Reagan's narrative focused heavily on individualism, Obama used the metaphor of hope to call for a balance between those individual values and community values, the latter also being necessary for the achievement of the American Dream.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Reception, Academics
David A. Frank at the University of Oregon compares Obama's speech with the one given by Al Sharpton at the same convention, stating that while Sharpton did not stray beyond familiar themes of African American trauma, Obama broadened his scope to include all races and classes in a narrative that "harkened back to the Roosevelt-Johnson legacy of shared purpose and coalition..."  In an alternative reading, Mark Lawrence McPhail criticizes Obama, stating that his "reduction of black trauma to 'slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs'" romanticizes the historical realities of black suffering and borders on the stereotypical image of the "'happy darkie' of traditional racism", and that his speech did not contribute to an open conversation about racism that is ultimately necessary for racial reconciliation.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Audience
Roughly 9.1 million people were reported to have watched the Democratic convention on the night of the speech, ratings which were described as "tepid" by Variety, as it only amounted to "about half the audience tuning into regularly scheduled summer programming the week before", and was less than the 10.3 million people who tuned into the second night of the 2000 DNC. However, neither ABC, CBS, nor NBC provided any coverage of the convention that night (some Chicago affiliates did broadcast Obama's speech), leading to criticism from some columnists. But with major networks not covering the evening's events, other stations received greater viewership, including 3 million viewers for PBS, followed by CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Aftermath
That night Fox News reported that people had been taking the Obama signs from the convention floor as keepsakes, whereas many signs for Teresa Heinz-Kerry were still on the floor.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Aftermath
In an interview with JET, Obama acknowledged that the speech had exceeded peoples' expectations and that he felt encouraged by the fact that many people appeared to respond to the themes of common values and working together. When asked about all the presidential speculation, Obama responded, "I just need to win the Senate right now."


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Aftermath
After easily defeating Alan Keyes to win his Senate seat and being sworn into office on January 4, 2005, Obama wrote The Audacity of Hope, which was released in October 2006. Despite initially saying that he had no immediate plans to run for president and would serve out his full Senate term, Obama would go on to run for and be elected the 44th President of the United States on November 4, 2008, becoming the first African American to be elected to the nation's highest office. On November 6, 2012, Obama was reelected to a second term as President of the United States, defeating former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Aftermath
Obama nominated John Kerry to serve as his Secretary of State during the former's second term, as Hillary Clinton declined to stay on; Kerry was subsequently confirmed and served as Secretary of State until the conclusion of Obama's presidency in January 2017.


2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, Aftermath
Ten years after the speech, The Washington Post noted its historic nature and everything that followed from it: "Then the next ten years happened."


2004 Democratic National Convention speakers
The 2004 Democratic National Convention featured a variety of speakers, ranging from former presidents to rising newcomers.


2004 Democratic Party (HK) leadership election
The Democratic Party leadership election was held on 12 December 2004 for the 30-member of the 6th Central Committee of the Democratic Party in Hong Kong, including chairman and two vice-chairman posts. It was the first contested chairmanship election in the party's history. Legislative Council member and party's Vice-Chairman Lee Wing-tat defeated the Chan King-ming, succeeding Yeung Sum as the chairman of the party.


2004 Democratic Party (HK) leadership election, Eligibility
The Central Committee was elected by the party congress. All public office holders, including the members of the Legislative Council and District Councils, are eligible to vote in the party congress. Every 30 members can also elect a delegate who holds one vote in the congress.


2004 Democratic Party (HK) leadership election, Overview
Chairman Yeung Sum announced he would not seek for re-election after the party performed badly in the 2004 Hong Kong Legislative Council election in September. However,  Albert Ho Chun-yan said he was not keen to run for the chairmanship because he was busy working for other organisations, such as the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, where he was the secretary. Chan King-ming, who was seen as a Reformist said a genuine contest for the leadership was necessary for the party's future.


2004 Democratic Party (HK) leadership election, Results
In the election on 12 December, Lee Wing-tat, the major figure in the mainstreamer faction defeated Chan King-ming from the Young Turks faction with 189 to 113 votes. Chan who was also a vice-chairman candidate and Albert Ho both got elected with 205 votes, higher than the third candidate Zachary Wong Wai-yin who only got 96 votes, being elected as the new two vice-chairmen.


2004 Democratic Party (HK) leadership election, Results
The elected members of the 6th Central Committee are listed as following:


2004 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums
Debates and forums took place between candidates in the campaign for the Democratic Party's nomination for the president of the United States in the 2004 presidential election. The Democratic National Committee sanctioned 6 debates out of 16 total.


2004 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debate table
Key:  P  denotes candidate participated in debate;  N  denotes candidate was not invited;  A  denotes candidate absent but was invited;  O  denotes candidate was out of the race.


2004 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, May 3, 2003 – Columbia, South Carolina
The first debate was held at Drayton Hall Theatre at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina on May 3, 2003 at 9 p.m. EDT. It was sponsored by ABC News and the South Carolina Democratic Party and moderated by George Stephanopoulos of ABC News. It was the earliest formal debate in presidential campaign history.


2004 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, September 4, 2003 – Albuquerque, New Mexico
The second debate overall, and the first sanctioned by the DNC, was held at Popejoy Hall at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico on September 4, 2003 at 6 p.m. MDT. It was sponsored by PBS, Univision and moderated by María Elena Salinas of Univision and Ray Suarez of PBS and hosted by Governor Bill Richardson and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. This was the first ever primary debate simulcast in both English and Spanish.


2004 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, September 9, 2003 – Baltimore, Maryland
The third debate was held at Gilliam Concert Hall, Murphy Fine Arts Center at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland on September 9, 2003. Sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus Institute and Fox News, it was moderated by Brit Hume, joined by Farai Chideya, Ed Gordon and Juan Williams, with an introduction by Congressman Elijah Cummings.


2004 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, September 25, 2003 – New York, New York
The fourth debate overall, and the second sanctioned by the DNC, was held at Pace University in New York, New York on September 25, 2003 at 4 p.m. EDT. Sponsored by CNBC and The Wall Street Journal, it was moderated by Brian Williams of NBC, joined by Gerald Seib of The Wall Street Journal, Ron Insana of CNBC and Gloria Borger of CNBC. This was the only debate to feature all 10 candidates.


2004 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, October 9, 2003 – Phoenix, Arizona
The fifth debate overall, and the third sanctioned by the DNC, was held at the Orpheum Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona on October 9, 2003 at 5 p.m. MST. Sponsored by CNN and the Arizona Democratic Party, it was moderated by Judy Woodruff, joined by Jeff Greenfield and Candy Crowley, with an introduction by Governor Janet Napolitano.


2004 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, October 26, 2003 – Detroit, Michigan
The sixth debate overall, and the fourth sanctioned by the DNC, was held at Fox Theatre in Detroit, Michigan on October 26, 2003. Sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus Institute and Fox News, it was moderated by Gwen Ifill of PBS, joined by Carl Cameron of Fox News and Huel Perkins of WJBK, with an introduction by Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick.


2004 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, November 24, 2003 – Des Moines, Iowa
The seventh debate overall, and the fifth sanctioned by the DNC, was held at the Polk County Convention Center in Des Moines, Iowa on November 24, 2003. Sponsored by MSNBC, it was moderated by Tom Brokaw of NBC. Senators John Kerry and John Edwards appeared by satellite from studios in Washington, D.C. due to debate on final passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act. Senator Joe Lieberman initially declined to attend because he was not competing in the Iowa Caucuses, then asked to participate by satellite as well, but was not allowed.


2004 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, December 9, 2003 – Durham, New Hampshire
The eighth debate overall, and the sixth and final debate sanctioned by the DNC, was held at Johnson Theatre at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire on December 9, 2003 at 7:00 p.m. EST. Sponsored by WMUR-TV and ABC News, it was moderated by Ted Koppel, joined by Scott Spradling of WMUR-TV.


2004 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, January 4, 2004 – Johnston, Iowa
The ninth debate was held at the Maytag Auditorium at Iowa Public Television in Johnston, Iowa on January 4, 2004 at 2 p.m. CST. Sponsored by The Des Moines Register and PBS, it was moderated by Paul Anger of The Des Moines Register, joined by David Yepsen and Michele Norris of NPR.


2004 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, January 6, 2004 – Des Moines, Iowa
The tenth debate was held in Des Moines, Iowa on January 6, 2004. Sponsored by NPR News and WOI Radio Group, it was moderated by Neal Conan. It was the first radio-only debate since Republicans Thomas Dewey and Harold Stassen debated before the 1948 Oregon primary.


2004 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, January 11, 2004 – Des Moines, Iowa
The eleventh debate was held at Polk County Convention Center in Des Moines, Iowa on January 11, 2004. Sponsored by the Iowa Brown & Black Presidential Forum and MSNBC, it was moderated by Lester Holt and María Celeste Arrarás.


2004 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, January 22, 2004 – Goffstown, New Hampshire
The twelfth debate was held at Koonz Auditorium at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire on January 22, 2004. Sponsored by WMUR-TV, New Hampshire Union Leader and Fox News, it was moderated by Brit Hume, joined by Tom Griffith of WMUR-TV, John DiStaso of the New Hampshire Union Leader, and Peter Jennings of ABC.


2004 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, January 29, 2004 – Greenville, South Carolina
The thirteenth debate was held at the Peace Center at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina on January 29, 2004. Sponsored by MSNBC, Young Democrats of South Carolina and Furman University, it was moderated by Tom Brokaw of NBC. The contenders attacked President Bush on Iraq, terrorism and the economy.


2004 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, February 15, 2004 – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The fourteenth debate was held at Alumni Memorial Union at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on February 15, 2004. Sponsored by Journal Communications, WTMJ-TV, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and MSNBC, it was moderated by Mike Gousha of WTMJ-TV, joined by Craig Gilbert of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Gloria Borger of CNBC/U.S. News & World Report and Lester Holt of MSNBC.


2004 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, February 26, 2004 – Los Angeles, California
The fifteenth debate was held at Bovard Auditorium at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California on February 26, 2004 at 6:00 p.m. PST. Sponsored by CNN and the Los Angeles Times, it was moderated by Larry King of CNN, joined by Janet Clayton and Ron Brownstein of the Los Angeles Times.


2004 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Debates, February 29, 2004 – New York, New York
The sixteenth and final debate was held at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York, New York on February 29, 2004. Sponsored by CBS News, WCBS-TV, and The New York Times, it was moderated by Dan Rather, joined by Elisabeth Bumiller of The New York Times and Andrew Kirtzman of WCBS-TV. It was John Edwards' last chance to boost himself before the Super Tuesday primaries.


2004 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums, Forums, November 4, 2003 – Boston, Massachusetts
America Rocks the Vote was held at Faneuil Hall in Boston, Massachusetts on November 4, 2003. Sponsored by CNN and Rock the Vote, it was moderated by Anderson Cooper.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries
From January 14 to June 8, 2004, voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for president in the 2004 United States presidential election.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries
Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 2004 Democratic National Convention held from July 26 to July 29, 2004, in Boston, Massachusetts. Kerry went on to lose the general election on November 2, 2004, to incumbent Republican President George W. Bush.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Candidates, Withdrew during primaries
The following candidates received more than 1% of the national popular vote or were included in multiple major national polls:


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview
Ten candidates vied for the nomination, including retired four-star general Wesley Clark, former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, and Senators John Edwards and John Kerry. For most of 2003, Howard Dean had been the apparent front-runner for the nomination, performing strongly in most polls and leading the pack in fund-raising. However, Kerry won the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, which gave him enough momentum to carry the majority of the rest of the states.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Election issues
According to exit polls taking during the Iowa Caucuses, the top 4 issues were ranked as follows:


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Election issues, Economy
Despite being characterized by many as an election on Iraq, the economy and jobs were repeatedly cited as voters' top or one of top three concerns during the course of the primary season. In Iowa, of those who cited the economy as their most important issue, 34% supported Kerry, while 33% supported Edwards, with Dean trailing at 16% and Gephardt at 12%.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Election issues, Economy
Eventual nominee John Kerry, much like other Democrats adopted policy stances of tax-cuts for the middle class, increased spending for Social Security, and assisting small businesses. On the aspect of job creation, Kerry strongly supported the creation and safety of infrastructure-related jobs, like those in the railroad industry. During the course of the primary Kerry continued to advocate positions such as fiscal responsibility and end state fiscal crises by giving states increased fiscal aid.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Election issues, Economy
Runner up John Edwards ran a position of support for the middle class as well as budget caps and enforcement. Strongly opposing Social Security privatization, and interested in middle class tax cuts, Edwards's main economic theme was support for the middle class touting his own struggle, growing up the son of a poor mill worker in South Carolina. Another major component of Edwards's message was to be able to reinstate fiscal responsibility.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Election issues, Economy
Howard Dean, despite taking many of the same positions of his rivals including Edwards and Kerry, had a starkly different approach on the issue of Social Security and tax cuts. On taxes, Dean favored repealing the Bush Tax cuts not only for the wealthiest of Americans as Senator Edwards and Senator Kerry proposed, but for all, including middle and lower classes.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Election issues, Iraq War
After the 9/11 attacks, the Bush administration argued that the need to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq had now become urgent. Over the course of several months, Bush presented several premises for war, but the turning point was the allegation that Saddam's regime had tried to acquire nuclear material and had not properly accounted for biological and chemical material it was known to have possessed, potential weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in violation of U.N. sanctions. Thissituation escalated to the point that the United States assembled a group of about forty nations, including the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, and Poland, which Bush called the "coalition of the willing", to invade Iraq without UN authorization.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Election issues, Iraq War
The coalition invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003. Most contenders for the nomination were supportive of the effort. Only Dean and Kucinich firmly questioned the aims and tactics of the administration, setting themselves apart in the eyes of war protesters. John Kerry, who had voted in favor of coalition invasion, said Bush had “failed miserably” in building that coalition and that "We need a regime change not just in Iraq. We need a regime change here in the United States." Republicans criticized Kerry for speaking out against a wartime president.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Election issues, Iraq War
The invasion was swift, with the collapse of the Iraq government and the military of Iraq in about three weeks. The oil infrastructure of Iraq was rapidly secured with limited damage in that time. On May 1, George W. Bush landed on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in a Lockheed S-3 Viking, where he gave a speech announcing the end of major combat in the Iraq war. Clearly visible in the background was a banner stating "Mission Accomplished". Bush's landing was criticized by opponents as being overly theatrical and expensive. The banner, made by White House personnel (according to a CNN story:) and placed there by the U.S. Navy, was criticized as premature. Nonetheless, Bush's approval rating in the month of May rode at 66%, according to a CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Election issues, Iraq War
On May 3, 2003, Democrats met at the University of South Carolina in the first formal debate between the nine challengers for the nomination. The candidates disagreed on the war against Iraq, health insurance, President Bush's tax cuts, but united in criticizing Bush's handling of the economy.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Dean emerges as front-runner
On May 31, 2002, Vermont Governor Howard Dean formed a presidential exploratory committee. Though this was almost two years before the Iowa Caucus, Dean hoped the early start would give him some much needed name recognition. As a governor of a small state, Dean was not well known outside of New England.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Dean emerges as front-runner
In December of that year, John F. Kerry, U.S. senator from Massachusetts, announced on NBC's Meet the Press his plans to form an exploratory committee for a possible 2004 presidential run, anticipating a formal announcement "down the road some months". Kerry's experience as a decorated Vietnam veteran generated some excitement among Democrats tired of being on the defensive about their candidates' suitability in the role of "commander in chief".


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Dean emerges as front-runner
Two weeks later, former Vice President and 2000 presidential candidate Al Gore announced on the CBS program 60 Minutes that he would not seek election to the presidency in 2004. Gore had recently wrapped up a nationwide book tour and had been widely expected to run.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Dean emerges as front-runner
Other potential candidates were likely waiting to see what Gore's plans were, and thus the floodgates opened in January 2003. Senator Joseph Lieberman, Gore's 2000 vice presidential running mate,  had previously promised not to run should Gore seek their party's nomination. Freed from that obligation, Lieberman announced his intention to run. Additionally, many other candidates announced their intention to form committees (a formality usually indicating an official run): U.S. Sen. John R. Edwards of North Carolina, U.S. Rep. Richard A. "Dick" Gephardt of Missouri, and Reverend Al Sharpton of New York. In February, more candidates announced their intentions: former Senator from Illinois Carol Moseley Braun, U.S. Representative from Ohio Dennis Kucinich, and Senator Bob Graham of Florida.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Dean emerges as front-runner
There were other potential candidates for whom some speculation was buzzing about a potential run. These candidates felt it necessary to officially state that they would not seek the party nomination. These included United States Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, and former U.S. Senator Gary Hart from Colorado.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Dean emerges as front-runner
In April, Democratic fund-raising totals for the first quarter of 2003 were reported. John Edwards raised $7.4 million, John Kerry raised $7.0 million, Dick Gephardt raised $3.5 million, Joe Lieberman raised $3.0 million, Howard Dean raised $2.6 million, Bob Graham raised $1.1 million, and Dennis Kucinich and Carol Moseley Braun raised less than $1 million each.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Dean emerges as front-runner
In June 2003, Howard Dean aired the first television advertising of the 2004 campaign, spending more than $300,000. During that time, he formally announced his run for president, filing to form a presidential election campaign with the FEC. Later that month, liberal advocacy website MoveOn held the first ever online Democratic "primary", which lasted just over 48 hours. It was an unofficial and nonbinding affair, but with important symbolic and financial value. Of 317,647 votes, Howard Dean received 44%, Dennis Kucinich 24%, and John Kerry 16%. Had any candidate received 50% of the vote, the candidate would have received MoveOn's endorsement and financial support. Instead, MoveOn supported all the candidates.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Dean emerges as front-runner
In July, the Democratic fund-raising numbers for the second quarter of 2003 were reported and announced. Howard Dean surprised many raising $7.5 million, John Kerry raised $6 million, while John Edwards and Joseph Lieberman raised roughly $5 million each. Dean's strength as a fund-raiser was attributed mainly to his innovative embrace of the Internet for campaigning. The majority of his donations came from individual Dean supporters, who came to be known as Deanites, or, more commonly, Deaniacs. His campaign's innovative use of the Internet helped to build a strongly supportive grassroots constituency, much of which remained intensely loyal to him long after the end of his candidacy.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Dean emerges as front-runner
By autumn of 2003, Dean had become the apparent front-runner for the Democratic nomination, performing strongly in most polls. Generally regarded as a pragmatic centrist during his time as governor, Dean emerged during his presidential campaign as something of a populist, denouncing the policies of the Bush administration (especially the 2003 invasion of Iraq) as well as fellow Democrats, who, in his view, failed to strongly oppose them.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Dean emerges as front-runner
During his presidential campaign, critics on the right labeled Dean's political views as those of an extreme liberal; however, in liberal Vermont, Dean, long known as a staunch advocate of fiscal restraint, was regarded as a moderate. Many critics on the left, who supported fellow Democrat Dennis Kucinich or independent Ralph Nader, charged that, at heart, Dean was a "Rockefeller Republican"—socially liberal, while fiscally conservative.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Wesley Clark enters
Over the summer of 2003, several organized groups began a nationwide campaign to "draft" retired four-star general Wesley Clark for the Democratic Party's nomination for the 2004 presidential election. CNN on August 13 showed a commercial by one of these groups and interviewed Clark. He disavowed any connection with the "draft Clark" groups, but said he had been considering his position and that within a few weeks he would likely make public his decision on whether torun. He also fueled speculation with a television interview in which he first declared himself a Democrat.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Wesley Clark enters
On September 17, 2003, in Little Rock, Arkansas, Clark announced his intention to run in the presidential primary election for the Democratic Party nomination, becoming the tenth and last Democrat to do so (coming many months after the others): "My name is Wes Clark. I am from Little Rock, Arkansas, and I am here to announce that I intend to seek the presidency of the United States of America." He said, "We're going to run a campaign that will move this country forward, not back."


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Wesley Clark enters
His campaign focused on themes of leadership and patriotism; early campaign ads relied heavily on biography. His late start left him with relatively few detailed policy proposals. This weakness was apparent in his first few debates, although he soon presented a range of position papers, including a major tax-relief plan. Nevertheless, many Democrats flocked to his campaign. They were drawn by his military background, and saw such foreign policy credentials as a valuable asset in challenging George W. Bush post-September 11.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Wesley Clark enters
Advisors and supporters portrayed him as more electable than Howard Dean, who was still the front-runner for the party's nomination. Despite the burst of enthusiasm for Clark in late 2003, Dean maintained a strong lead in the polls for the latter half of the year. Clark won the Democratic Presidential Primary in Oklahoma, the only state carried by Clark in the primary election.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Wesley Clark enters
Criticism of Clark began almost the moment he entered the race. Originally heralded as an antiwar general, he stumbled in the first few days of his candidacy. He was perceived as changing his answer on how he would have voted on the Iraq war resolution. His supporters argued that his perceived indecision was due to lack of experience with the media and their insistence on short "sound bite" answers.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Iowa and New Hampshire
Throughout the early campaigning season, the Iowa caucuses appeared to be a two-way contest between former Vermont Governor Howard Dean and Missouri Congressman Richard Gephardt. Dean, the national front runner, had been able to pour money into Iowa and New Hampshire. In total, Dean spent nearly $40 million in the two states. Gephardt, coming from neighboring Missouri, won the state's caucus in 1988 when he first ran for the party nomination.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Iowa and New Hampshire
However, days before the Iowa caucuses were held, negative campaigning by Dean and Gephardt took a late toll on the two campaigns in Iowa as well as nationally. This, along with the resurgence of John Kerry and the emergence of John Edwards as major contenders in Iowa, put the Gephardt and Dean campaigns on edge.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Iowa and New Hampshire
A poll released by the Des Moines Register days before the caucus was held showed Dean and Gephardt had lost all of their lead in Iowa. In the poll, Kerry led with 26% of those surveyed, Edwards came in second with 23%, Dean came in third with 20%, and Gephardt came in fourth with 18%.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Iowa and New Hampshire
On caucus night, as results were being tallied, it became evident that Kerry and Edwards were in a battle for first and Dean and Gephardt were in a battle for third.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Iowa and New Hampshire
After all votes were tallied, John Kerry received 38% of the delegates, John Edwards received 32%, Howard Dean received 18%, and Richard Gephardt received 11%.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Iowa and New Hampshire
After his poor showing, Gephardt dropped out of the race. Kerry and Edwards claimed newfound momentum, while Dean attempted to downplay the results.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Iowa and New Hampshire
In the New Hampshire primary, Kerry was able to defeat Howard Dean once again, beating him 38%-26%. The final debate before the primary was held at Saint Anselm College; Kerry's performance was superior to the others, helping him win the primary a few days later. Kerry carried nearly all constituencies during the primary according to exit polling data. Clark came in third with 12%, Edwards fourth with 12%, and Lieberman fifth with 9%.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Final stretch
Edwards's late stage momentum, as well as his departure from the negative campaigning which characterized other leading candidates, carried him into a surprising second-place finish in Iowa with the support of 32% of caucus delegates, behind only John Kerry's 38% and ahead of former front-runner Howard Dean at 18%. He finished with 12% in the New Hampshire primary one week later, essentially tied for third-place position with retired general Wesley Clark. The following week, Edwards won in South Carolina and nearly beat Clark in Oklahoma.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Final stretch
After Dean's withdrawal from the contest, Edwards became the only major challenger to Kerry for the nomination. However, Kerry continued to dominate, taking in wins in Michigan, Washington, Maine, Tennessee, Washington, D.C., Nevada, Wisconsin, Utah, Hawaii and Idaho. Remarking on an unexpectedly strong finish in Wisconsin on February 17, Edwards humorously cautioned Kerry: "Objects in your mirror may be closer than they appear." Many other candidates dropped out during this time, leaving only Kerry, Edwards, Sharpton and Kucinich in the running. Dean, while not officially running, did not release his delegates, and still put in a strong showing considering that he was no longer mounting an official campaign.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Final stretch
Edwards maintained a positive campaign and largely avoided attacking Kerry until a February 29, 2004, debate in New York City, where he attempted to put Kerry on the defensive by characterizing the front-runner as a "Washington insider" and by mocking Kerry's plan to form a committee to examine trade agreements.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Final stretch
In Super Tuesday, March 2, Kerry won decisive victories in the California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio and Rhode Island primaries and the Minnesota caucuses. Dean, despite having withdrawn from the race two weeks earlier, won his home state of Vermont. Edwards finished only slightly behind Kerry in Georgia but, failing to win a single state, chose to withdraw, making Kerry the presumptive nominee. President Bush called Senator Kerry to congratulate him that evening.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Final stretch
On March 11, after meetings with Democratic superdelegates in Washington, D.C., and former primary election opponents, Kerry accumulated the 2,162 delegates required to clinch the nomination. The DNC's website acknowledged him as the party's nominee at that time, four and a half months prior to the Convention.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Nomination
On July 6, John Kerry selected John Edwards as his running mate shortly before the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts, held later that month. Senators Kerry and Edwards were formally nominated by the Democratic Party at the convention. The Kerry/Edwards ticket was on the ballot in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia. In New York, the ticket was also on the ballot as candidates of the Working Families Party.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Nomination
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson served as chairman of the convention while former presidential advisor to Bill Clinton Lottie Shackelford  served as vice chairman. Defining moments of the 2004 Democratic National Convention included the featured keynote speech of Barack Obama, a Honolulu native and candidate for the United States Senate from Illinois, Bill Clinton's opening night speech and the confirmation of the nomination of John Kerry as the candidate for president and of John Edwards as the candidate for vice president. Kerry made his Vietnam War experience a prominent theme. In accepting the nomination, he began his speech with "I'm John Kerry and I'm reporting for duty."


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Nomination
Kerry and Edwards faced incumbents George W. Bush and Dick Cheney of the Republican Party in the 2004 presidential election. Following his official nomination at the convention, Kerry received only a small bounce in the polls and remained "neck and neck" with Bush. This was the first time in recent political history that a candidate failed to receive a substantial boost in post-convention poll numbers. Some political pundits attributed this small boost to the unusually small number of undecided voters as compared with previous presidential elections.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Primary race overview, Nomination
The general election was won by Bush, who defeated Kerry. The election was fought primarily on the issue of the conduct of the War on Terror. Bush defended the actions of his administration, while Kerry contended that the war had been fought incompetently, and that the Iraq War was a distraction from the War on Terror, not a part of it.


2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Results, Nationwide
There were 4,353 total delegates to the 2004 Democratic National Convention, of which 802 were superdelegates: party leaders, even including some of the candidates, who were not bound by any state's primary or caucus votes and could change their support at any time. A candidate needed 2,162 delegates to become the nominee. Except for the Northern Mariana Islands and Midway Atoll, all states, territories, and other inhabited areas of the United States offered delegates to the 2004 Democratic National Convention. John Kerry won 4,255 votes at the convention, including those won by all of his former rivals except Dennis Kucinich, who received 37 votes. There were 26 abstentions.


2004 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection
John Kerry's vice-presidential candidate selection process began after Kerry became the presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 2004 election campaign. Kerry announced on July 6, 2004 that his choice for running mate was Senator John Edwards of North Carolina.


2004 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection, Selection
One of the major criteria considered to be a factor in selecting a vice-presidential candidate was the ability to deliver a traditionally Republican or a swing state in the November election. Every successful Democratic presidential campaign since 1960 had included a politician from a swing state (usually in the South) who helped deliver one or more states for the Democrats. As of late June, the charismatic Edwards was the first choice of Democratic voters, according to several polls; some pundits attributed this to high name recognition, due to his runner-up status in the primaries.


2004 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection, Selection, Reported Shortlist
Pundits and those close to the Kerry campaign indicated that the vice-presidential selection had narrowed to five potential choices.


2004 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection, Announcement
On the morning of July 6, 2004, Kerry announced the selection of John Edwards as his running mate. However, at 10 p.m. on the night before the official announcement, the information was leaked by an airport worker who saw Edwards's name being painted on Kerry's plane, which was to be used to announce his choice of running mate. On July 6, the Kerry campaign sent an e-mail message to his supporters at about 8:15 a.m. EDT informing them of the choice, and made the formal announcement for 9 a.m. EDT in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.


2004 Democrats Abroad presidential caucuses
The 2004 Democrats Abroad presidential caucuses were held between February 6, 2004 and February 9 as one of the Democratic Party's nomination contests ahead of the 2004 presidential election.


2004 Denmark Open darts
2004 Denmark Open is a darts tournament, which took place in Denmark in 2004.


2004 Denver Broncos season
The 2004 Denver Broncos season was the franchise's 35th season in the National Football League and the 45th overall. Under head coach Mike Shanahan the Broncos equalled their 10–6 record from 2003, and again finished second in the AFC West. In a repeat of 2003, the Broncos’ season ended in defeat to the Indianapolis Colts 49–24 in the AFC Wild Card playoffs.


2004 Denver Broncos season
Starting quarterback Jake Plummer finished the season with 4,089 passing yards (4th in the league). During the offseason, the Broncos traded running back Clinton Portis to the Washington Redskins in exchange for cornerback Champ Bailey.


2004 Denver Broncos season, Off Season
The Broncos acquired cornerback Champ Bailey in a trade with the Washington Redskins, sending running back Clinton Portis to Washington in return.


2004 Denver Broncos season, Off Season
During the offseason, the Broncos failed to retain linebackers Keith Burns and Ian Gold. Both would sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but however, both players would return to the team in the following season. Also, the Broncos failed to retain defensive end Bertrand Berry, who would sign with the Arizona Cardinals as a free agent.


2004 Denver Broncos season, Off Season
The Broncos also signed safety John Lynch as a free agent after he was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.


2004 Denver Broncos season, Schedule
In addition to their regular games with AFC West rivals, the Broncos played teams from the AFC South and NFC South as per the schedule rotation, and also played intraconference games against the Dolphins and the Bengals based on their common divisional position vis-à-vis the Broncos from 2003.


2004 Derailment of Joetsu Shinkansen
The Derailment of Jōetsu Shinkansen (上越新幹線脱線事故), occurred when a bullet train derailed on October 23, 2004 during an earthquake in the Chūetsu region of Niigata Prefecture, Japan. It is the first derailment of a commercially operated Shinkansen (high speed rail in Japan).


2004 Derailment of Joetsu Shinkansen, Summary
At JST 17:56 October 23, 2004, an earthquake occurred, the epicenter near a 200 series Shinkansen train carrying about 155 passengers between Urasa Station and Nagaoka Station of Jōetsu Shinkansen, the north entrance of Takiya Tunnel. The train, which was heading for Niigata Prefecture from Tokyo with train number "Toki 325 (とき325号)", had 8 of 10 cars (except cars 6 and 7) derailed due to the earthquake.


2004 Derailment of Joetsu Shinkansen, Summary
As the earthquake occurred, the trains were running with a speed of 200 km/h for Nagaoka, the emergency braking system started to work immediately at the alert of the earthquake. This is the first derailment of Shinkansen ever since the operation of Tōkaidō Shinkansen in October 1964.


2004 Derailment of Joetsu Shinkansen, Aftermath
The aftershocks continued to occur at Niigata region afterward, causing great difficulty in cleaning derailment wrecks. By November 18, 2004, the train wreck had been cleared and operations were resumed on December 28. Due to severe damage, the train was abandoned from service on February 25, 2005, and replaced by E2 Series Shinkansen


2004 Derailment of Joetsu Shinkansen, Investigation
On November 30, 2007, Japanese Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Commission released the official report regarding to this derailment of Jōetsu Shinkansen, and it gave advice readjusting the operations of Shinkansen.


2004 Derby City Council election
The 2004 Derby City Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Derby City Council in England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.


2004 Derby City Council election
The results saw the Labour party gain a seat from the Conservatives but lose one to the Liberal Democrats. They also saw Frank Leeming from the United Kingdom Independence Party win the party's first council seat in Derby, gaining a seat that had formerly been held by independent, Ron Allen, who had died in March. Leeming was expected to hold the balance of power on the council between Labour and a Liberal Democrat/Conservative alliance depending on the outcome of a by-election in July.


2004 Derry Senior Football Championship
The 2004 Derry Senior Football Championship was the 81st edition of Derry GAA's premier gaelic football tournament for the sixteen senior clubs in Derry Football League football. The winners receive the John McLaughlin Cup.


2004 Derry Senior Football Championship
Slaughtneil won their first title, beating Bellaghy by 1-08 to 0-09 in the final at Watty Graham Park on 24 October 2004.


2004 Derry Senior Football Championship
Loup were the defending champions, having won their first title since 1936.


2004 Derry Senior Football Championship, Senior Championship Bracket
The Preliminary Round was played between Ballinascreen and Lavey. Ballinascreen won on a scoreline of 1-08 to 0-06


2004 Desafío Corona season
The 2004 Desafio Corona season was the first season of stock car racing in Mexico. The serial was presented in March as Desafío Corona. After 14 races Carlos Pardo of Equipo Telcel was declared champion.


2004 Desafío Corona season, Cars
Pontiac Grand Am was the car used for almost drivers. Only two Dodge Stratus, both of Seeman-Baker team, was used. Pontiac won 13 of 14 runs and the championship.


2004 Detroit Lions season
The 2004 Detroit Lions season was the franchise's 75th season in the National Football League.


2004 Detroit Lions season
The team began attempting to improve on their 5–11 record from 2003, they improved to 6–10 that season but, the Lions couldn't make the playoffs for a sixth consecutive season. In week 1, the Lions defeated the Chicago Bears in Chicago, 20–16, to snap a 24-game road losing streak, which was the longest road losing streak in franchise history. It was the first road win for the Lions under Matt Millen. The Lions would defeat the Houston Texans the next week, 28–16, to start the season 2–0. In week 7, the Lions defeated the New York Giants 28–13 on the road to begin the season 4–2, while going 3–0 on the road during that span.


2004 Detroit Lions season
However, in the following weeks, the Lions played poorly, as they would lose 5 straight games to sit at 4–7. The Lions would then defeat the Arizona Cardinals 26–12 the following week. However, the week after that, the Lions were eliminated from the playoffs after they lost to the Packers 16–13 in Green Bay. The Lions would only win 1 more game the rest of the season, as they defeated the Bears in week 16, 19–13 at home. The Lions sweep over the Bears during the season would be one of 2 times during the Matt Millen era that saw the Lions sweep a divisional opponent. They also did this against the Bears in 2007.


2004 Detroit Lions season, Offseason
During the offseason, the Lions signed former New England Patriots guard Damien Woody and former Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Fernando Bryant.


2004 Detroit Lions season, Regular season, Schedule
In addition to their regular games with NFC North divisional rivals, the Lions played teams from the NFC East and AFC South according to the NFL's schedule rotation, and also played games against the Atlanta Falcons and the Arizona Cardinals, who had finished fourth in their respective divisions in 2003.


2004 Detroit Shock season
The 2004 WNBA season was the seventh season for the Detroit Shock. They were unable to defend their title the year before, losing in the first round to the New York Liberty.


2004 Detroit Shock season, Offseason, Dispersal Draft
Based on the Shock's 2004 record, they would pick 13th in the Cleveland Rockers dispersal draft. The Shock picked Jennifer Rizzotti.


2004 Detroit Shock season, Player stats
Note: GP = Games Played; REB = Rebound; AST = Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points


2004 Detroit Tigers season
The Detroit Tigers' 2004 season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Detroit Tigers attempting to win the AL Central. The team set a major league record with 11 players on the team hitting at least 10 home runs. The Tigers' 104th season ended with the team finishing in fourth place at 72-90, 29 games better than their disastrous season of the previous year. However, they were still 20 games behind the AL Central Champion Minnesota Twins.


2004 Detroit Tigers season
The Tigers tied their own major league record for most home runs by a losing team when they hit seven homers in an 11–9 defeat to the Boston Red Sox on August 8.


2004 Detroit Tigers season, Player stats, Batting
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


2004 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
The 2004 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters was the eighteenth season of premier German touring car championship and also fifth season under the moniker of Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters since the series' resumption in 2000. There were 10 championship race weekend with one round each, plus a non-championship round at the streets of Shanghai. Originally each track hosted one race each with the exception of Hockenheimring (two races, premier and finale). Each track hosted one race, with the exception of Hockenheim, which hosted two. As in 2003 each weekend compromised one race of circa one hour and with two compulsory pit stops for each contender.


2004 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, Teams and drivers
The following manufacturers, teams and drivers competed in the 2004 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. All teams competed with tyres supplied by Dunlop.


2004 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, Championship standings, Drivers' championship
† Driver retired, but was classified as they completed 90% of the winner's race distance.


2004 Deutschland Tour
These are the results for the 2004 edition of the Deutschland Tour cycling race, which was won by Germany's Patrik Sinkewitz.


2004 Dhaka grenade attack
The 2004 Dhaka grenade attack took place at an anti-terrorism rally organised by Awami League on Bangabandhu Avenue on 21 August 2004. The attack left 24 dead and more than 300 injured. The attack was carried out at 5.22 PM after Sheikh Hasina, the leader of opposition had finished addressing a crowd of 20,000 people from the back of a truck. The attacks targeted Awami League president Sheikh Hasina. Hasina was injured in the attack.


2004 Dhaka grenade attack, Events and casualties
Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina had been speaking at a public meeting on Bangabandhu Avenue, protesting blasts against the party's workers in Sylhet. The rally drew a crowd of 20,000 people. As Hasina finished her speech, a total of 13 grenades were thrown into the crowd from the rooftops of nearby buildings, killing at least 16 people on spot, later the death toll reached 24. The blast left more than 500 injured. Among the dead were Hasina's bodyguard, Mahbubur Rahman and Awami League Women's Affairs Secretary Ivy Rahman, who died from her injuries three days later.


2004 Dhaka grenade attack, Events and casualties, Reaction
The Awami League called for a nationwide hartal on 23 and 24 August 2004 following the incident. Khaleda Zia, then Prime Minister of Bangladesh condemned the attacks, and also vowed a thorough probe to catch the culprits. An intercity train was burned down by Awami League activists on strike in Bhairab. Awami Leagues activists also organized protests in Chittagong and furled black flags at the sight of the attack. A funeral service for the victims at Baitul Mokarram National Mosque was attended by 20 thousand people. Protests in Dhaka were attacked by members of Bangladesh Police and Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal, the workers wing of Bangladesh Nationalist Party. The Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal activists also attacked and injured six members of the press.


2004 Dhaka grenade attack, Events and casualties, Reaction
President of the United States, George W. Bush, expressed "shock" at the attack and conveyed his message to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and Opposition leader Sheikh Hasina through the Secretary of State of the United States, Colin Powell. The attack was also condemned by the United Kingdom, Royal Netherlands, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden.


2004 Dhaka grenade attack, Investigation, Initial investigation
Bangladesh Police refused to register any criminal case filed by Bangladesh Awami League over the attack and only registered a general diary. The government initially refused to hand over the bodies of the victims. Investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigations and Interpol made repeated visits to Bangladesh to provide technical support. The Government also tried to implicate Mokhlesur Rahman, an Awami League activists, and Shaibal Saha Partha. They were arrested by Bangladesh Police. Shaibal Saha Partha and Joj Miah were tortured in custody and forced to give a false confessional statement. An investigation by the Supreme Court Bar Association accused the government of destroying evidence. The government was also criticised for hurriedly burying two unidentified dead bodies from the terror attack in the middle of the night.


2004 Dhaka grenade attack, Investigation, Initial investigation
In 2004, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led alliance government assigned Crime Investigation Department of Police to foresee the investigation. They came up with a story that some Joj Miah, also known as Jamal Ahmed from Noakhali district, along with 14 other criminals of Seven Star terrorist group of Subrata Bain attacked the Awami League rally. They met at Moghbazar before the attack, and rehearsed at a remote island before the attack. The government of Bangladesh formed a one-man judicial probe led by Justice Joynul Abedin. The Awami League rejected the commission which blamed the attack on a neighboring country. The Daily Star described Abedin as a "shame" for the judiciary in Bangladesh.


2004 Dhaka grenade attack, Investigation, Initial investigation
On 26 June 2005 Joj Mia, a petty criminal, confessed his involvement in the crime under section 164, to the magistrate. The story collapsed following investigative journalism who discovered holes in the official story.


2004 Dhaka grenade attack, Investigation, Fresh investigation
In 2007, after the military-backed government assumed office, many of the BNP and Awami League leaders were rounded up by the government agencies, and fresh investigation into the case was launched.


2004 Dhaka grenade attack, Investigation, Fresh investigation
After almost one year, in November 2007, Mufti Hannan, a militant leader from Gopalganj who was arrested by the BNP-led government in 2005, revealed that the attack was operated by the militant outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami of which he was a leader. He also admitted that he got support from Maulana Tazuddin, brother of BNP leader and former deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu while coordinating the attack.


2004 Dhaka grenade attack, Investigation, Fresh investigation
According to his statement, Abdus Salam Pintu had knowledge of the attack.


2004 Dhaka grenade attack, Investigation, Fresh investigation
In 2008, after the detailed investigation, the then CID high official Mohammad Javed Patwary concluded that the attack was aimed at killing Sheikh Hasina and was guided by the common grievance of both Mufti Hannan and Abdus Salam Pintu against Sheikh Hasina for her role in "subduing" Islam. The investigation report mentioned that, Abdus Salam Pintu was personally responsible for the attack.


2004 Dhaka grenade attack, Investigation, Further investigation
In 2009, Awami League came to office and decided to launch a further investigation into the incident and appointed a retired CID official Abdul Kahar Akhand as the person in charge.


2004 Dhaka grenade attack, Investigation, Further investigation
In the same year, Abdul Majed Bhat alias Yusuf Bhat gave a confessional statement with the details regarding the source of grenade used in the attack. He claimed that Muzaffar Ahmad Shah of Tehrik-e-Jihad Islami (TEJI) gave the grenades to Maulana Tajuddin to send those to Indian militant groups. Tajuddin, instead of sending those to India, kept those with him. According to Yusuf Bhat, these grenades were later handed over to Mufti Hannan to carry out the attack.


2004 Dhaka grenade attack, Investigation, Further investigation
After two years, in 2011, Mufti Hannan gave another confessional statement implicating many big names, mostly BNP leaders and some former officials of the government including the son of opposition leader and former prime minister Khaleda Zia, Tarique Rahman, former deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu, former member of parliament Kazi Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad and some officials of the Home Ministry, police, Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), National Security Intelligence (NSI) and Prime Minister's Office (PMO) with involvement in the planning of the bombing.


2004 Dhaka grenade attack, Investigation, Further investigation
In the statement, Mufti Hannan claimed that the attack was aimed at destroying the top leadership of Awami League including Sheikh Hasina, and BNP leader Tarique Rahman along with Jamaat leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid and the then Home Minister Lutfuzzaman Babor assured them with government support.


2004 Dhaka grenade attack, Perpetrators
Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI) leader Mufti Abdul Hannan was arrested on 30 September 2005 for the grenade attacks, and was later charged in connection with it. He reportedly confessed to the attacks in November 2007. He was sentenced to death in December 2008 for attempting to kill Anwar Choudhury in 2004. In March 2012, the son of opposition leader and former prime minister Khaleda Zia, Tarique Rahman, and 28 others were tried in absentia for their alleged involvement in the attack.


2004 Dhaka grenade attack, Perpetrators
The supplementary charge sheets charges Huji, influential leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Jamaat, including former deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu, former member of parliament Kazi Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad and some officials of the Home Ministry, police, DGFI, NSI and PMO with involvement in the planning of the bombing.


2004 Dhaka grenade attack, Perpetrators
Jamal Ahmed, also known as Joj Mia was coerced into giving a false confession. He was forced to implicate Seven-Star Group, led by Subrata Bain through torture by security forces during BNP rule.


2004 Dhaka grenade attack, Charges and punishments
On 10  October 2018, a special court, Speedy Trial Tribunal-1, delivered verdicts in relevant cases and accused 49 persons in total. It ruled the grenade attack "was a well-orchestrated plan, executed through abuse of state power". Judge Shahed Nuruddin said, "The specialised deadly Arges grenades that are used in wars were blasted at the Awami League's central office on 23 Bangabandhu Avenue in broad daylight with the help of the then state machinery". On charges of killing through common intention, planning and criminal conspiracy, 38 persons were found guilty. 19 of them were sentenced to death:


2004 Dhaka grenade attack, Charges and punishments
On the same charges, 19 others were given life term in prison sentences:


2004 Dhaka grenade attack, Charges and punishments
All of the 38 were also found guilty of grievously injuring victims through common intention, planning and criminal conspiracy and sentenced to jail for 20 years.


2004 Dhaka grenade attack, Charges and punishments
On the charge for harbouring the offenders, former Inspectors General of Police Ashraful Huda and Shahudul Haque were sentenced to two years in jail. For the charges of harbouring and protecting the offenders, Saiful Islam Duke, Saiful Islam Joarder, ATM Amin were given four years in jail. For the charge of misleading the investigation and cooking up the "Joj Mia" story, IGP Khoda Baksh Chowdhury, SP of CID Ruhul Amin, ASPs of CID Abdur Rashid and Munshi Atikur Rahman were sentenced to two years in prison.


2004 Dhaka grenade attack, Charges and punishments
Total 18 convicts were on the run at the time of the verdict.


2004 Dhemaji school bombing
The 2004 Dhemaji school bombing occurred on 15 August 2004, on the occasion of Independence Day in Dhemaji, Assam. The bombing by the Assamese militant group called the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) killed 18 people and injured many others. Most of the victims were schoolchildren aged between 12 and 14 and their mothers.


2004 Dhemaji school bombing, Details
On the occasion of Independence Day, 15 August 2004, people, mostly were school children and their mothers, gathered at Dhemaji College ground for an Independence Day parade. At around 09:30 a bomb went off killing at least 18 and injuring many more. According to police, the bomb was planted near the college-gate and triggered by a remote-controlled device. It was exploded when the students and teachers of various schools were passing through the gate.


2004 Dhemaji school bombing, Investigations
Police blamed ULFA, a banned Assamese militant group, which had called for a boycott of the event. The group continued denying responsibility.


2004 Dhemaji school bombing, Aftermath
Soon after the incident the local people allegedly attacked the police vehicles at the site for failure to protect the parade. Police had to launch a lathi charge and fire tear gas to bring the situation under control. The Superintendent of Police T. Thangou  and the Additional Superintendent of Police Abu Sufian of Dhemaji were suspended for negligence of duty. The Deputy Commissioner was transferred for security lapse.


2004 Dhemaji school bombing, Reactions
The injured were admitted to the Dhemaji Civil Hospital and other 10 being critically injured were shifted to Dibrugarh Civil Hospital. Chief Minister of Assam Tarun Gogoi condemned the blast stating it to be “most barbaric, inhuman and pathetic” incident. He also announced that the state would be observing the 16 August of every year as Mourning Day in memory of those killed. The chief minister announced Rs 300,000 for the victims and Rs 50,000 for the seriously injured. The Dhemaji and Lakhimpur unit of AASU called a 12-hour bandh on 16 August 2004 in protest of the blast.


2004 Dhemaji school bombing, Reactions
The AASU had also demanded the resignation of the chief minister. The Assam State Committee of CPI(M) vehemently condemned the incident. It also organized a protest rally in the capital city of Guwahati on 17 August against the extremists for the killings and against the administration for the failure of protection. The committee had also called a 12-hour Assam-bandh on 18 August.


2004 Dhemaji school bombing, Armed Forces Special Powers Act
The chief minister Tarun Gogoi said that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act should stay in the disturbed areas to avoid the increasing activities by the rebel groups.


2004 Dhemaji school bombing, ULFA takes responsibility after five years
On 16 August 2004, one day after the blast, in a statement, Arabinda Rajkhowa, the chairman of the group, stated that the “Indian Occupation Force” and its agents used the schoolchildren as shield to defy the boycott call of the outfit. On 13 December 2009, Paresh Barua, the C-in-C of the group, sought public apology and forgiveness for the blast. He stated in an e-mail that the ULFA leadership was misled by some of their cadres and junior leaders about the blast, which is why the leadership had to deny its involvement.


2004 Dhivehi League, Overview
Club Valencia won the Dhivehi League. New Radiant SC won the Maldives National Championship.


2004 District of Columbia Democratic presidential primary and caucuses
The District of Columbia held a primary on January 13, 2004 and caucuses on February 14, 2004 during the 2004 Democratic presidential primary season. Delegates were only allocated in the February 14 caucuses.


2004 District of Columbia Democratic presidential primary and caucuses, Non-binding primary
The primary was held on January 13, 2004, a week before the Iowa caucuses. Early favorite Howard Dean won the primary. Polling two months before had him leading civil rights activist Al Sharpton 45% to 11%. Then his poll numbers went down considerably, to 27% to 5%. The other candidates, John Kerry, John Edwards, Wesley Clark, Dick Gephardt and Joe Lieberman, were not on the ballot. Dean benefited from the endorsement of popular councilman Jack Evans. Following the primary, Carol Moseley Braun dropped out of the race and endorsed Dean.


2004 District of Columbia Democratic presidential primary and caucuses, Caucuses
The District of Columbia caucuses were held on February 14, 2004. John Kerry won the caucuses.


2004 Djurgårdens IF season, Squad information, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2004 Dominican Republic presidential election
Presidential elections were held in the Dominican Republic on 16 May 2004. The result was a victory for former president Leonel Fernández, who defeated incumbent Hipólito Mejía. Voter turnout was 72.8%.


2004 Dominican Republic presidential election, Candidates
Opinion polls in the run-up to election day showed Fernández leading with 54%, Mejía on 27%, and Estrella on 14%. In the previous weeks, however, Mejía had been gaining support while Fernández's numbers had been falling and, as a result, at one point it seemed possible that a second round run-off vote would have to be held between the two top candidates. Fernández's final result, in excess of 50%, meant that the second round was not necessary.


2004 Dominican Republic presidential election, Candidates, Overseas voting
The Dominican Republic introduced legislation in 1997 to enable Dominican citizens residing abroad to vote in presidential elections. This was the first time the provisions of that law were put into practice, with some 52,500 registered overseas voters eligible to vote at polling stations set up in several American cities including Miami and New York, as well as Montréal, Caracas, Madrid and Barcelona.


2004 Dominican Republic presidential election, Candidates, Overseas voting
Electoral officials noted that 52,500 was only a fraction of the overseas voters actually eligible to vote (one million Dominicans are estimated to live in the United States alone), but that the take-up rate was hampered by a lack of information regarding the necessary formalities and by bureaucratic hurdles (particularly, the requirement that up-to-date national ID cards be presented).


2004 Donegal County Council election
An election to Donegal County Council took place on 5 June 2004 as part of that year's Irish local elections. 29 councillors were elected from six electoral divisions by PR-STV voting for a five-year term of office.


2004 Doğubayazıt earthquake
2004 Doğubayazıt earthquake was a 5.1 Mw or 5.2 Mw earthquake that rocked Doğubayazıt, Ağrı, Turkey on 2 July 2004 at 01.30 local time. 18 people were killed and 32 were injured.


2004 Doğubayazıt earthquake
The greatest damage was at Yığınçal village, while Kutlubulak and Sağlıksuyu villages were also affected. Kandilli Observatory stated that around 1000 buildings were damaged. The earthquake was felt from Ağrı, Iğdır, Kars, and areas near Iran-Turkey border. The intensity of the shock was reported as VII, while the depth was reported as 5 km. The earthquake happened during the local mountain pasture season where villagers were in the mountains, which prevented a higher number of casualties. Various organizations sent relief to the area. Three ministers of Turkish government visited the area, Greece offered help and France sent messages of solidarity.


2004 Drake Bulldogs football team
The 2004 Drake Bulldogs football team represented Drake University during the 2004 NCAA Division I-AA football season. It was the 111th year for the football program. The season ended with a 10–2 record and a Pioneer Football League Championship. The Bulldogs were chosen as a 2004 Sports Network Cup Finalist, finishing second to Monmouth in both overall votes and first place votes.


2004 Dubai Tennis Championships
The 2004 Dubai Duty Free Men's and Women's Tennis Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates that was part of the International Series Gold of the 2004 ATP Tour and of Tier II of the 2004 WTA Tour. The men's tournament was held from March 1 through March 7, 2004 while the women's tournament was held from February 23 through February 28, 2004.


2004 Dubai Tennis Championships, Finals, Men's Doubles
Mahesh Bhupathi /  Fabrice Santoro defeated  Jonas Björkman /  Leander Paes 6–2, 4–6, 6–4


2004 Dubai Tennis Championships, Finals, Women's Doubles
Janette Husárová /  Conchita Martínez defeated  Svetlana Kuznetsova /  Elena Likhovtseva 6–0, 1–6, 6–3


2004 Dubai Tennis Championships – Men's Doubles
Leander Paes and David Rikl were the defending champions but only Paes competed that year with Jonas Björkman.


2004 Dubai Tennis Championships – Men's Doubles
Björkman and Paes lost in the final 6–2, 4–6, 6–4 against Mahesh Bhupathi and Fabrice Santoro.


2004 Dubai Tennis Championships – Men's Singles
Roger Federer was the defending champion and won in the final 4–6, 6–1, 6–2 against Feliciano López.


2004 Dubai Tennis Championships – Men's Singles, Seeds
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.


2004 Dubai Tennis Championships – Women's Doubles
Svetlana Kuznetsova and Martina Navratilova were the defending champions, but Navratilova did not compete this year.


2004 Dubai Tennis Championships – Women's Doubles
Kuznetsova teamed up with Elena Likhovtseva and lost in the final to Janette Husárová and Conchita Martínez. The score was 6–0, 1–6, 6–3.


2004 Dubai Tennis Championships – Women's Singles
Justine Henin-Hardenne was the defending champion and successfully defended her title, by defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova 7–6(7–3), 6–3 in the final.


2004 Dubai Tennis Championships – Women's Singles, Seeds
The first four seeds received a bye into the second round.


2004 Dubai World Cup
The 2004 Dubai World Cup was a horse race held at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse on Saturday 27 March 2004. It was the 9th running of the Dubai World Cup.


2004 Dubai World Cup
The winner was Diamond A Racing Corporation's Pleasantly Perfect, a six-year-old brown horse trained in the United States by Richard Mandella and ridden by Alex Solis. Pleasantly Perfect's victory was the first in the race for his owner, trainer and jockey.


2004 Dubai World Cup
Pleasantly Perfect had been one of the leading dirt performers in the United States in 2003 when his wins included the Breeders' Cup Classic. Before being shipped to Dubai he won the San Antonio Handicap on 31 January. In the 2004 Dubai World Cup he started the 5/2 second favourite and won by three quarters of a length from the 2/1 favourite Medaglia d'Oro with the South African challenger Victory Moon five length back in third place.


2004 Dubbo state by-election
A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly district of Dubbo on 20 November 2004. It was triggered by the death of Tony McGrane (Independent).


2004 Dubbo state by-election
The by-election saw McGrane succeeded by another independent in Dawn Fardell.


2004 Dubbo state by-election, Background
On 15 September 2004, the independent sitting member Tony McGrane for Dubbo died after a battle with liver cancer. McGrane was first elected at the 1999 state election and re-elected at the 2003 state election. His death triggered a by-election for the vacant seat.


2004 Dubbo state by-election, Background
The by-election presented the National with an opportunity to regain the seat they had held for 18 years from 1981 before losing it to McGrane in 1999. However, the seat was won instead by another independent, Dubbo deputy mayor Dawn Fardell.


2004 Dubbo state by-election, Background
The by-election was not contested by the Labor, the party in government at the time. Nor was it contested by the opposition Liberal, who deferred to their junior coalition partner the National Party, as is typical in regional districts.


2004 Dublin City Council election
An election to Dublin City Council took place on 11 June 2004 as part of that year's Irish local elections. 52 councillors were elected from thirteen electoral divisions by PR-STV voting for a five-year term of office.


2004 Dublin Senior Football Championship
Kilmacud Crokes won the 2005 Dublin Senior Football Championship against Ballyboden St Endas. Kilmacud won by 1-11 to 2-02 against Ballyboden.


2004 Duke Blue Devils football team
The 2004 Duke Blue Devils football team represented the Duke University in the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by head coach Ted Roof. They played their homes games at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.


2004 Dunedin mayoral election
The 2004 Dunedin mayoral election elected Peter Chin as Mayor of Dunedin. The election was conducted under the Single transferable vote voting system. Chin replaced Sukhi Turner, who retired from the mayoralty.


2004 Dunedin mayoral election, Results
The following table shows the detailed results for the 9 October 2004 election:


2004 Durango state election
The Mexican state of Durango held an election on Sunday, July 4, 2004. At stake was the office of the Durango State Governor, all 25 members of the unicameral Durango State Congress, and 39 mayors and municipal councils.


2004 Durango state election
Turnout was 49.7% of the 977,699 duranguenses eligible to vote.


2004 Durango state election, Governor
At the time of the election, the sitting governor was Ángel Sergio Guerrero Mier of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). No party other than the PRI has ever governed Durango.


2004 Durango state election, Governor
With 90% of the results counted, Ismael Hernández of the PRI was set for victory with around 52% of the votes cast. Andrés Galván of the PAN was in second place with about 30%.