The 2004 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 2, 2004 to elect all 435 seats of the chamber. It coincided with the
reelection
The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...
of President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
as well as many
Senate elections and
gubernatorial elections. In the
108th Congress
The 108th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives from January 3, 2003 to January 3, 2005, during ...
,
Republicans
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
held 227 seats,
Democrats held 205, with two
Republican vacancies and one independent. As a result of this election, the 109th Congress began composed of 232
Republicans
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
, 201
Democrats, one independent (who caucuses with the Democrats), and one vacancy (Democrat
Bob Matsui won reelection, but died just two days before the beginning of the 109th Congress.).
Democrats won open seats in
Colorado,
South Dakota, and
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
while ousting incumbents in
Georgia and
Illinois. Republicans won an open seat in Kentucky and multiple seats in
Texas while ousting an incumbent in
Indiana. Two seats in
Louisiana swapped party control.
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
became the first Republican president to have his party gain seats in consecutive elections for the first time since
Teddy Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
in 1902 and 1904.
As of 2022, this is the last election in which someone who was not from the
Democratic or
Republican party was elected to the House (Independent
Bernie Sanders
Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...
). Republicans would not make consecutive net gains in the House (after gaining seats in the
2002 election) until 2020 and 2022. This was also the last election in which the Republicans made any gains in a Presidential election year until 2020.
Results
, -
! rowspan= 2 colspan=2 , Parties
! colspan=4 , Seats
! colspan=3 , Popular vote
, - style="background-color:#E9E9E9"
! 2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
! 2004
! Net
change
! Strength
! Vote
! %
! Change
, -
, style="background-color:" ,
! Republican Party
Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party.
Republican Party may also refer to:
Africa
*Republican Party (Liberia)
* Republican Part ...
, 229
, 232
, 3
, 53.3%
, 55,958,144
, 49.4%
, -0.6%
, -
, style="background-color:" ,
! Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
, 205
, 202
, 3
, 46.4%
, 52,969,786
, 46.8%
, +1.6%
, -
, style="background-color:" ,
! Libertarian Party
, —
, —
, —
, —
, 1,056,844
, 0.9%
, -0.5%
, -
, style="background-color:" ,
! Independent
, 1
, 1
, 0
, 0.2%
, 674,202
, 0.6%
, +0.1%
, -
, style="background-color:" ,
! Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
, —
, —
, —
, —
, 344,549
, 0.3%
, -0.1%
, -
, style="background-color:" ,
! Constitution Party
, —
, —
, —
, —
, 187,006
, 0.2%
, -
, -
, style="background-color:" ,
! Reform Party
, —
, —
, —
, —
, 85,539
, 0.1%
, +0.1%
, -
, style="background-color:" ,
! Independence Party
Independence Party may refer to:
Active parties Outside United States
* Independence Party (Egypt)
* Estonian Independence Party
* Independence Party (Finland)
* Independence Party (Iceland)
* Independence Party (Mauritius)
* Independence Part ...
, —
, —
, —
, —
, 76,053
, 0.1%
, +0.1%
, -
, style="background-color:" ,
! Others
, —
, —
, —
, —
, 1,840,163
, 1.6%
, -0.6%
, -
! colspan=2 , Total
! 434
! 435
! 0
! 100.0%
! 113,192,286
! 100.0%
! –
, - style="background-color:#E9E9E9"
, style="text-align:left" colspan=9 , Source
Election Statistics - Office of the Clerk
Retirements
In the November general elections, thirty incumbents did not seek re-election, either to retire or to seek other positions.
Democrats
Thirteen Democrats did not seek re-election.
# :
Cal Dooley retired.
# :
Peter Deutsch retired to
run for U.S. Senator.
# :
Denise Majette retired to
run for U.S. Senator.
# :
Bill Lipinski retired.
# :
Ken Lucas retired.
# :
Chris John retired to
run for U.S. Senator.
# :
Dick Gephardt
Richard Andrew Gephardt (; born January 31, 1941) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who served as a United States House of Representatives, United States Representative from Missouri from 1977 to 2005. A member of the Democratic ...
retired to
run for U.S. president.
# :
Karen McCarthy retired.
# :
Brad Carson retired to
run for U.S. Senator.
# :
Joe Hoeffel retired to
run for U.S. Senator.
# :
Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá (born 13 February 1962) is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer. He served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 2005 to 2009. He is a Harvard University alumnus (LL.M. 1987) and a graduate of the University of Puer ...
retired to
run successfully for Governor of Puerto Rico.
# :
Jim Turner retired when redistricted from the 2nd district.
# :
Jerry Kleczka retired.
Republicans
Seventeen Republicans did not seek re-election.
# :
Doug Ose retired.
# :
Scott McInnis retired.
# :
Johnny Isakson retired to
run for U.S. Senator.
# :
Mac Collins
Michael Allen "Mac" Collins (October 15, 1944 – November 20, 2018) was an American businessman and politician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 2005, representing (previously from 1993 to ...
retired to
run for U.S. Senator.
# :
David Vitter retired to
run for U.S. Senator.
# :
Billy Tauzin
Wilbert Joseph Tauzin II (; born June 14, 1943) is an American lobbyist and politician. He was President and CEO of PhRMA, a pharmaceutical company lobby group. Tauzin was also a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1980 to ...
retired.
# :
Nick Smith retired.
# :
Jack Quinn retired.
# :
Amo Houghton
Amory Houghton Jr. (August 7, 1926 – March 4, 2020) was an American Republican politician from the U.S. state of New York. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and was a member of one of upstate New York's most p ...
retired.
# :
Richard Burr retired to
run for U.S. Senator.
# :
Cass Ballenger retired.
# :
James C. Greenwood retired.
# :
Pat Toomey retired to
run for U.S. Senator.
# :
Jim DeMint retired to
run for U.S. Senator.
# :
Ed Schrock
Edward Lee Schrock (born April 6, 1941) is a retired naval officer (1964–1988) and American Republican politician who served as a member of the Senate of Virginia from 1996 - 2001. He also served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Jan ...
retired.
# :
George Nethercutt retired to
run for U.S. Senator.
# :
Jennifer Dunn retired.
Resignations
Two seats opened early due to resignations and were not filled until the November elections.
Democrats
No Democrats resigned.
Republicans
Two Republicans resigned.
# :
Porter Goss resigned September 23, 2004 to become
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
# :
Doug Bereuter resigned August 31, 2004 to become president of
The Asia Foundation.
Incumbents defeated
In primary elections
Democrats
Two Democrats lost renomination.
# :
Chris Bell lost renomination to
Al Green
Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...
, who then won the general election.
# :
Ciro Rodriguez lost renomination to
Henry Cuellar
Enrique Roberto Cuellar (born September 19, 1955) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he is considered one of the most conservative representatives in the De ...
, who won the general election.
Republicans
No Republicans lost renomination.
In the general election
Democrats
Five Democrats lost re-election to Republicans.
# :
Baron Hill lost to
Mike Sodrel.
# :
Max Sandlin lost to
Louie Gohmert.
# :
Nick Lampson lost to
Ted Poe
Lloyd Theodore Poe (born September 10, 1948) is an American politician who represented Texas's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2019. Poe was the first Republican to represent the 2nd district. ...
.
# :
Charles Stenholm lost a redistricting race to
Randy Neugebauer
Robert Randolph "Randy" Neugebauer (born December 24, 1949) is an American politician who was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for , having served from a special election in Texas' 19th congressional district specia ...
.
# :
Martin Frost lost a redistricting race to
Pete Sessions
Peter Anderson Sessions (born March 22, 1955) is an American politician from Texas who is the U.S. representative for Texas's 17th congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, he has served in the U.S. House of Representatives for ...
.
Republicans
Two Republicans lost re-election to Democrats.
# :
Max Burns
Othell Maxie Burns Jr. (born November 8, 1948) is an American politician and academic from the state of Georgia. A member of the Republican Party, Burns has represented the 23rd district in the Georgia State Senate since January 2021. He previ ...
lost to
John Barrow.
# :
Phil Crane lost to
Melissa Bean
Melissa Luburich Bean (born January 22, 1962) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2005 to 2011. Bean is a member of the Democratic Party.
Early life, education, and business career
Bean attended Maine East H ...
.
Open seats that changed parties
Democratic seats won by Republicans
Three Democratic seats were won by Republicans.
# : Won by
Geoff Davis.
# : Won by
Charles Boustany.
# : Won by
Luis Fortuño.
Republican seats won by Democrats
Three Republican seats were won by Democrats.
# : Won by
John Salazar
John Tony Salazar (born July 21, 1953) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2005 until 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was appointed Commissioner of the Colorado Department of Agriculture in the C ...
.
# : Won by
Charlie Melancon
Charlie may refer to:
Characters
* "Charlie," the head of the Townsend Agency', from the Charlie's Angels (franchise), ''Charlie's Angels'' franchise
* Charlie, a character on signs for the CharlieCard, a smart card issued by the Massachusetts Ba ...
.
# : Won by
Brian Higgins.
Open seats that parties held
Democratic seats held by Democrats
Democrats held nine of their open seats.
# : Won by
Jim Costa
James Manuel Costa (born April 13, 1952) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 2023, previously representing the California's 20th congressional district, 20th congressio ...
.
# : Won by
Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
# : Won by
Cynthia McKinney
Cynthia Ann McKinney (born March 17, 1955) is an American politician, academic, and conspiracy theorist. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms in the United States House of Representatives. She was the first African American ...
.
# : Won by
Dan Lipinski.
# : Won by
Russ Carnahan.
# : Won by
Emanuel Cleaver
Emanuel Cleaver II (born October 26, 1944) is a United Methodist pastor and American politician who has represented in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2005.
Cleaver represents a district that includes the southern three-fourths of Kans ...
.
# : Won by
Dan Boren
David Daniel Boren (born August 2, 1973) is the Secretary of Commerce for the Chickasaw Nation, based in Oklahoma. He is a retired American politician, who served as the U.S. Representative for from 2005 to 2013. The district included most of th ...
.
# : Won by
Allyson Schwartz
Allyson Schwartz (née Young; born October 3, 1948) is an American Democratic Party politician who represented parts of Montgomery County and Northeast Philadelphia in the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2015 and Northeast and ...
.
# : Won by
Gwen Moore
Gwendolynne Sophia Moore (born April 18, 1951) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2005. In 2016, Moore was elected to serve as caucus whip of the Congressional Black Caucus for the 115th United States Congres ...
.
Republican seats held by Republicans
Republicans held sixteen of their open seats.
# : Won by
Dan Lungren.
# : Won by
Connie Mack IV.
# : Won by
Tom Price.
# : Won by
Lynn Westmoreland
Leon Acton "Lynn" Westmoreland (born April 2, 1950) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2017 and the from 2005 to 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Early life, education and career
Westmorel ...
.
# : Won by
Bobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (born June 10, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016. The only living former Louisiana governor, Jindal also served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives a ...
.
# : Won by
Joe Schwarz
John J. H. "Joe" Schwarz (born November 15, 1937), is an American physician and independent politician from Michigan, who was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2004 as a moderate Republican. He represented Michigan's 7th c ...
.
# : Won by
Jeff Fortenberry
Jeffrey Lane Fortenberry (born December 27, 1960) is a former United States congressman. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2022, representing as a member of the Republican Party.
In October 2021, a federal ...
.
# : Won by
Randy Kuhl
John Randolph Kuhl Jr. (born April 19, 1943) is an American Republican politician. He is a former member of the New York State Assembly, the New York State Senate, and the United States House of Representatives. Kuhl represented New York's 29th ...
.
# : Won by
Virginia Foxx.
# : Won by
Patrick McHenry.
# : Won by
Mike Fitzpatrick.
# : Won by
Charlie Dent.
# : Won by
Bob Inglis.
# : Won by
Thelma Drake
Thelma Day Drake (born November 20, 1949) is an American politician and former member of Congress for Virginia's 2nd congressional district. A Republican, she served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2005 to 2009. Prior to serving in Co ...
.
# : Won by
Cathy McMorris
Cathy Anne McMorris Rodgers (born May 22, 1969) is an American politician who is the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. representative for , which encompasses the eastern third of the state and includes Spokane, the state's second-largest city. ...
.
# : Won by
Dave Reichert.
Newly created seats
Of the thirty-two seats created in the
2003 Texas redistricting
The 2003 Texas redistricting refers to a controversial mid-decade state plan that defined new congressional districts. In the 2004 elections, this redistricting supported the Republicans taking a majority of Texas's House seats for the first ...
, three had no incumbent representative.
Democratic gain
No Democrats were elected in newly created seats.
Republican gain
Three Republicans were elected in newly created seats.
# : Won by
Michael McCaul
Michael Thomas McCaul Sr. (born January 14, 1962) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2005. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the House Committee on Homeland Security during the 113th ...
.
# : Won by
Mike Conaway
Kenneth Michael Conaway (born June 11, 1948) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 2005 to 2021. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district Conaway represented is located in West Texas and includes Midland ...
.
# : Won by
Kenny Marchant.
Special elections
There were three special elections held in 2004, all of them separate from the November elections.
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
On December 4, 2004, a run-off election was held to determine the winner of the 3rd and 7th congressional districts. In the 3rd district,
Charlie Melancon
Charlie may refer to:
Characters
* "Charlie," the head of the Townsend Agency', from the Charlie's Angels (franchise), ''Charlie's Angels'' franchise
* Charlie, a character on signs for the CharlieCard, a smart card issued by the Massachusetts Ba ...
narrowly defeated
Billy Tauzin III
The 2004 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 2, 2004 to elect all 435 seats of the chamber. It coincided with the reelection of President George W. Bush as well as many Senate elections and gubernatorial elect ...
. In the 7th district,
Charles Boustany defeated
Willie Mount
Willie Landry Mount (born August 25, 1949) is an American politician from Louisiana who served as a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate from 2000 to 2012. She represented District 27, which includes parts of her native Lake Charles a ...
. Thus, both seats switched to the opposite party.
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
All incumbents were re-elected.
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
All seven incumbents who ran for re-election, none of whom faced viable challengers, were returned to Congress. None received less than 60% of the vote, and one received over 80%. In addition, the two seats vacated by retiring Republicans were both reclaimed by Republicans despite Democratic hopes to gain at least one seat in the vulnerable 8th district.
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Non-voting delegates
See also
*
2004 United States elections
The 2004 United States elections were held on November 2. Republican President George W. Bush won re-election and Republicans retained control of Congress.
Democratic Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts won his party's nomination after defeati ...
**
2004 United States gubernatorial elections
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 2, 2004, in 11 states and two territories. There was no net gain in seats for either party, as Democrats picked up an open seat in Montana while defeating incumbent Craig Benson in New Ha ...
**
2004 United States presidential election
The 2004 United States presidential election was the 55th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. The Republican ticket of incumbent President George W. Bush and his running mate incumbent Vice President Dick Chene ...
**
2004 United States Senate elections
The 2004 United States Senate elections were held on November 2, 2004, with all Class 3 Senate seats being contested. They coincided with the re-election of George W. Bush as president and the United States House election, as well as many state ...
*
108th United States Congress
The 108th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives from January 3, 2003 to January 3, 2005, during ...
*
109th United States Congress
The 109th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, from January 3, 2005 to January 3, 2007, dur ...
Notes
References
External links
United States Election 2004 Web Archivefrom the U.S.
Library of Congress
{{Nancy Pelosi