The 2004 North Dakota gubernatorial election took place on 2 November 2004 for the post of

Governor of North Dakota The governor of North Dakota is the head of government of North Dakota and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The Constitution of North Dakota specifies that "the executive power is vested in the governor" in Secti ...

Incumbent 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 ...

Republican 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 ...

Governor

John Hoeven John Henry Hoeven III ( ; born March 13, 1957) is an American banker and politician serving as the senior U.S. senator from North Dakota, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Hoeven served as the 31st governor of Nort ...

was easily re-elected defeating Democratic-NPL former state senator

Joe Satrom Joe Satrom (born 10 October 1945) is an American businessman and environmental lobbyist from the U.S. state of North Dakota. He won the 2004 Democratic-NPL nomination for governor, but was defeated by the Republican incumbent, John Hoeven. S ...

Republican nomination

Incumbent Governor John Hoeven was unopposed for the Republican nomination and accepted the nomination by stating that the economy of North Dakota was his priority.

Democratic-NPL nomination

Former state senator Joe Satrom defeated

North Dakota House of Representatives The North Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly and is larger than the North Dakota Senate. North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative districts apportioned by population as d ...

minority leader

Merle Boucher Merle Boucher (born July 19, 1946) is a North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party politician who served in the North Dakota House of Representatives, representing the 9th district from 1991 to 2011. He served as Minority Leader from 1996 to 2011. Bouch ...

for the Democratic-NPL nomination. Satrom began campaigning for the nomination almost a year before the

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...

Democratic-NPL Convention would choose the parties candidate for Governor. Boucher announced his candidacy in December 2003 but struggled to make up ground against Satrom. The two candidates debated at the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of N ...

, just before the convention, with education and the future of the state's youth the main topics. The Democratic-NPL Convention voted by 632 to 341 to endorse Satrom as their candidate for Governor.

General election

Campaign

The two candidates met in three debates during the campaign, during the final debate on 9 October 2004 they clashed over a smoking ban, outmigration and a proposed constitutional amendment to ban

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

. Satrom called for North Dakota to introduce a one thousand

dollar Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, ...

donation A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donation may satisfy medical needs such as ...

limit, for individuals and political action committees, to avoid any perception of conflict of interest. Hoeven named education, growth and jobs as his priorities but faced anger from some hunting groups over changes to hunt seasons.

Opinion poll An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinion ...

s gave Hoeven a strong lead over Satrom with one in October 2004 showing Hoeven on 70% as against 22% for Satrom. Hoeven raised far more money than his challenger and even a normally Democratic supporting teachers

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, the North Dakota Education Association, endorsed Hoeven for Governor.

Predictions

Results

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

* Divide (largest city:

Crosby Crosby may refer to: Places ;Canada *Crosby, Ontario, part of the township of Rideau Lakes, Ontario *Crosby, Ontario, a neighbourhood in the city of Markham, Ontario ;England *Crosby, Cumbria *Crosby, Lincolnshire *Crosby, Merseyside ** Crosby (U ...

) *

Benson Benson may refer to: Animals *Benson (fish), largest common carp caught in Britain Places Geography Canada *Rural Municipality of Benson No. 35, Saskatchewan; rural municipality *Benson, Saskatchewan; hamlet United Kingdom * Benson, Oxfordshire ...

(Largest CDP: Fort Totten) * Name (Largest city:

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

) *

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

(Largest city:

Lakota Lakota may refer to: * Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples Place names In the United States: * Lakota, Iowa * Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County * La ...

) * Ransom (Largest city: Lisbon) * Richland (largest city: Wahpeton) * Sargent (Largest city: Gwinner) *

Steele Steele may refer to: Places America * Steele, Alabama, a town * Steele, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Steele, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Steele, Missouri, a city * Lonetree, Montana, a ghost town originally called Steele ...

(Largest city: Finley) * Towner (Largest city: Cando) * Traill (Largest city: Mayville)

References

{{North Dakota elections

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

2004