The 2004 United States Senate election in Ohio took place on November 2, 2004. It was concurrent with elections to the

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and the

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Republican U.S. Senator George Voinovich won re-election to a second term with the highest raw vote total in Ohio history.

Republican primary

Candidates

* George Voinovich, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1999 * John Mitchel

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Eric Fingerhut, State Senator and former U.S. Representative from

Ohio's 19th congressional district Ohio's 19th congressional district was created following the 1830 census and was eliminated after the 2000 census. Between 1863 and 1880, it was represented by future US President James A. Garfield, who became the only sitting House member ever ...

* Norbert Dennerll, former Cleveland City Councilman

Results

General election

Candidates

* George Voinovich (R), incumbent U.S. Senator and former Governor * Eric Fingerhut (D), State Senator and former U.S. Representative from

* Helen Meyers (

write-in A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be po ...

)

Campaign

A popular U.S. Senator, Voinovich was the heavy favorite to win the election. He had over $9 million in the bank, while his opponent barely had $1.5 million. Fingerhut's campaign was overshadowed by the possible campaign of Democrat and former Mayor of

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, who eventually declined to run. Voinovich is a moderate on some issues. He supports gun control and amnesty for undocumented immigrants. Surprisingly, Voinovich's biggest advantage was getting support from the most Democratic-leaning county in the state, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Kerry carried it with almost 67% of the vote, by far his best performance in the state in 2004. It is the home of Cleveland and it is also most populous county in the state. Voinovich was a former mayor of Cleveland. In addition, he catered to Cleveland's large Jewish population by visiting

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

six times as a first-term U.S. Senator. He also consistently voted for aid to Israel through foreign appropriations bills. He's supported resolutions reaffirming Israel's right to self-defense and condemned Palestinian terrorist attacks. In addition, Fingerhut's home base was in the Cleveland area, and therefore he had to cut in through the incumbent's home base in order to even make the election close. In a September

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poll, the incumbent lead 64% to 34%. In an October

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poll, Voinovich was winning 60% to 35%. He led across almost all demographic groups Only among Democrats, non-whites, liberals, and those who pick health care as #1 issue favor Fingerhut. The election coincided with the presidential election, where

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

was a

swing state In American politics, the term swing state (also known as battleground state or purple state) refers to any state that could reasonably be won by either the Democratic or Republican candidate in a statewide election, most often referring to pres ...

. 27% of Voinovich's supporters preferred U.S. Senator

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

for president.

Predictions

Polling

Results

By congressional district

Voinovich won 17 of 18 congressional districts, including 6 that have democratic congressman and 5 that voted for John Kerry in the presidential race.

Notes

References

{{United States elections, 2004

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

2004

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Predictions

Polling

Results

By congressional district

See also

Notes

References