2004 Vermont gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2004 United States gubernatorial elections.

The 2004 Vermont gubernatorial election took place November 2, 2004 for the post of Governor of Vermont. Incumbent Republican governor Jim Douglas was re-elected. Douglas defeated Peter Clavelle, the Progressive Mayor of Burlington who ran as a Democrat.

2004 Vermont gubernatorial election

← 2002 November 2, 2004 2006 →

Nominee Jim Douglas Peter Clavelle Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 181,540 117,327 Percentage 58.7% 37.9%

County results Municipality results Douglas:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90% Clavelle:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80% Tie:      50-60%

Governor before election Jim Douglas Republican Elected Governor Jim Douglas Republican

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Peter Clavelle, Mayor of Burlington, switched party affiliation from Progressive to Democratic to run in this election, and was cross-nominated by the Progressive Party.

Results

Democratic primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Peter Clavelle	23,218	94.65
	Democratic	Write-ins	1,313	5.35
Total votes			24,531	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Jim Douglas, incumbent governor of Vermont

Results

Republican primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Douglas (inc.)	15,806	98.74
	Republican	Write-ins	202	1.26
Total votes			16,008	100.00

General election

Campaign

Clavelle attempted to link Douglas and President George W. Bush with bumper stickers saying "Jim = George".^[2] Douglas countered this by a willingness to criticize the national Republican Party, such as over the Bush administration's environmental policies.^[3]

The two main candidates faced each other in 18 debates during the campaign.^[4]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[5]	Likely R	November 1, 2004

Results

2004 Vermont gubernatorial election^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jim Douglas (inc.)	181,540	58.70%	+13.76%
	Democratic	Peter Clavelle[a]	117,327	37.93%	−4.45%
	Marijuana	Cris Ericson	4,221	1.36%	+0.61%
	Independent	Patricia Hejny	2,431	0.79%
	Libertarian	Hardy Machia	2,263	0.73%	+0.32%
	Liberty Union	Peter Diamondstone	1,298	0.42%	+0.15%
	Write-ins	Write-ins	205	0.07%
Majority			64,213	20.76%	+18.21%
Turnout			309,285
	Republican hold		Swing

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Chittenden (largest municipality: Burlington)
• Washington (largest municipality: Barre)
• Windsor (largest municipality: Hartford)

See also

• 2004 United States presidential election in Vermont
• 2004 United States Senate election in Vermont
• 2004 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont

Notes

1. Originally was a Progressive; ran in the Democratic primary, and was cross nominated by the Progressive Party.