Howard Dean presidential campaign, 2004
Encyclopedia
The Governor of Vermont
, Howard Dean, formed an exploratory committee
to evaluate a presidential election campaign on May 31, 2002. Dean then formally announced his intention to compete in the 2004 Democratic primaries
to seek the Democratic Party's nomination for President on June 23, 2003 Dean dropped out of the race in February 2004 after poor contest showings in Wisconsin
.
for the United States. He proposed an annual $88 billion on health care programs in the United States
as well as wanting tax credits to help workers of moderate income buy "affordable" coverage similar to that offered to federal employees, with extra insurance subsidies for companies employing less than 50 people. Dean also proposed spending nearly $1 trillion over 10 years on health insurance. Dean also stressed the need for the expansion of state health care programs for children throughout his campaign.
, and replace them with tax cuts on the middle class. Throughout the campaign, Dean stressed the need for lowering taxes on the middle class while raising them on the upper class. He also promised to renegotiate components of the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) and other free trade agreements with foreign powers. Dean also promised to "put the U.S. on a path to a balanced budget", but never specifically stated any deficit reduction proposals other than repealing the Bush Tax Cuts.
i leaders and "encourage the United Nations
to take responsibility for this political transition." Dean also expressed strong support for the War in Afghanistan, saying "One priority should be strengthening our bonds with other countries, especially our historical allies in a world growing ever more interdependent."
Dean would also open talks with North Korea
, triple American financing to $30 billion over 10 years to combat unconventional weapons around the world and approve the use of force to halt genocide
.
, Al Gore
, endorsed Howard Dean for the Democratic Party's 2004 Presidential nomination. Speaking in Harlem
, Gore said, "I'm very proud and honored to endorse Howard Dean to be the next president of the United States of America...In a field of great candidates, one candidate clearly now stands out, and so I'm asking all of you to join in this grassroots movement to elect Howard Dean." Gore's endorsement was highly coveted, and at the time, CNN
reported it "could cement Dean's status as the leading Democratic candidate heading into the kickoff contests now just weeks away in Iowa and New Hampshire."
, Michigan
, Washington, Maine
and Vermont
.
and John Edwards
as well as negative campaigning between the Dean and Gephardt campaigns resulted in an 11th hour slump for both campaigns. In a poll released by the Des Moines Register just before Caucus Day, Dean registered in third place with 20%, behind Kerry with 26%, and Edwards with 23%, but ahead of Dick Gephardt
with 18%.
Throughout Caucus night, Dean was in a fight with Gephardt for third place in Iowa behind Kerry and Edwards. With 100% of precincts reporting, Kerry received 38%, Edwards received 32%, and Dean came in third with 18% while Gephardt finished in fourth with just 11% of caucus support.
After both Kerry and Edwards defeated Howard Dean in the Iowa Caucuses, the Dean campaign retreated to New Hampshire, where polls consistently showed them in the lead, and where Howard Dean hoped for a come-back by defeating Senator Kerry who came from neighboring Massachusetts
.
Polling after the Iowa Caucuses consistently showed Governor Dean behind Senator Kerry by a wide margin in the run up to the New Hampshire Primary. A poll released from Franklin Pierce College
showed Kerry leading by as much as 30%-16%. However, after a substantial effort by Dean's part on the campaign trail showed Kerry leading 36%-27% in the final poll conducted by Marist College.
However, despite signs showing a Dean surge, Howard Dean lost to John Kerry in the New Hampshire primary 38%-26% which set the tone for future defeats at the hands of Kerry and others.
, Washington as well as other states, Howard Dean staked his entire campaign on favorable showings in the Wisconsin primary scheduled to take place on February 17, 2004
Following results in 7 Nominating Contests on February 3, 2004, Governor Dean re-organized his strategy be focusing on the Wisconsin primary as a way to upset front runner John Kerry. Dean canceled events throughout Michigan to be able to focus on Wisconsin as well as increasing staff members within Wisconsin. Dean also made a pledge (which he would later retract) that Wisconsin as a "must win" state for him in a fund raising e-mail to supporters. Despite being far behind Kerry in delegates and in popular vote, Dean stressed that Wisconsin could "turn around" the fate of his campaign. Dean also implied that it would give him momentum to win in Super Tuesday nominating contests.
As results were beginning to pour in, major news agencies were quick in projecting Governor Dean as coming in third in Wisconsin based on Exit Polling data alone Final results from Wisconsin showed John Kerry winning with 40% of the vote followed by John Edwards with 34% and Howard Dean coming in third with 18%. As a result of poor contests Dean exited the race the next morning.
, New York
, and Georgia
, a day dubbed "Super Tuesday
" for its massive amount of primaries and caucuses held on a particular Tuesday. Despite the fact that Governor Dean had ended his presidential bid on February 18, Dean's home state of Vermont was scheduled to vote.
Polls closed in Vermont at 7:00 EST
along with polls in the state of Georgia. Based on exit polls, CNN projected Howard Dean the winner there.
Much of the reason for Dean's success in his home state of Vermont
without campaigning was largely due to the fact that John Edwards
was not on the ballot in the state. In January, when Howard Dean was still considered the front-runner, Edwards and several other candidates — Rep. Dick Gephardt
of Missouri
, Al Sharpton
and Sen. Joe Lieberman
of Connecticut — decided not to file to get on the primary ballot in Dean's home state. The final results for the Vermont primary were Dean with 58%, Kerry with 34% and Kucinich with 4%
saying "I am no longer actively pursuing the presidency". Dean continued to advise his supporters to fight on saying "Sending delegates to the convention only continues to energize our party. Fight on in the caucuses; we are on the ballots. Use your network to send progressive delegates to the convention in Boston.... We are not going away, we are staying together, unified, all of us."
After withdrawing from the campaign, Dean founded the group Democracy for America
in March 2004 a month after his withdrawal from the presidential race. The group was dedicated to ensuring a Democratic victory in the 2004 Election.
of Massachusetts
on March 25, 2004 at a rally at George Washington University
. Dean, who was one of the favored candidates among young voters, was enthusiastically received by the crowd of college students.
There had been some speculation that Howard Dean would endorse John Edwards before the Super Tuesday nominating contests on March 2, as Edwards's political stances were more in line with Dean's. However, Dean did not comment on the Presidential field before Super Tuesday, when John Edwards dropped out of the race after failing to win a single contest.
, who by that date had raised $84.6 million for the Republican primary campaign, in which he had no real challenger. Prior to the 2004 primary season, the Democratic record for most money raised in one quarter by a primary candidate was held by Bill Clinton
in 1995, raising $10.3 million during a campaign in which he had no primary opponent. In the third quarter of 2003, the Dean campaign raised $14.8 million, shattering Clinton's record. All told, Dean's campaign raised around $50 million.
While presidential campaigns have traditionally obtained finance by tapping wealthy, established political donors, Dean's funds came largely in small donations over the Internet; the average overall donation size was just under $80. This method of fundraising offered several important advantages over traditional fundraising, in addition to the inherent media interest in what was then a novelty. First, raising money on the Internet was relatively inexpensive, compared to conventional methods such as events, telemarketing, and direct mail campaigns. Secondly, as donors on average contributed far less than the legal limit ($2,000 per individual), the campaign could continue to resolicit them throughout the election season.
Dean's director of grassroots fundraising, Larry Biddle, came up with the idea of the popular fundraising "bat", an image of a cartoon baseball player and bat which appeared on the site every time the campaign launched a fundraising challenge. The bat encouraged Web site visitors to contribute money immediately through their credit cards. This would lead to the bat filling up like a thermometer
with the red color indicating the total funds. The site often took suggestions from the netroots
on their blog. One of these suggestions led to one of the campaigns biggest accomplishments — an image of Dean eating a turkey sandwich encouraged supporters to donate $250,000 in three days to match a big-donor dinner by Vice President Dick Cheney. The online contributions from that day matched what Cheney made from his fundraiser.
In November 2003, after a much-publicized online vote among his followers, Dean became the first Democrat to forgo federal matching funds (and the spending limits that go with them) since the system was established in 1974. (John Kerry
later followed his lead.) In addition to state-by-state spending limits for the primaries, the system limits a candidate to spending only $44.6 million until the Democratic National Convention
in July, which sum would almost certainly run out soon after the early primary season. (George W. Bush
declined federal matching funds in 2000 and did so again for the 2004 campaign.)
In a sign that the Dean campaign was starting to think beyond the primaries, they began in late 2003 to speak of a "$100 revolution" in which 2 million Americans would give $100 in order to compete with Bush.
. Dean's lone Pennsylvania delegate, State Rep. Mark B. Cohen
of Philadelphia, said Dean's decision, ultimately emulated by Kerry, to forgo primary federal matching funds and exceed the matching fund spending limits "marked the day the Democratic Party became a serious contender for national power in 2004."
On October 11, 2007 it was reported that Leonardo DiCaprio
and George Clooney
were in early talks about making a "political thriller" based on Howard Dean's 2004 campaign, tentatively titled Farragut North. The movie is based on a play of the same name
, which is also the name of a Washington Metro station
, by former Dean communications director Beau Wilmon. Wilmon went on to work as traveling press secretary for Hillary Clinton during her 2008 presidential campaign
.
In November 2008, a documentary film
about Dean and the campaign, Dean and Me
, was released and shown at several film festivals.
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, Howard Dean, formed an exploratory committee
Exploratory Committee
In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to United States Presidential hopefuls, prior to the primaries.Exploratory...
to evaluate a presidential election campaign on May 31, 2002. Dean then formally announced his intention to compete in the 2004 Democratic primaries
Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2004
The 2004 Democratic presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 2004 U.S. presidential election...
to seek the Democratic Party's nomination for President on June 23, 2003 Dean dropped out of the race in February 2004 after poor contest showings in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
.
Announcement
Dean officially announced his candidacy on June 23, 2003, at a rally in his home state of Vermont, overlooking a church. During his announcement speech, Dean stressed the importance of universal health care, and fiscal responsibility.Health care
Dean, a former medical doctor, called for a comprehensive call for Universal Health CareUniversal health care
Universal health care is a term referring to organized health care systems built around the principle of universal coverage for all members of society, combining mechanisms for health financing and service provision.-History:...
for the United States. He proposed an annual $88 billion on health care programs in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as well as wanting tax credits to help workers of moderate income buy "affordable" coverage similar to that offered to federal employees, with extra insurance subsidies for companies employing less than 50 people. Dean also proposed spending nearly $1 trillion over 10 years on health insurance. Dean also stressed the need for the expansion of state health care programs for children throughout his campaign.
Education
Dean opposed the use of taxpayer-financed vouchers for tuition at parochial or other private schools,and promised to rework federal annual testing in grades 3 through 8 while allowing for more state and local control. Dean also guaranteed that people would not have to pay more than 10 percent of their income toward loans after post-secondary graduation as Dean would provide $10,000 a year in federal aid for university or high-skills learning.Economy and taxes
Dean proposed a radically different tax plan than President Bush's which would repeal all of the Bush tax cutsBush tax cuts
The Bush tax cuts refers to changes to the United States tax code passed during the presidency of George W. Bush and extended during the presidency of Barack Obama that generally lowered tax rates and revised the code specifying taxation in the United States...
, and replace them with tax cuts on the middle class. Throughout the campaign, Dean stressed the need for lowering taxes on the middle class while raising them on the upper class. He also promised to renegotiate components of the North American Free Trade Agreement
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
(NAFTA) and other free trade agreements with foreign powers. Dean also promised to "put the U.S. on a path to a balanced budget", but never specifically stated any deficit reduction proposals other than repealing the Bush Tax Cuts.
Foreign policy
Dean proposed to transfer sovereignty to "credible and legitimate" IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i leaders and "encourage the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
to take responsibility for this political transition." Dean also expressed strong support for the War in Afghanistan, saying "One priority should be strengthening our bonds with other countries, especially our historical allies in a world growing ever more interdependent."
Dean would also open talks with North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, triple American financing to $30 billion over 10 years to combat unconventional weapons around the world and approve the use of force to halt genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
.
Endorsed by Al Gore
On December 9, 2003, the former Vice President of the United StatesVice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
, Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
, endorsed Howard Dean for the Democratic Party's 2004 Presidential nomination. Speaking in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
, Gore said, "I'm very proud and honored to endorse Howard Dean to be the next president of the United States of America...In a field of great candidates, one candidate clearly now stands out, and so I'm asking all of you to join in this grassroots movement to elect Howard Dean." Gore's endorsement was highly coveted, and at the time, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
reported it "could cement Dean's status as the leading Democratic candidate heading into the kickoff contests now just weeks away in Iowa and New Hampshire."
Iowa
All Poll averages retrieved from USA Election Polls| Month | Percentage |
|---|---|
| September | 19% |
| October | 23% |
| November | 29% |
| December | 26% |
| January | 24% |
New Hampshire
All Poll averages retrieved from USA Election Polls| Month | Percentage |
|---|---|
| September | 33% |
| October | 26% |
| November | 39% |
| December | 44% |
| January | 24% |
Arizona
All Poll averages retrieved from USA Election Polls| Month | Percentage |
|---|---|
| December | 24% |
| January | 16% |
| February | 15% |
Wisconsin
All Poll averages retrieved from USA Election Polls| Month | Percentage |
|---|---|
| December | 33% |
| January | 8% |
| February | 15% |
Results
Dean finished third or lower in most nominating contest throughout the primary season. The exceptions were New HampshireNew Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Washington, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
and Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
.
Iowa and New Hampshire
Polling throughout the primary campaign consistently showed Dean either in first place, or second behind Dick Gephardt. However, last minute surges by rivals John KerryJohn Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
and John Edwards
John Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...
as well as negative campaigning between the Dean and Gephardt campaigns resulted in an 11th hour slump for both campaigns. In a poll released by the Des Moines Register just before Caucus Day, Dean registered in third place with 20%, behind Kerry with 26%, and Edwards with 23%, but ahead of Dick Gephardt
Dick Gephardt
Richard Andrew "Dick" Gephardt is a lobbyist and former prominent American politician of the Democratic Party. Gephardt served as a U.S. Representative from Missouri from January 3, 1977, until January 3, 2005, serving as House Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995, and as Minority Leader from 1995 to...
with 18%.
After both Kerry and Edwards defeated Howard Dean in the Iowa Caucuses, the Dean campaign retreated to New Hampshire, where polls consistently showed them in the lead, and where Howard Dean hoped for a come-back by defeating Senator Kerry who came from neighboring Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
Polling after the Iowa Caucuses consistently showed Governor Dean behind Senator Kerry by a wide margin in the run up to the New Hampshire Primary. A poll released from Franklin Pierce College
Franklin Pierce College
Franklin Pierce University is a small, private, regionally-accredited university in rural Rindge, New Hampshire, founded in 1962, combining a liberal arts foundation with coursework for professional preparation...
showed Kerry leading by as much as 30%-16%. However, after a substantial effort by Dean's part on the campaign trail showed Kerry leading 36%-27% in the final poll conducted by Marist College.
However, despite signs showing a Dean surge, Howard Dean lost to John Kerry in the New Hampshire primary 38%-26% which set the tone for future defeats at the hands of Kerry and others.
Wisconsin
After grueling losses to John Kerry in New Hampshire, MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Washington as well as other states, Howard Dean staked his entire campaign on favorable showings in the Wisconsin primary scheduled to take place on February 17, 2004
Following results in 7 Nominating Contests on February 3, 2004, Governor Dean re-organized his strategy be focusing on the Wisconsin primary as a way to upset front runner John Kerry. Dean canceled events throughout Michigan to be able to focus on Wisconsin as well as increasing staff members within Wisconsin. Dean also made a pledge (which he would later retract) that Wisconsin as a "must win" state for him in a fund raising e-mail to supporters. Despite being far behind Kerry in delegates and in popular vote, Dean stressed that Wisconsin could "turn around" the fate of his campaign. Dean also implied that it would give him momentum to win in Super Tuesday nominating contests.
As results were beginning to pour in, major news agencies were quick in projecting Governor Dean as coming in third in Wisconsin based on Exit Polling data alone Final results from Wisconsin showed John Kerry winning with 40% of the vote followed by John Edwards with 34% and Howard Dean coming in third with 18%. As a result of poor contests Dean exited the race the next morning.
Vermont
The 2004 Vermont Democratic Primary was held on March 2, 2004 the same day as 9 other states including CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, a day dubbed "Super Tuesday
Super Tuesday
In the United States, Super Tuesday, in general, refers to the Tuesday in February or March of a presidential election year when the greatest number of states hold primary elections to select delegates to national conventions at which each party's presidential candidates are officially nominated...
" for its massive amount of primaries and caucuses held on a particular Tuesday. Despite the fact that Governor Dean had ended his presidential bid on February 18, Dean's home state of Vermont was scheduled to vote.
Polls closed in Vermont at 7:00 EST
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
along with polls in the state of Georgia. Based on exit polls, CNN projected Howard Dean the winner there.
Much of the reason for Dean's success in his home state of Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
without campaigning was largely due to the fact that John Edwards
John Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...
was not on the ballot in the state. In January, when Howard Dean was still considered the front-runner, Edwards and several other candidates — Rep. Dick Gephardt
Dick Gephardt
Richard Andrew "Dick" Gephardt is a lobbyist and former prominent American politician of the Democratic Party. Gephardt served as a U.S. Representative from Missouri from January 3, 1977, until January 3, 2005, serving as House Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995, and as Minority Leader from 1995 to...
of Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, Al Sharpton
Al Sharpton
Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton, Jr. is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and television/radio talk show host. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential election...
and Sen. Joe Lieberman
Joe Lieberman
Joseph Isadore "Joe" Lieberman is the senior United States Senator from Connecticut. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was the party's nominee for Vice President in the 2000 election. Currently an independent, he remains closely affiliated with the party.Born in Stamford, Connecticut,...
of Connecticut — decided not to file to get on the primary ballot in Dean's home state. The final results for the Vermont primary were Dean with 58%, Kerry with 34% and Kucinich with 4%
Key Results
| Contest | Place | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Iowa Iowa Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New... |
3rd Place | 17% |
| New Hampshire New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian... |
2nd Place | 26% |
| Arizona Arizona Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix... |
3rd Place | 14% |
| Delaware Delaware Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania... |
4th Place | 10% |
| Missouri Missouri Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It... |
3rd Place | 9% |
| New Mexico New Mexico New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S... |
3rd Place | 16% |
| North Dakota North Dakota North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S.... |
3rd Place | 12% |
| Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state... |
5th Place | 4% |
| South Carolina South Carolina South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence... |
5th Place | 5% |
| Michigan Michigan Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake".... |
2nd Place | 17% |
| Washington | 2nd Place | 30% |
| Maine Maine Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost... |
2nd Place | 28% |
| Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area... |
4th Place | 4% |
| Virginia Virginia The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there... |
4th Place | 7% |
| Nevada Nevada Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its... |
2nd Place | 17% |
| Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is... |
3rd Place | 18% |
| Vermont Vermont Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England... |
WIN | 54% |
- Dean won the nominating contest (Vermont)
- Dean came in either second or third in the nominating Contest (Iowa, New Hampshire, Arizona, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Michigan, Washington, Maine, and Wisconsin)
- Dean came in 4th place or lower in the nominating contest (Delaware, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia)
Withdrawal
Dean withdrew from the Democratic race on February 18, 2004 following poor showings in the Wisconsin primary. Dean dropped out of the race at a rally in Burlington, VermontBurlington, Vermont
Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....
saying "I am no longer actively pursuing the presidency". Dean continued to advise his supporters to fight on saying "Sending delegates to the convention only continues to energize our party. Fight on in the caucuses; we are on the ballots. Use your network to send progressive delegates to the convention in Boston.... We are not going away, we are staying together, unified, all of us."
After withdrawing from the campaign, Dean founded the group Democracy for America
Democracy for America
Democracy for America is a progressive, people-powered political action committee, headquartered in South Burlington, Vermont. Founded by former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean in 2004, DFA leads public awareness campaigns on a variety of public policy issues, trains activists,...
in March 2004 a month after his withdrawal from the presidential race. The group was dedicated to ensuring a Democratic victory in the 2004 Election.
Endorsement
Dean endorsed presumptive nominee Senator John KerryJohn Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
on March 25, 2004 at a rally at George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
. Dean, who was one of the favored candidates among young voters, was enthusiastically received by the crowd of college students.
There had been some speculation that Howard Dean would endorse John Edwards before the Super Tuesday nominating contests on March 2, as Edwards's political stances were more in line with Dean's. However, Dean did not comment on the Presidential field before Super Tuesday, when John Edwards dropped out of the race after failing to win a single contest.
Fundraising
In the "invisible primary" of raising campaign dollars, Howard Dean led the Democratic pack in the early stages of the 2004 campaign. Among the candidates, he ranked first in total raised ($25.4 million as of September 30, 2003) and first in cash-on-hand ($12.4 million). However, even this performance paled next to that of George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, who by that date had raised $84.6 million for the Republican primary campaign, in which he had no real challenger. Prior to the 2004 primary season, the Democratic record for most money raised in one quarter by a primary candidate was held by Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
in 1995, raising $10.3 million during a campaign in which he had no primary opponent. In the third quarter of 2003, the Dean campaign raised $14.8 million, shattering Clinton's record. All told, Dean's campaign raised around $50 million.
While presidential campaigns have traditionally obtained finance by tapping wealthy, established political donors, Dean's funds came largely in small donations over the Internet; the average overall donation size was just under $80. This method of fundraising offered several important advantages over traditional fundraising, in addition to the inherent media interest in what was then a novelty. First, raising money on the Internet was relatively inexpensive, compared to conventional methods such as events, telemarketing, and direct mail campaigns. Secondly, as donors on average contributed far less than the legal limit ($2,000 per individual), the campaign could continue to resolicit them throughout the election season.
Dean's director of grassroots fundraising, Larry Biddle, came up with the idea of the popular fundraising "bat", an image of a cartoon baseball player and bat which appeared on the site every time the campaign launched a fundraising challenge. The bat encouraged Web site visitors to contribute money immediately through their credit cards. This would lead to the bat filling up like a thermometer
Thermometer
Developed during the 16th and 17th centuries, a thermometer is a device that measures temperature or temperature gradient using a variety of different principles. A thermometer has two important elements: the temperature sensor Developed during the 16th and 17th centuries, a thermometer (from the...
with the red color indicating the total funds. The site often took suggestions from the netroots
Netroots
Netroots is a term coined in 2002 by Jerome Armstrong to describe political activism organized through blogs and other online media, including wikis and social network services. The word is a portmanteau of Internet and grassroots, reflecting the technological innovations that set netroots...
on their blog. One of these suggestions led to one of the campaigns biggest accomplishments — an image of Dean eating a turkey sandwich encouraged supporters to donate $250,000 in three days to match a big-donor dinner by Vice President Dick Cheney. The online contributions from that day matched what Cheney made from his fundraiser.
In November 2003, after a much-publicized online vote among his followers, Dean became the first Democrat to forgo federal matching funds (and the spending limits that go with them) since the system was established in 1974. (John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
later followed his lead.) In addition to state-by-state spending limits for the primaries, the system limits a candidate to spending only $44.6 million until the Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
in July, which sum would almost certainly run out soon after the early primary season. (George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
declined federal matching funds in 2000 and did so again for the 2004 campaign.)
In a sign that the Dean campaign was starting to think beyond the primaries, they began in late 2003 to speak of a "$100 revolution" in which 2 million Americans would give $100 in order to compete with Bush.
Impact
While his presidential bid ultimately ended in failure, Dean's campaign served to frame the White House race by tapping in to voters' concerns about the war in Iraq, energizing Democrats, and sharpening criticism of incumbent George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. Dean's lone Pennsylvania delegate, State Rep. Mark B. Cohen
Mark B. Cohen
Mark B. Cohen is a Democratic politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Succeeding Eugene Gelfand, he has represented Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 202 in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives since June 10, 1974, making him the most senior member in the Pennsylvania...
of Philadelphia, said Dean's decision, ultimately emulated by Kerry, to forgo primary federal matching funds and exceed the matching fund spending limits "marked the day the Democratic Party became a serious contender for national power in 2004."
On October 11, 2007 it was reported that Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
and George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
were in early talks about making a "political thriller" based on Howard Dean's 2004 campaign, tentatively titled Farragut North. The movie is based on a play of the same name
Farragut North (play)
Farragut North is a 2008 play written by Beau Willimon, loosely based on the 2004 Democratic primary campaign of Howard Dean. The original script won the 2005 Dayton Playhouse FutureFest , where it was first produced, to rave reviews by critics and a warm response from audiences...
, which is also the name of a Washington Metro station
Farragut North (Washington Metro)
Farragut North is a Washington Metro station in Washington, D.C., on the Red Line.Farragut North serves downtown Washington and is located just north of Farragut Square. It lies at the heart of the business district on Connecticut Avenue, with two entrances at L Street and one at K Street...
, by former Dean communications director Beau Wilmon. Wilmon went on to work as traveling press secretary for Hillary Clinton during her 2008 presidential campaign
Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2008
New York junior Senator and former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton had expressed interest in the 2008 United States presidential election since at least October 2002, drawing media speculation on whether she would become a candidate. No woman has ever won the nomination of a major party in the...
.
In November 2008, a documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about Dean and the campaign, Dean and Me
Dean and Me
Dean and Me: Roadshow of an American Primary is a 2008 documentary film about Howard Dean and his 2004 Presidential campaign.The film was directed by Heath Eiden, co-produced by Eiden, Iris Cahn, and Deanna Kamiel, and features Dean, Al Franken, Michael Moore, Ted Kennedy, Walter Mondale, Hillary...
, was released and shown at several film festivals.