The 2004 United States presidential election was the 55th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. The incumbent Democratic President Joseph Isadore Lieberman and his running mate Vice President John McCain were elected to a second term, defeating the Republican ticket of John Ellis "Jeb" Bush, the Governor of Florida and his running mate George Pataki, Governor from New York.
Following the September 11 attacks, the death of President Albert Gore, and the destruction of the White House, the Twin Towers and significant damage to the Pentagon, Lieberman ascended to the position of President of the United States. While immensely popular early in his term, by 2004 he was significantly unpopular in his own party, and became the first incumbent President since Carter to have to campaign against his primary challenge, Paul Wellstone.
Lieberman is notable for becoming the first Jewish President of the United States in 2001, and in 2004 he became the first Jewish person to be elected President. By 2004, the main issues were the wars in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Libya, and Sudan. President Liberman won by sweeping the Northeastern states and several Western states, becoming the first Democrat President to win no states in the former Confederacy.
Jeb Bush, brother of 2000 nominee George Bush, and son of President George H. W. Bush, ran a centrist campaign and attempted to appeal to moderate Democrats (even attempting to persuade Zell Miller to switch parties the same way John McCain had before he was appointed Vice-President). After that failed, and faced with a potential upheaval at the Republican convention, he picked New York Governor George Pataki, and invested significant time and money in winning his state. To this day it is the last time a Republican has won more than 45% of the vote in New York.