January 19, 2004: A surprise win for Rumsfeld in Iowa. With Kemp and McCain splitting the moderate vote, Rumsfeld’s appeal to Evangelicals and the Christian Right put him over the top. Surprisingly, former presidential candidate McCain came in 3rd behind Kemp, despite leading in polls. Thompson earned a respectable 4th place, while Allard, Johnson and Keyes gained no delegates. Shortly thereafter, Allard dropped out and endorsed Rumsfeld, also a proponent of a federal ban on gay marriage. (Johnson will later leave for the Libertarians, Keyes will leave for Constitution)
January 27, 2004: A win for Kemp in New Hampshire. Though Kemp was expected to win, McCains margin of defeat was much larger than expected.
February 3, 2004: Mini Tuesday. Thompson win in South Carolina. Kemp win in North Dakota. Rumsfeld narrowly wins Oklahoma and Missouri riding the media coverage of his Iowa win. The McCain campaign begins to worry.
February 10, 2004: Kemp win in DC, Thompson win in Tennessee
February 17, 2004: McCain pours lots of money into a Wisconsin win and campaigns with close friend and former senator Bob Kasten. He is narrowly successful but has little money left for Super Tuesday.
February 28, 2004: Reports of Elizabeth Thompson’s mental health problems and her accidental overdose in 2002 that was covered up by her father are leaked to the press.
March 2, 2004: Super Tuesday. Jack Kemp places first in every state but Georgia, where Rumsfeld narrowly beats Thompson.
March 4, 2004: Thompson suspends his campaign, citing the toll of the media coverage on his daughter and his family as the reason. He states he wants to focus on his health and his family, and thanks his supporters. McCain announces the end of his campaign due to a lack of funds and endorses Kemp.
March 9, 2004: Rumsfeld’s campaigns heavily in the south and picks up many Southern donors. Dubya comes out in support for Rumsfeld, seemingly against the wishes of his father and brother. Rumsfeld wins heavily in Texas, Mississippi and Texas, and splits Florida with Kemp.
March 16, 2004: Rumsfeld wins his home state of Illinois
April 20, 2004: Reports of Nick Rumsfeld’s struggles with drug addiction and his admittance in 2001 to a rehabilitation centre are released to the press.
April 24, 2004: Thompson officially drops out and endorses fellow conservative Rumsfeld (After McCain’s campaign ended, Kemp became the new moderate candidate). He attacks the press for unfair coverage of Rumsfeld’s and his own families. Rumsfeld discusses his son's addiction and his own heartbreak over it, garnering sympathy and establishing himself as a law-and-order candidate who will stomp out drug use so that others won’t suffer like his son.
April 27, 2004: Rumsfeld pulls off a narrow win in Pennsylvania.
May 4 and 11, 2004: Rumsfeld wins in Indiana and West Virginia, Kemp and Rumsfeld neck and neck in national polls.
May 18, 2004: Rumsfeld wins Arkansas and Kentucky. Kemp wins Oregon.
Jun 1, 2004: Rumsfeld wins Alabama, New Mexico and South Dakota.
Jun 8, 2004: Kemp wins New Jersey
August 30 – September 2, 2004: During the primaries, the Republican party had been split down the middle by the increasingly moderate Kemp and the increasingly conservative Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld was a surprise to everyone. What had started off as an almost joke candidate, who was even behind the gaffe-able Gary Johnson in the polls, had become a national force. Despite being attacked for his dangerously war-hawkish positions, he had deflected them with charm and, at times, ruthless attacks against his opponents. 2004 had seen bitter primary after bitter primary, but Rumsfeld had come out on top in delegates and had managed to gain the support of McCain, Thompson and Kemp before the convention. The convention went over smoothly, though many Kemp supporters still virulently despised Rumsfeld. Thompson was the favorite for the VP slot, though passed up similarly to Howard Baker in 1976 because of his family situation. Instead, he was promised the State Department. To placate the hostile Kemp supporters, Rumsfeld's knew he needed an ally from their aisle. Though he would have preferred Kemp's close friends Gingrich or Lott, a ticket that conservative would alienate too many supporters. So moderate representative Watts was nominated, with Kemp accepting it as a victory for civil rights.