California Democratic primary, 2004

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March 2, 2004 (2004-03-02)

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Candidate	John Kerry	John Edwards
Home state	Massachusetts	North Carolina
Delegate count	288	82
Popular vote	2,002,539	614,441
Percentage	64.44%	19.77%

The California Democratic primary, 2004 was held on March 2, 2004, the same day as the Republican primary. Senator John Kerry overwhelmingly won the primary over rivals Senator John Edwards, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, and Reverend Al Sharpton. The primary was open to both registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters. 440 delegates were at stake, with 370 tied to the March primary.

With the Wisconsin Primary results which pitted John Kerry and John Edwards in a close fight and Dean's withdrawal from the race, the campaign moved to Super Tuesday Contests. California shared its primary with 9 other states including New York and Ohio who also placed their primaries on March 2, 2004 or Super Tuesday.

For months Governor Dean had been leading in California, but since he's fall and Kerry's rise, polls in California were mixed. However, when Dean exited the race polls showed Kerry with over 2:1 leads over contender John Edwards.

Following victories in Idaho Utah and Hawaii, Kerry moved into Super Tuesday Contests swiftly and with major momentum. With polls showing him ahead in big Super Tuesday states such as California, New York, and Ohio, Kerry was positive on big wins in all three.

However, Kerry campaigned hard in the Golden State to and didn't take competition from Edwards and Kucinich lightly. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Senator had spent 5 additional days in the state than any other candidate competing in the state as well as the fact that Kerry has increased State Staffers by 25 and increased Volunteer Numbers by hundreds in mid-February to ensure a sweep through the California Primary.

John Edwards, having come out with a strong second place showing in Wisconsin (losing to Kerry 40%-34%), claimed significant momentum heading into California and other Super Tuesday Nominating Contests on the same day.

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