2004 Arizona Democratic presidential primary

Howard Dean was the early favourite for the primary but by the time of the primary he had lost ground to both Wesley Clark and John Kerry. Kerry surged strongly in the polls after he had established himself as the strong frontrunner for the nomination in Iowa and New Hampshire. Exit polls showed Kerry did well among the half of voters who made up their minds in the last week before the primary.^[2]

Endorsements

Wesley Clark got the endorsement of former Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona Paul Johnson^[3] while Kerry got the endorsements of several state officials. Howard Dean received the endorsement of former Governor Bruce Babbitt.^[3] However Governor Janet Napolitano avoided endorsing any of the candidates and only endorsed John Kerry after the primary was finished on March 1.^[4]

Joe Lieberman made the most visits of any of the candidates to Arizona and this helped him to get the endorsement of Phoenix newspaper, The Arizona Republic.^[1]

Polling

Source: Arizona - 2004 Presidential Polls

Statewide results

Reaction

John Kerry welcomed the results saying

"I am stunned by the results and truly honored and humbled by the confidence that so many voters in Arizona have shown me today".^[2]

Analysis

On Mini Tuesday,