President Bush and Senator Kerry coalitions of the 2004 Election
             The Committee for the Study of the American Electorate reported that more than 122 million people voted in the November election, a number that translates into the highest turnout -- 60.7 percent -- since 1968. President Bush officially won 62,028,719 votes, which was 50.8 percent of the ballots cast and 11.5 million more than he won in 2000. Senator John F. Kerry took 48.3 percent, or 59,028,550 votes.
             The organizations found that Kerry ran behind his party's statewide candidates like governors and senators, who were up for election in 30 of 37 states. President Bush ran ahead of similar State GOP candidates in 21 out of 37 States. President Bush increased his support all across the board; not only did he largely retain his 2000 voters, but he gained support from millions of people who either opposed him or didn't even bother to vote in 2000. This is the reward of excellent, courageous leadership and the good news is that President Bush shows no signs of slackening his pace in his second term.
             Senator John Kerry managed to get eight million more votes than Gore did in 2000 - the bad news for Kerry (aside from the fact that President Bush got 11.5 million more votes than he did in 2004) is that he ran behind Democratic candidates (for governor, etc) in 30 out of 37 states, while President Bush ran ahead of similar State GOP candidates in 21 out of 37 states.
             The Democrats showed weaknesses in the election, particularly in the South and among white working-class voters, but they also displayed continuing strength among constituencies that will command a growing share of the electorate in years to come. These include minorities, single men and women, and college-educated voters.
             The Democrats also demonstrated surprising strength among younger voters-partly, to be sure, because of the Iraq War, but also because these voters are in tun...