2004 Delaware gubernatorial election

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates The 2004 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 2004, coinciding with the U.S. presidential election. Incumbent Governor Ruth Ann Minner faced a serious challenge from retired Superior Court Judge Bill Lee but managed a five-point victory on election day. As of 2026, this is the last time Kent County voted Republican in a gubernatorial election, and the last time the Republican gubernatorial nominee won a majority of Delaware's counties.

Primaries

Democratic Party

• Ruth Ann Minner, incumbent Governor of Delaware

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Ruth Ann Minner (incumbent)		100.00

Republican Party

• Bill Lee, former Delaware Superior Court Justice
• David Charles Graham, state government employee
• Michael D. Protack, pilot

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
		Bill Lee		70.47
		Michael D. Protack		23.57
		David Charles Graham		5.96
Total votes				100.00

Independent Party/Libertarian Party

• Frank Infante, Independent Party of Delaware and Libertarian Party of Delaware fusion ticket nominee

Campaign

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball	Template:USRaceRating	November 1, 2004

Results

Template:Election box winning candidate with party link

Delaware gubernatorial election, 2004

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Bill Lee	167,008	45.79%
		Frank Infante	12,203	3.34%
Majority			18,540	5.08%
Turnout			364,759
	hold		Swing

By county

By county

County Ruth Ann Minner Democratic William Lee Republican All Others # % # % # % style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Kent style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |22,324 style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |40.67 style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |28,562 style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |52.03 4,006 7.3 style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |New Castle style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |128,953 style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |55.26 style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |99,479 style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |42.63 4,942 2.12 style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Sussex style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |34,271 style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |44.8 style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |38,967 style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |50.94 3,255 4.26 Totals 185,548 50.87 167,008 45.79 12,203 3.35 Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Kent (largest city: Dover) Sussex (largest city: Seaford)

See also

• Politics of Delaware