Oregon was won by Democratic nominee John Kerry by a 4.16 point margin of victory. Prior to the election, news organizations considered the state a tossup or leaning Kerry. A moderate amount of campaigning took place here, as Kerry won every poll after October 14, each with between 47% and 53% of the vote. Despite the state having been very competitive and being barely won by Al Gorefour years earlier, Oregon is a consistent blue state that no Republican has won in a presidential election since Ronald Reagan in 1984. Kerry won this state with a modest margin, indicating Oregon's Democratic trend. This is the most recent presidential election in which Oregon was considered a swing state.[1]
As of the 2024 presidential election[update], this is the last election in which Clackamas County voted for a Republican presidential candidate as well as the final time the state's margin would be in the single digits,[2] and the last time a Republican received more than 45% of the state's vote. This election marked the first time in history that a Republican has been elected twice as president without ever carrying Oregon.
