2004 North Carolina's 1st congressional district special election

The 2004 United States House of Representatives special election in North Carolina's 1st congressional district was held on July 20, 2004, to select the successor to Frank Ballance (D) who resigned due to health concerns and ongoing investigations which would ultimately culminate in criminal convictions on charges of committing money laundering and mail fraud. The election was won by a wide margin by former State Supreme Court Associate Justice G. K. Butterfield.

North Carolina's 1st congressional district special election, 2004

← 2002 July 20, 2004 (2004-07-20) November 2004 →
 
Nominee G. K. Butterfield Greg Dority
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 48,567 18,491
Percentage 71.15% 27.09%

County results
Butterfield:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Representative before election

Frank Ballance
Democratic

Elected Representative

G. K. Butterfield
Democratic

Republicans did not seriously contest this election given the strong Democratic tilt of the district, which has not elected a Republican to the United States House of Representatives since Reconstruction nor been represented by a moderate to conservative Representative since 1992 when Walter B. Jones, Sr. (D), the father of former 3rd District Representative Walter B. Jones, Jr. (R) died.

Party primaries

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Each party held a nominating convention to choose their nominee for the special election. Democrats nominated Superior Court Judge and former State Supreme Court Associate Justice G. K. Butterfield,[1] while Republicans chose security consultant Greg Dority.[2] Butterfield overwhelmingly won the election to fill out the rest of Ballance's unexpired term.[3] On the same day, he and Dority both won their respective parties' primaries and would face each other again in the November general election, which Butterfield would win.[4]

Election results

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Special election results[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic G. K. Butterfield 48,567 71.15
Republican Greg Dority 18,491 27.09
Libertarian Thomas I. Eisenmenger 1,201 1.76
Total votes 68,259 100.00
Democratic hold

References

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  1. ^ "Our Campaigns - NC District 1 - D Nomination Race - Jun 14, 2004".
  2. ^ "Our Campaigns - Race -".
  3. ^ Cindy George, "Former Justice Wins 1st District; Butterfield Fills Ballance's Seat," 21 July 2004, News and Observer:A16, Retrieved March 2, 2010
  4. ^ William L. Holmes, "Butterfield Wins Special Election; Will Face Dority in November," 21 July 2004, Associated Press, Retrieved March 2, 2010
  5. ^ "Our Campaigns - NC 1st District Special Election Run - July 20, 2004". www.ourcampaigns.com.
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