Reply #30: Here are the NC numbers for 2000 and 2004: [View All]

[PeaceProgProsp]

NC 2000:
Democrat 1,257,692 43.15% Vice President Albert A. "Al" Gore, Jr.
Republican 1,631,163 55.96% Governor George W. Bush
(14 Electoral Votes)

NC 2004
Republican 1,961,166 56.02% President George W. Bush (office website)
(15 Electoral Votes)
Democrat 1,525,849 43.58% Senator John Kerry (office website)

For fun, we can compare Gore's home state:

TN 2000
Democrat 981,720 47.28% Vice President Albert A. "Al" Gore, Jr.
Republican 1,061,949 51.15% Governor George W. Bush
(11 Electoral Votes)

TN 2004
Republican 1,384,375 56.80% President George W. Bush (office website)
(11 Electoral Votes)
Democrat 1,036,477 42.53% Senator John Kerry (office website)

And now, a randomly selected third Southern state, say, Georgia:

GA 2000
Democrat 1,116,230 42.99% Vice President Albert A. "Al" Gore, Jr.
Republican 1,419,720 54.68% Governor George W. Bush
(13 Electoral Votes)

GA 2004
Republican 1,914,254 57.97% President George W. Bush (office website)
(15 Electoral Votes)
Democrat 1,366,149 41.37% Senator John Kerry (office website)

I'm not going to check, but I wouldn't be surprised if NC were the only southern state where Kerry did better than Gore. Any theories about what that was the case?