2004 Bush-Gore rematches

[Sir Mohamed]

Say we have two 2004 scenarios as a rematch: On Earth 1, Al Gore seeks a rematch against W and wins the nomination instead of Kerry. On Earth 2, Gore wins FL in 2000 and the presidency. In 2004, W seeks a rematch and is the GOP nominee.

[HillGoose]

Earth 1:

Gore does better than Kerry, but Bush still wins the EC 276 - 262 and the PV 50.1% to 49.0%

Earth 2:

I'm assuming 9/11 still happens as OTL, but Gore doesn't invade Iraq. With foreign policy still a strong issue (although less than OTL) I feel the right attacks Gore for not invading Iraq and being "weak on terror" while the sluggish economy becomes Gore's ultimate downfall. Bush wins with 331 EVs and 51.3% of the PV to Gore's 207 EVs and 47.7% of the PV.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Gore, was not gonna run in 2004, that's why he endorsed Howard Dean. He deemed himself as too polarizing during the FL recount to be an effective candidate.

[President Johnson]

On Earth 1, the election map looks as it did in 2004 against Kerry. New Mexico could go either way, but not that it matters for the overall outcome.


If Al Gore is the incumbent president, I think he would have won a second term due to being a competent president. And losers usually lose again in rematches unless their former opponent and now incumbent president is a complete disaster. In 2008, Hillary is the nominee and loses to McCain or Romney.

✓ President Albert Arnold Gore (D-TN)/Vice President Joseph Lieberman (D-CT): 293 EV. (50.27%)
Former Governor George W. Bush (R-TX)/Former Governor Tom Ridge (R-PA): 245 EV. (48.14%)

[brucejoel99]

On Earth 1, beating Bush could've been tough. It was basically 50-50 in 2000, but now Bush would have the incumbency advantage. Still, Kerry only lost by 2.5 points, & Gore would probably be a stronger candidate than Kerry. My guess is probably another 50-50 proposition w/ Bush eeking out a tiny victory again, but this time he gets the popular vote too.

On Earth 2, the rematch would be a very tough race. It all depends on how Gore won the election of 2000. 9/11 may or may not have happened. But Gore vs. Bush 2.0 is definitely a tough race. The last time a political party won 4 elections in a row was FDR in '44. Though if Gore had a 9/11 war to fight, then he might've used the "don't change horses in midstream" narrative that other war Presidents have used to win re election. Remember, on 9/10, a lot of people thought Bush would be an one-term President. Then the war(s) changed everything.