2004Flipped from DemocraticFinal results
2004 election for U.S. Senate in North Carolina
U.S. Senate · North Carolina
Richard Burr (R) won with 51.6% of the vote, defeating Erskine Bowles (D) by 4.6 points, a seat Democrats won last time.
Richard BurrRepublican · winner
51.6%1,791,450
Erskine BowlesDemocrat
47.0%1,632,527
Tom BaileyLibertarian
1.4%47,743
3,472,082 votes
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 2004
Races before and after
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
Money in this race
Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.
Erskine BowlesRichard Burr
$13.4M
Raised by the campaign
$13M
$13.4M
Spent by the campaign
$12.9M
$76.8K
Cash on hand
$98.1K
Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 31, 2004.
Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 2004