Maryland was won by Democratic nominee John Kerry by a 12.98% margin of victory. Prior to the election, all twelve news organizations considered this a state Kerry would win, or otherwise considered as a safe blue state. The last Republican to carry the state in a presidential election was Bush's father George H. W. Bush in 1988. As of the 2020 election, this is the last time a Republican presidential candidate won more than 40% of the vote in Maryland, the only time a Republican presidential candidate received more than a million votes in Maryland, and the last time a Democratic presidential nominee has failed to both break 60% of the vote and win by less than a 15% margin in Maryland. This is also the last time that Maryland shifted rightward compared to the previous election. Bush's 1,024,703 votes is the most received by a Republican presidential candidate in the state's history.
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