What states were viewed as competitive during the campaign?

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Were states like Oregon and New Jersey on one side (or Virginia and Colorado on the other) viewed as legitimately competitive during the '04 campaign?

[America's Sweetheart ❤/𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖙𝖞 𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖗]

Bush did put some resources into Oregon and New Jersey, and Colorado was seriously contested by both sides. I don't think Kerry tried to compete in Virginia at all, and he would have been very dumb to do so.

[Obama-Biden Democrat]

RealClearPolitics did have WV, TN, MO, LA and AR listed as swing states. It was only 8 years earlier, in 1996 that Bill Clinton swept all of them. Although I do remember thinking back then that if Southern Democrat Al Gore lost all of them in 2000, how could a Yankee from New England win them over in 2004?

[SenatorCouzens]

Were states like Oregon and New Jersey on one side (or Virginia and Colorado on the other) viewed as legitimately competitive during the '04 campaign?

They were never considered top tier swing states, but there were moments in the final couple months where it looked like Bush was headed to a sizable victory (the sizable part obviously never materialized), and there was some speculation/uncertainty about these two states. Remember Oregon was extremely close in 2000. As for New Jersey, I recall the speculation about that state being in play for Bush was all in relation to NJ's satisfaction in Bush's response to 9/11.

And while polarization was very much a thing in the lead up to this election, the red state / blue state polarization polarization polarization world we live in wasn't really locked in until after this election, which resulted in a nearly identical, closely divided map as 4 years prior.

[NCJeff]

RealClearPolitics did have WV, TN, MO, LA and AR listed as swing states. It was only 8 years earlier, in 1996 that Bill Clinton swept all of them. Although I do remember thinking back then that if Southern Democrat Al Gore lost all of them in 2000, how could a Yankee from New England win them over in 2004?

Not to mention that among these five states there were six Democratic senators (woulda been seven if Carnahan had not been killed) and a couple of Democratic governors.  I'd imagine Democrats had the registration advantage in three or four if not all five?

[DabbingSanta]

NY Times map in May 2004:

Source:
https://uselectionatlas.org/INFORMATION/ARTICLES/electoralmap.php

[Samof94]

John Edwards was clearly there as a half hearted attempt to try Clinton again, but it didn’t work at all. The 2004 South wasn’t the 2020 South. Bush won Harris County in a way Trump would struggle in.

[Chips]

OR
NV
CO
NM
IA
MN
WI
MI
OH
PA
NH
FL