2000 United States presidential election
President: | George W. Bush (Republican) | ||
---|---|---|---|
Main Opponent: | Al Gore (Democrat) | ||
Electoral Vote: | Winner: 271 | Main Opponent: 266 | Total/Majority: 538/270 |
Popular Vote: | Winner: 50,455,156 | Main Opponent: 50,992,335 | |
Vice President: | Richard Cheney (271) | ||
V.P. Opponent: | Joseph Lieberman (266) | ||
Other elections | 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 |
The year 2000 election for the President of the United States was one of the closest and most controversial Presidential elections in the history of the United States. The election was marked by the extraordinarily close vote in Florida, whose electoral votes determined the election. The counting and recounting of Florida presidential ballots extended for more than a month following the election. In the end, a split decision by the U.S. Supreme Court ended the election, and Texas Governor George W. Bush was elected president, and Vice President Albert Arnold Gore came in second, although he actually scored a higher percentage of the vote. It was the second time that a candidate who did not get the largest share of the votes got a majority of the electoral committee, the first time being in the 1960 elections.
Republican Primary
The Republican Party primary came down to a race between Bush and Arizona Senator John McCain. McCain's campaign, centered on Campaign finance reform, drew the most press coverage and the greatest popular excitement. Many Republicans complained that Democrats and other non-Republicans enrolled in the party for the express purpose of voting for McCain, thus skewing the results. Bush's campaign focused on compassionate conservatism, including a greater role for the federal government in funding education and large reductions in the income and capital gains tax rates.
McCain won 48% of the vote to Bush's 30% in the New Hampshire primary, the first primary held, giving his campaign a great boost of energy, volunteers, and donations.
Other candidates included: political activist Gary Bauer, businessman Steve Forbes, Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, minister Alan Keyes, former Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander, former Red Cross director Elizabeth Dole, Ohio Congressman John Kasich, and former Vice President Dan Quayle.
Bauer and Hatch campaigned on a traditional Republican platform of opposition to legalized abortion and reductions in U.S. taxes. Keyes had a far more conservative platform, calling for the elimination of all federal taxes except tariffs. Steve Forbes campaigned on making the federal income tax non-graduated, an idea he called the flat tax.
Democratic Primary
There were two main candidates for the Democrat nomination: Former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley and Al Gore.
Minor Party Candidates
There were five other candidates on the majority of the 51 ballots (50 states plus the District of Columbia): Harry Browne (Libertarian, 50), Pat Buchanan (Reform, 49), Ralph Nader (Green, 44), Howard Phillips (Constitution, 41), and John Hagelin (Natural Law, 38).
Nader's candidacy was the most successful, drawing 2.74% of the popular vote. His campaign was marked by a travelling tour of "super-rallies"; large rallies held in sports arenas like Madison Square Garden, MC-ed by film-maker Michael Moore. After initially ignoring Nader, the Gore campaign made a big publicity pitch to (potential) Nader supporters in the final weeks of the campaign, on the grounds that Gore's ideas were more similar to Nader's ideas than Bush's were, but Gore had a better chance of winning than Nader. In the aftermath of the campaign, many Gore supporters blamed Nader for drawing enough would-be Gore votes to push Bush over Gore, labeling Nader a "spoiler" candidate.
Buchanan's primary battle was especially vicious. In 1992 and 1996, the Reform party had nominated Ross Perot for president, and Buchanan had run for (and lost) the nomination of the Republican Party. Some Reform Party supporters therefore felt that Buchanan was highjacking their party, and tried to nominate Hagelin. The convention ended with the Hagelin supporters walking out and conducting their own parallel convention. Which group was the true Reform Party (and thus entitled to public financing due to their strong showing in the previous election) was decided by lawsuit.
Florida election results
The national television networks called Florida for Gore, then Bush, then announcing it too close to call.
Ballots
- "The result of the 2000 U.S. Presidential race was so close that some Democratic Party officials argue that one Florida county's hard-to-use ballot may have unfairly decided the presidency. Critics argue that some voters in Palm Beach County, Fla. might have accidentally voted for Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan, when they thought they were voting for Al Gore. The Democrats are listed second in the left column; but punching a hole in the second circle actually cast a vote for Buchanan." Why Usability Testing Matters: Palm Beach County Ballot Design Raises Questions about Election 2000
Hanging and pregnant chads.
Overseas votes
Military and non-military.
U.S. Supreme Court
Media post-electoral studies
Full Results
Adapted from http://fecweb1.fec.gov/pubrec/2000presgeresults.htm, a government document.
STATE | Brown | Browne | Buchanan | Bush | Dodge | Gore | Hagelin | Harris |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Totals | 1,606 0.00% |
384,429 0.36% |
448,892 0.42% |
50,455,156 47.87% |
208 0.00% |
50,992,335 48.38% |
83,555 0.08% |
7,378 0.01% |
AL | 5,893 | 6,351 | 941,173 | 692,611 | 447 | |||
AK | 2,636 | 5,192 | 167,398 | 79,004 | 919 | |||
AZ | 12,373 | 781,652 | 685,341 | 1,120 | ||||
AR | 2,781 | 7,358 | 472,940 | 422,768 | 1,098 | |||
CA | 45,520 | 44,987 | 4,567,429 | 5,861,203 | 10,934 | |||
CO | 12,799 | 10,465 | 883,748 | 208 | 738,227 | 2,240 | 216 | |
CT | 3,484 | 4,731 | 561,094 | 816,015 | *40 | *4 | ||
DE | 774 | 777 | 137,288 | 180,068 | 107 | |||
DC | 669 | 18,073 | 171,923 | 114 | ||||
FL | 16,415 | 17,484 | 2,912,790 | 2,912,253 | 2,281 | 562 | ||
GA | 36,332 | 10,926 | 1,419,720 | 1,116,230 | *11 | |||
HI | 1,477 | 1,071 | 137,845 | 205,286 | 306 | |||
ID | 3,488 | 7,615 | 336,937 | 138,637 | 1,177 | |||
IL | 11,623 | 16,106 | 2,019,421 | 2,589,026 | 2,127 | |||
IN | 15,530 | 16,959 | 1,245,836 | 901,980 | *167 | |||
IA | 3,209 | 5,731 | 634,373 | 638,517 | 2,281 | 190 | ||
KS | 4,525 | 7,370 | 622,332 | 399,276 | 1,375 | |||
KY | 2,896 | 4,173 | 872,492 | 638,898 | 1,533 | |||
LA | 2,951 | 14,356 | 927,871 | 792,344 | 1,075 | 1,103 | ||
ME | 3,074 | 4,443 | 286,616 | 319,951 | ||||
MD | 5,310 | 4,248 | 813,797 | 1,140,782 | *176 | |||
MA | 16,366 | 11,149 | 878,502 | 1,616,487 | 2,884 | |||
MI | 16,711 | *1,851 | 1,953,139 | 2,170,418 | 2,426 | |||
MN | 5,282 | 22,166 | 1,109,659 | 1,168,266 | 2,294 | 1,022 | ||
MS | 2,009 | 2,265 | 572,844 | 404,614 | 450 | 613 | ||
MO | 7,436 | 9,818 | 1,189,924 | 1,111,138 | 1,104 | |||
MT | 1,718 | 5,697 | 240,178 | 137,126 | 675 | |||
NE | 2,245 | 3,646 | 433,862 | 231,780 | 478 | |||
NV | 3,311 | 4,747 | 301,575 | 279,978 | 415 | |||
NH | 2,757 | 2,615 | 273,559 | 266,348 | *55 | |||
NJ | 6,312 | 6,989 | 1,284,173 | 1,788,850 | 2,215 | 844 | ||
NM | 2,058 | 1,392 | 286,417 | 286,783 | 361 | |||
NY | 7,649 | 31,599 | 2,403,374 | 4,107,697 | 24,361 | 1,789 | ||
NC | 12,307 | 8,874 | 1,631,163 | 1,257,692 | ||||
ND | 660 | 7,288 | 174,852 | 95,284 | 313 | |||
OH | 13,473 | 26,721 | 2,350,363 | 2,183,628 | 6,181 | *10 | ||
OK | 6,602 | 9,014 | 744,337 | 474,276 | ||||
OR | 7,447 | 7,063 | 713,577 | 720,342 | 2,574 | |||
PA | 11,248 | 16,023 | 2,281,127 | 2,485,967 | ||||
RI | 742 | 2,273 | 130,555 | 249,508 | 271 | 34 | ||
SC | 4,876 | 3,519 | 785,937 | 565,561 | 942 | |||
SD | 1,662 | 3,322 | 190,700 | 118,804 | ||||
TN | 1,606 | 4,284 | 4,250 | 1,061,949 | 981,720 | 613 | ||
TX | 23,160 | 12,394 | 3,799,639 | 2,433,746 | ||||
UT | 3,616 | 9,319 | 515,096 | 203,053 | 763 | 186 | ||
VT | 784 | 2,192 | 119,775 | 149,022 | 219 | 70 | ||
VA | 15,198 | 5,455 | 1,437,490 | 1,217,290 | ||||
WA | 13,135 | 7,171 | 1,108,864 | 1,247,652 | 2,927 | 304 | ||
WV | 1,912 | 3,169 | 336,475 | 295,497 | 367 | |||
WI | 6,640 | 11,471 | 1,237,279 | 1,242,987 | 853 | 306 | ||
WY | 1,443 | 2,724 | 147,947 | 60,481 | 411 |
CHART 2 OF 3
STATE |
Lane | McReynolds | Moorehead | Nader | Phillips | Smith | Venson | Youngkeit |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Totals | 1,044 0.00% |
5,602 0.00% |
4,795 0.00% |
2,882,897 2.74% |
98,020 0.09% |
5,775 0.00% |
535 0.00% |
161 0.00% |
AL | 18,323 | 775 | ||||||
AK | 28,747 | 596 | ||||||
AZ | 45,645 | *110 | 5,775 | |||||
AR | 13,421 | 1,415 | ||||||
CA | *28 | 418,707 | 17,042 | |||||
CO | 712 | 91,434 | 1,319 | |||||
CT | 64,452 | 9,695 | ||||||
DE | 8,307 | 208 | ||||||
DC | 10,576 | |||||||
FL | 622 | 1,804 | 97,488 | 1,371 | ||||
GA | *13,432 | *140 | ||||||
HI | 21,623 | 343 | ||||||
ID | *12,292 | 1,469 | ||||||
IL | *4 | 103,759 | *57 | |||||
IN | *43 | *18,531 | *200 | |||||
IA | 107 | 29,374 | 613 | |||||
KS | 36,086 | 1,254 | ||||||
KY | 23,192 | 923 | ||||||
LA | 20,473 | 5,483 | ||||||
ME | 37,127 | 579 | ||||||
MD | 53,768 | 919 | ||||||
MA | *42 | 173,564 | ||||||
MI | 84,165 | 3,791 | ||||||
MN | 126,696 | 3,272 | ||||||
MS | 8,122 | 3,267 | ||||||
MO | 38,515 | 1,957 | ||||||
MT | 24,437 | 1,155 | ||||||
NE | 24,540 | 468 | ||||||
NV | 15,008 | 621 | ||||||
NH | 22,198 | 328 | ||||||
NJ | 1,880 | 94,554 | 1,409 | |||||
NM | 21,251 | 343 | ||||||
NY | *2 | 244,030 | 1,498 | |||||
NC | *1,226 | |||||||
ND | 9,486 | 373 | ||||||
OH | 117,799 | 3,823 | ||||||
OK | ||||||||
OR | 77,357 | 2,189 | ||||||
PA | 103,392 | 14,428 | ||||||
RI | 52 | 199 | 25,052 | 97 | ||||
SC | 20,200 | 1,682 | ||||||
SD | 1,781 | |||||||
TN | 19,781 | 1,015 | 535 | |||||
TX | *63 | 137,994 | *567 | |||||
UT | 35,850 | 2,709 | 161 | |||||
VT | 1,044 | 161 | 20,374 | 153 | ||||
VA | 59,398 | 1,809 | ||||||
WA | 660 | 1,729 | 103,002 | 1,989 | ||||
WV | 10,680 | *23 | ||||||
WI | 1,063 | 94,070 | 2,042 | |||||
WY | *4,625 | 720 |
CHART 3 OF 3
STATE |
Write-in (Miscellaneous) | None of these candidates | Total votes case | Electoral vote, Bush | Electoral vote, Gore | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Totals | 20,938 0.02% |
3,315 0.00% |
105,396,641 | 271 | 266 | |
AL | 699 | 1,666,272 | 9 | |||
AK | 1,068 | 285,560 | 3 | |||
AZ | 1,532,016 | 8 | ||||
AR | 921,781 | 6 | ||||
CA | 6 | 10,965,856 | 54 | |||
CO | 1,741,368 | 8 | ||||
CT | 10 | 1,459,525 | 8 | |||
DE | 93 | 327,622 | 3 | |||
DC | 539 | 201,894 | 2## | |||
FL | 40 | 5,963,110 | 25 | |||
GA | 13 | 2,596,804 | 13 | |||
HI | # | 367,951 | 4 | |||
ID | 6 | 501,621 | 4 | |||
IL | 4,742,123 | 22 | ||||
IN | 56 | 2,199,302 | 12 | |||
IA | 1,168 | 1,315,563 | 7 | |||
KS | 1,072,218 | 6 | ||||
KY | 80 | 1,544,187 | 8 | |||
LA | # | 1,765,656 | 9 | |||
ME | 27 | 651,817 | 4 | |||
MD | 1,480 | 2,020,480 | 10 | |||
MA | 3,990 | 2,702,984 | 12 | |||
MI | 4,232,501 | 18 | ||||
MN | 28 | 2,438,685 | 10 | |||
MS | 994,184 | 7 | ||||
MO | 2,359,892 | 11 | ||||
MT | 11 | 410,997 | 3 | |||
NE | # | 697,019 | 5 | |||
NV | # | 3,315 | 608,970 | 4 | ||
NH | 1,221 | 569,081 | 4 | |||
NJ | 3,187,226 | 15 | ||||
NM | # | 598,605 | 5 | |||
NY | ** | 6,821,999 | 33 | |||
NC | 2,911,262 | 14 | ||||
ND | 288,256 | 3 | ||||
OH | 4,701,998 | 21 | ||||
OK | # | 1,234,229 | 8 | |||
OR | 3,419 | 1,533,968 | 7 | |||
PA | 934 | 4,913,119 | 23 | |||
RI | 329 | 409,112 | 4 | |||
SC | # | 1,382,717 | 8 | |||
SD | # | 316,269 | 3 | |||
TN | 428 | 2,076,181 | 11 | |||
TX | 74 | 6,407,637 | 32 | |||
UT | 1 | 770,754 | 5 | |||
VT | 514 | 294,308 | 3 | |||
VA | 2,807 | 2,739,447 | 13 | |||
WA | 2,487,433 | 11 | ||||
WV | 1 | 648,124 | 5 | |||
WI | 1,896 | 2,598,607 | 11 | |||
WY | 218,351 | 3 |
Notes on results
*Write-in Votes.
** 138,216 Miscellaneous write-in, blank and void votes were compiled as one total. This figure is not included in Total Votes Cast.
#Write-in votes for Presidential candidates not permitted.
##The District of Columbia has 3 electoral votes. There was 1 abstention.
Total Electoral Vote = 538
Total Electoral Vote Needed to Elect = 270
Recounts
Resources:
See also: President of the United States, U.S. presidential election, 2000