2000 United States presidential election

Election of George W. Bush related races 2000 United States elections yes January 2025 December 2017 2000 United States presidential election United States 1900 presidential no 1996 United States presidential election 1996 November 7, 2000 2004 United States presidential election 2004 538 members of the Electoral College 270 electoral 54.2%http://www.electproject.org/national-1789-present National General Election VEP Turnout Rates, 1789-Present United States Election Project CQ Press February 21, 2023 July 25, 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140725110444/http://www.electproject.org/national-1789-present live 1996 51.7 […] 2000 54.2 2.5 pp x200px GeorgeWBush (1).jpg George W. Bush Republican Party (United States) Texas Dick Cheney 271 30 50,456,002 50,456,002 105,405,100 1 yes Al Gore, Vice President of the United States, official portrait 1994 (3x4 close cropped).jpg Al Gore Democratic Party (United States) Tennessee Joe Lieberman 266"Discrepancy Between Pledged Elector Tally and Electoral Vote for Gore/Lieberman" 267 electors pledged to the Gore/Lieberman ticket were elected; however, an elector from the District of Columbia cast a blank ballot for president and vice president, bringing the ticket's total number of electoral votes to 266. 20 + DC 50,999,897 50,999,897 105,405,100 1 yes 350px Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Bush/Cheney and blue denotes those won by Gore/Lieberman. Numbers indicate electoral votes cast by each state and the District of Columbia. One of D.C.'s three electors cast a blank ballot for president and vice president. President Bill Clinton Democratic Party (United States) George W. Bush Republican Party (United States) Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 7, 2000. The Republican ticket of Texas governor George W. Bush and former secretary of defense Dick Cheney narrowly defeated the Democratic ticket of incumbent vice president Al Gore and Connecticut junior senator Joe Lieberman. It was the fourth of five U.S. presidential elections, and the first since 1888, in which the winning candidate lost the popular vote. By number of votes that could have changed the outcome, it is the closest presidential election in U.S. history. The result remains controversial. https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/elections/5-of-the-closest-presidential-elections-in-us-history 5 of the closest Presidential elections in US history Haddad Ken November 7, 2016 WDIV en-US September 1, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190110183524/https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/elections/5-of-the-closest-presidential-elections-in-us-history January 10, 2019 live https://www.fosters.com/zz/elections/20161101/5-of-closest-presidential-elections-in-us-history/1 5 of the closest presidential elections in U.S. history Fain Thom fosters.com en September 1, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190110183510/https://www.fosters.com/zz/elections/20161101/5-of-closest-presidential-elections-in-us-history/1 January 10, 2019 live https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2017/07/23/top-9-closest-us-presidential-elections-since-1945/ Top 9 closest US presidential elections since 1945 Wood Richard July 25, 2017 Here Is The City en September 1, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190110133656/https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2017/07/23/top-9-closest-us-presidential-elections-since-1945/ January 10, 2019 live Incumbent Democratic president Bill Clinton was ineligible to run for a third term due to term limits established by the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution. Incumbent vice president Gore easily secured the Democratic nomination, defeating former New Jersey senator Bill Bradley in the primaries. He selected Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman as his running mate. Bush—the eldest son of former president George H. W. Bush—was seen as the early favorite for the Republican nomination, and after a contentious primary battle with Arizona senator John McCain and others, he secured the nomination by Super Tuesday. He selected former secretary of defense Dick Cheney as his running mate. Both major-party candidates focused primarily on domestic issues, such as the budget, tax relief, and reforms for federal social insurance programs, although foreign policy was not ignored. Due to President Clinton's sex scandal with Monica Lewinsky and subsequent impeachment, Gore avoided campaigning with Clinton. Republicans denounced Clinton's indiscretions, while Gore criticized Bush's lack of experience. On election night, it was unclear who had won, with the electoral votes of the state of Florida still undecided. It took over a month to resolve the issue: recounts were started and halted (some due to protest), and ensuing litigation was settled by the highly controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision Bush v. Gore, which ensured that Florida's electoral votes went to Bush, tipping the election in his favor. Without a full recount, Bush carried Florida by only 537 votes out of 5.96 million cast in the state (a margin of 0.009%). Ultimately, Bush won 271 electoral votes, one vote more than the 270 required to win, while Gore won the popular vote by 543,895 votes (a margin of 0.52% of all votes cast).Federal Elections 2000: 2000 Presidential Electoral and Popular Vote Table https://transition.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2000/elecpop.htm Federal Election Commission March 22, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20120912083944/http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/2000presgeresults.htm September 12, 2012 dead December 2001 Bush flipped 11 states that had voted Democratic in 1996: Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Despite Gore's loss, this election marked the first time since 1948 that the Democratic Party won the popular vote in three consecutive elections. Background United States presidential election#Procedure thumb|200x200px|Bill Clinton, the incumbent president in 2000, whose second term expired at noon on January 20, 2001 President Bill Clinton, a Democrat and former governor of Arkansas, was ineligible to seek reelection to a third term due to the Twenty-second Amendment; in accordance with Section1 of the Twentieth Amendment, his term expired at noon Eastern Standard Time on January 20, 2001. Republican Party nomination George W. Bush 2000 presidential campaign 2000 Republican Party presidential primaries 2000 Republican National Convention 65px|center|link=Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party (United States)2000 Republican Party ticket white George W. Bush white Dick Cheneyfor Presidentfor Vice President center|200x200px center|200x200px 46thGovernor of Texas(1995–2000) 17thU.S. Secretary of Defense(1989–1993)Campaigncenter|200x200px Withdrawn candidates Candidates in this section are sorted by popular vote from the primariesJohn McCainAlan KeyesSteve ForbesGary BauerOrrin HatchElizabeth DolePat Buchananalt=|center|120x120pxalt=|center|120x120pxalt=|center|120x120pxalt=|center|120x120pxalt=|center|120x120pxalt=|center|120x120pxalt=|center|120x120pxU.S. Senatorfrom Arizona(1987–2018)Asst. Secretary of State(1985–1987)BusinessmanU.S. Under Secretary of Education(1985–1987)U.S. Senatorfrom Utah(1977–2019)U.S. Secretary of Labor(1989–1990)White House Communications Director(1985–1987)alt=|center|100x100pxalt=|center|100x100pxalt=|center|100x100pxalt=|center|100x100pxalt=|center|100x100pxalt=|center|100x100pxalt=|center|100x100pxCampaignCampaignCampaignCampaignCampaignCampaignCampaignW: March 96,457,696 votesW: July 251,009,232 votesW: Feb 10151,362 votesW: Feb 465,128 votesW: Jan 2620,408 votesW: Oct 20 231 votesW: Oct 25 Ran for the Reform Party nomination 0 votes Primaries Bush became the early front-runner, acquiring unprecedented funding and a broad base of leadership support based on his governorship of Texas, the Bush family's name recognition, and connections in American politics. Former cabinet member George Shultz played an important early role in securing establishment Republican support for Bush. In April 1998, he invited Bush to discuss policy issues with experts including Michael Boskin, John Taylor, and Condoleezza Rice, who later became his secretary of state. The group, which was "looking for a candidate for 2000 with good political instincts, someone they could work with", was impressed, and Shultz encouraged him to enter the race.Frontline Frontline (U.S. TV series) PBS WGBH-TV Boston October 12, 2004 The Choice https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/choice2004/etc/script.html Several aspirants withdrew before the Iowa caucuses because they did not secure funding and endorsements sufficient to remain competitive with Bush. These included Elizabeth Dole, Dan Quayle, Lamar Alexander, and Bob Smith. Pat Buchanan dropped out to run for the Reform Party nomination. That left Bush, John McCain, Alan Keyes, Steve Forbes, Gary Bauer, and Orrin Hatch as the only candidates still in the race. On January 24, Bush won the Iowa caucuses with 41% of the vote. Forbes came in second with 30% of the vote. Keyes received 14%, Bauer 9%, McCain 5%, and Hatch 1%.http://p2000.us/chrniowa.html Iowa Caucuses January 24, 2000 www.gwu.edu George Washington University October 28, 2023 October 28, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20231028160053/https://p2000.us/chrniowa.html live Two days later, Hatch dropped out and endorsed Bush.January 27, 2000 The 2000 Campaign; Crushed in Iowa, Hatch Abandons Campaign and Endorses Bush 22 The New York Times Associated Press https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/27/us/the-2000-campaign-crushed-in-iowa-hatch-abandons-campaign-and-endorses-bush.html live June 15, 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220501031435/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/27/us/the-2000-campaign-crushed-in-iowa-hatch-abandons-campaign-and-endorses-bush.html May 1, 2022 0362-4331 The national media portrayed Bush as the establishment candidate. With the support of many moderate Republicans and independents, McCain portrayed himself as a crusading insurgent who focused on campaign reform.How McCain Does It https://www.newsweek.com/id/83219?tid=relatedcl Thomas Evan Evan Thomas Isikoff Michael Michael Isikoff Newsweek March 5, 2000 November 4, 2023 On February 1, McCain, who had skipped the caucuses in order to divert resources toward New Hampshire and South Carolina, won a surprising 49–30% victory over Bush in the New Hampshire primary.Dan Balz McCain Stuns Bush in N.H. Primary The Washington Post February 2, 2000 https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/2000-02/02/012r-020200-idx.html October 28, 2023 February 11, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160211212752/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/2000-02/02/012r-020200-idx.html live Bauer subsequently dropped out, followed by Forbes, who had won no primaries after spending $32 million of his own money on his campaign.Leslie Wayne Forbes Spent Millions, but for Little Gain The New York Times February 10, 2000 https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/10/us/the-2000-campaign-the-end-forbes-spent-millions-but-for-little-gain.html October 28, 2023 This left three candidates. In the South Carolina primary, Bush soundly defeated McCain.Julian Borger Bush win stuns McCain The Guardian February 20, 2000 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/feb/21/uselections2000.usa November 4, 2023 Some McCain supporters accused the Bush campaign of mudslinging and negative campaigning, citing push polls that implied that McCain's adopted Bangladeshi-born daughter was an African-American child he fathered out of wedlock.http://www.dadmag.com/archive/060400jmccain.php Interview with John McCain Dadmag.com June 4, 2000 November 16, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20071221071033/http://www.dadmag.com/archive/060400jmccain.php December 21, 2007 live McCain's loss in South Carolina damaged his campaign, but he won both Michigan and his home state of Arizona on February 22.Richard L. Berke McCain Rebounds in Michigan, Buoyed by Big Crossover Vote, And Wins Easily in Home State The New York Times February 23, 2000 https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/23/us/2000-campaign-overview-mccain-rebounds-michigan-buoyed-big-crossover-vote-wins.html November 4, 2023 November 4, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20231104200939/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/23/us/2000-campaign-overview-mccain-rebounds-michigan-buoyed-big-crossover-vote-wins.html live The primary campaigns impacted the South Carolina State House, where a controversy about the Confederate flag flying over the capitol dome prompted the state legislature to move the flag to a less prominent position at a Civil War memorial on the capitol grounds. Most GOP candidates said the issue should be left to South Carolina voters, but McCain later recanted and said the flag should be removed.Holmes, Steven A. "After Campaigning on Candor, McCain Admits He Lacked It on Confederate Flag Issue https://web.archive.org/web/20170226024221/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/20/us/after-campaigning-on-candor-mccain-admits-he-lacked-it-on-confederate-flag-issue.html February 26, 2017 . The New York Times. April 20, 2000. Retrieved 2015-06-19. McCain criticized Bush for speaking at and accepting the endorsement of Bob Jones University despite its policy banning interracial dating, actions for which Bush subsequently apologized.David S. Broder Mike Allen Bush Cites Regret on Bob Jones February 28, 2000 The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/02/28/bush-cites-regret-on-bob-jones/ae6ee98e-cef3-4acf-b576-3e7e69a9f57c/ November 18, 2023 March 7, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230307055121/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/02/28/bush-cites-regret-on-bob-jones/ae6ee98e-cef3-4acf-b576-3e7e69a9f57c/ live On February 28, McCain also referred to Jerry Falwell and televangelist Pat Robertson as "agents of intolerance,"Craig Timberg Justin Blum McCain Attacks Two Leaders of Christian Right February 29, 2000 The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/02/29/mccain-attacks-two-leaders-of-christian-right/0bf3e70f-8859-499c-9cfa-79d3417e03d9/ November 4, 2023 August 8, 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220808102015/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/02/29/mccain-attacks-two-leaders-of-christian-right/0bf3e70f-8859-499c-9cfa-79d3417e03d9/ live a term from which he distanced himself during his 2008 bid. He lost Virginia to Bush on February 29.Why Virginia Loves George February 29, 2000 CBS News https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-virginia-loves-george/ November 18, 2023 November 18, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20231118192828/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-virginia-loves-george/ live On Super Tuesday, March 7, Bush won New York, Ohio, Georgia, Missouri, California, Maryland, and Maine. McCain won Rhode Island, Vermont, Connecticut, and Massachusetts but dropped out of the race. Bush took the majority of the remaining contests and won the Republican nomination on March 14, winning his home state of Texas and his brother Jeb's home state of Florida, among others. At the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, Bush accepted the nomination. Bush asked former secretary of defense Dick Cheney to head up a team to help select a running mate for him, but ultimately chose Cheney himself as the vice presidential nominee. While the U.S. Constitution does not specifically disallow a president and a vice president from the same state, it prohibits electors from casting both of their votes for persons from their own state. Accordingly, Cheney—who had been a resident of Texas for nearly 10 years—changed his voting registration back to Wyoming. Had Cheney not done this, either he or Bush would have forfeited his electoral votes from Texas.Cheney changes voter registration, boosts Bush running mate chances Deseret News July 22, 2000 https://www.deseret.com/2000/7/22/19519524/cheney-changes-voter-registration-boosts-bush-running-mate-chances November 18, 2023 Delegate totals Governor George W. Bush – 1,526 Senator John McCain – 275 Ambassador Alan Keyes – 23 Businessman Steve Forbes – 10 Gary Bauer – 2 None of the names shown – 2 Uncommitted – 1 Democratic Party nomination Presidential campaigns Al Gore 2000 presidential campaign 2000 Democratic Party presidential primaries 2000 Democratic National Convention 65px|center|link=Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party (United States)2000 Democratic Party ticket white Al Gore white Joe Liebermanfor Presidentfor Vice President center|200x200px center|200x200px 45thVice President of the United States(1993–2001) U.S. Senatorfrom Connecticut(1989–2013)Campaigncenter|200x200px Withdrawn candidates Bill Bradleycenter|232x232pxU.S. Senatorfrom New Jersey(1979–1997)alt=|center|100x100pxCampaignW: March 93,027,912 votes Primaries Vice President Al Gore was a consistent front-runner for the nomination. Other prominent Democrats mentioned as possible contenders included Bob Kerrey, http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1998/12/13/kerrey/ West Memphis Kerrey bows out of 2000 presidential race CNN December 13, 1998 December 14, 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20071228114246/http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1998/12/13/kerrey/ December 28, 2007 live Missouri Representative Dick Gephardt, Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone, and actor and director Warren Beatty.York, Anthony (September 2, 1999) "Life of the Party?" https://web.archive.org/web/20071015093716/http://salon.com/news/feature/1999/09/02/beatty/index.html October 15, 2007 Salon News. Of these, only Wellstone formed an exploratory committee. http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/04/08/wellstone/index.html Wellstone Launches Presidential Exploratory Committee CNN Carin Dessauer April 8, 1998 December 14, 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20071230075616/http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/04/08/wellstone/index.html December 30, 2007 live Running an insurgency campaign, U.S. Senator Bill Bradley positioned himself as the alternative to Gore, who was a founding member of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council. While former basketball star Michael Jordan campaigned for him in the early primary states, Bradley announced his intention to campaign "in a different way" by conducting a positive campaign of "big ideas." His campaign's focus was a plan to spend the record-breaking budget surplus on a variety of social welfare programs to help the poor and the middle class, along with campaign finance reform and gun control. Gore easily defeated Bradley in the primaries, largely because of support from the Democratic Party establishment and Bradley's poor showing in the Iowa caucus, where Gore successfully painted Bradley as aloof and indifferent to the plight of farmers. The closest Bradley came to a victory was his 50–46 loss to Gore in the New Hampshire primary. On March 14, Gore clinched the Democratic nomination. None of Bradley's delegates were allowed to vote for him, so Gore won the nomination unanimously at the Democratic National Convention. Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman was nominated for vice president by voice vote. Lieberman became the first Jewish American ever to be chosen for this position by a major party. Gore chose Lieberman over five other finalists: Senators Evan Bayh, John Edwards, and John Kerry, House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, and New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen.http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/08/07/gore.lieberman/index.html Gore, Lieberman prepare for public debut of Democratic ticket CNN August 8, 2000 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20081105210049/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/08/07/gore.lieberman/index.html November 5, 2008 Delegate totals: Vice President Albert Gore Jr. – 4,328 Abstentions – 9 Other nominations Reform Party nomination 2000 Reform Party presidential primaries Pat Buchanan 2000 presidential campaign 2000 Reform Party ticket white Pat Buchanan white Ezola Fosterfor Presidentfor Vice President center|200x200px center|200x200px White House Communications Director(1985–1987) Conservative political activist from CaliforniaCampaigncenter|200x200px Candidates in this section are sorted by date of withdrawal from the primariesJohn HagelinDonald Trumpcenter|120x120px center|120x120pxPhysicist from IowaChairman ofThe Trump Organization(1971–2017)alt=|center|70x70pxCampaignCampaignLN Lost Nomination: July 01, 200028,539 votesW Withdrew: February 14, 20000 votes The nomination went to Pat BuchananOctober 8, 2008 Independent Weekly Q&A with Socialist Party presidential candidate Brian Moore http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A266409 November 25, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20160104184456/http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A266409 January 4, 2016 dead mdy-all and running mate Ezola Foster from California over the objections of party founder Ross Perot and despite a rump convention nomination of John Hagelin by the Perot faction. In the end, the Federal Election Commission sided with Buchanan, and that ticket appeared on 49 of 51 possible ballots.The Buchanan/Foster ticket did not appear in Michigan and D.C. Association of State Green Parties nomination 2000 Green National Convention Green Disc.svg 65x65px Green Party (United States) 2000 Association of State Green Parties ticket Ralph Nader Ralph Nader Winona LaDuke Winona LaDuke Ralph Nader 1999 (cropped).jpg Eric Janus and Winona LaDuke (3x4 cropped).jpg Founder ofPublic Citizen Activist from Minnesota Ralph Nader 2000 presidential campaign No image.svg #6BDE9D Green Party candidates:http://www.thegreenpapers.com/News/20000625-0.html Green Party Presidential Ticket – President: Ralph Nader, Vice President: Winona LaDuke Thegreenpapers.com January 15, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20101106153513/http://www.thegreenpapers.com/News/20000625-0.html November 6, 2010 live Ralph Nader from Connecticut – 295 Jello Biafra from California – 10 Stephen Gaskin from Tennessee – 11 Joel Kovel from New York – 3 Abstain – 1 The Greens/Green Party USA, a then-recognized national party organization, later endorsed Nader for president and he appeared on the ballots of 43 states and Washington, D.C. Libertarian Party nomination 2000 Libertarian National Convention Libertarian Disc.svg 65x65px Libertarian Party (United States) 2000 Libertarian Party ticket Harry Browne Harry Browne Art Olivier Art Olivier HarryBrowneLPCon1998 (cropped2).jpg Art Olivier (105415391) (cropped).jpg Writer from Tennessee Mayor ofBellflower, California(1998–1999) Harry Browne 2000 presidential campaign No image.svg #ffffbf black Libertarian Party candidates delegate totals:http://www.thegreenpapers.com/News/20000702-0.html Libertarian Party Presidential Ticket – President: Harry Browne, Vice President: Art Olivier The Green Papers July 3, 2000 January 15, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20101106153457/http://www.thegreenpapers.com/News/20000702-0.html November 6, 2010 live Harry Browne from Tennessee – 493 Don Gorman from New Hampshire – 166 Jacob Hornberger from Virginia – 120 Barry Hess from Arizona – 53 None of the Above – 23 Other write-ins – 15 David Hollist from California – 8 The Libertarian Party's National Nominating Convention nominated Harry Browne from Tennessee and Art Olivier from California for president and vice president. Browne was nominated on the first ballot and Olivier received the vice presidential nomination on the second ballot.http://www.thegreenpapers.com/News/20000702-0.html Libertarian Party Presidential Ticket The Green Papers July 2, 2000 November 16, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080928212155/http://www.thegreenpapers.com/News/20000702-0.html September 28, 2008 live  Browne appeared on every state ballot except Arizona's, due to a dispute between the Libertarian Party of Arizona (which instead nominated L. Neil Smith) and the national Libertarian Party. Constitution Party nomination Constitution Party National Convention#1999 Constitution Party candidates: Howard Phillips Herb Titus Mathew Zupan Bob Smith, U.S. senator from New Hampshire (1990–2003)Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from NH-01 (1985–1990) Withdrew: August 17, 1999 The Constitution Party nominated Howard Phillips from Virginia for a third time and Curtis Frazier from Missouri. It was on the ballot in 41 states.http://ballot-access.org/2000/status.html Bob Bickford "2000 Presidential Status Summary (table)" Ballot Access News June 29, 2000 October 1, 2000 August 8, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20020917230202/http://ballot-access.org/2000/status.html September 17, 2002 dead mdy-all Natural Law Party nomination 2000 Natural Law National Convention John Hagelin from Iowa and Nat Goldhaber from California The Natural Law Party held its national convention in Arlington County, Virginia, on August 31–September 2, unanimously nominating a ticket of Hagelin/Goldhaber without a roll-call vote.Richard Wingerhttp://ballot-access.org/2000/1001.html#17 "Natural Law Convention" Ballot Access News October 1, 2000, Volume 16, Number 7 June 18, 2002 live https://web.archive.org/web/20020618140231/http://ballot-access.org/2000/1001.html#17 June 18, 2002 The party was on 38 of the 51 ballots nationally. Independents Bob Smith U.S. senator from New Hampshire (1990–2003)Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from NH-01 (1985–1990) Withdrew: October 28, 1999 General election campaign The US economy was enjoying record prosperity in the late 1990s. Although the campaign focused mainly on domestic issues, such as the projected budget surplus, proposed reforms of Social Security and Medicare, health care, and competing plans for tax relief, foreign policy was a prominent issue. Bush criticized the Clinton administration's policies in Somalia, where 18 Americans died in 1993 intervening among warring factions, and in the Balkans, where United States troops performed a variety of functions. "I don't think our troops ought to be used for what's called nation-building", Bush said in the second presidential debate.2004 http://www.debates.org/pages/trans2000b.html The Second Gore-Bush Presidential Debate 2000 Debate Transcript Commission on Presidential Debates October 21, 2005 https://web.archive.org/web/20050403122916/http://www.debates.org/pages/trans2000b.html April 3, 2005 Bush also pledged to bridge partisan gaps, claiming the atmosphere in Washington stood in the way of progress on necessary reforms.http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/ Election 2000 Archive CNN/AllPolitics.com November 16, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080730055332/http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/ July 30, 2008 Gore, meanwhile, questioned Bush's fitness for the job, pointing to gaffes Bush made in interviews and speeches and suggesting he lacked the necessary experience to be president. Bill Clinton's impeachment and the sex scandal that led up to it cast a shadow on the campaign. Republicans strongly denounced the Clinton scandals, and Bush made a promise to restore "honor and dignity" to the White House a centerpiece of his campaign. Gore studiously avoided the Clinton scandals, as did Lieberman, even though Lieberman had been the first Democratic senator to denounce Clinton's misbehavior. Some observers theorized that Gore chose Lieberman in an attempt to separate himself from Clinton's past misdeeds and help blunt the GOP's attempts to link him to his boss.live Dan Rather Rather Dan CBS News https://www.cbsnews.com/news/out-of-the-shadows-09-08-2000/ Out of the Shadows https://web.archive.org/web/20090214103931/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/08/09/politics/main223151.shtml February 14, 2009 August 9, 2000 Others pointed to the passionate kiss Gore gave his wife during the Democratic Convention as a signal that despite the allegations against Clinton, Gore himself was a faithful husband.The New York Times. When a Kiss Isn't Just a Kiss https://web.archive.org/web/20080903133553/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E3D6123EF933A1575BC0A9669C8B63 September 3, 2008 . August 20, 2000. Gore avoided appearing with Clinton, who was shunted to low-visibility appearances in areas where he was popular. Experts have argued that this could have cost Gore votes from some of Clinton's core supporters.http://www.greens.org/s-r/25/25-03.html Gore's Defeat: Don't Blame Nader Greens.org May 28, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20110510025027/http://www.greens.org/s-r/25/25-03.html May 10, 2011 live Jacob Weisberg http://www.slate.com/id/1006450/ Why Gore (Probably) Lost Slate November 8, 2000 May 28, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20110511101037/http://www.slate.com/id/1006450/ May 11, 2011 live Ralph Nader was the most successful of the third-party candidates. His campaign was marked by a traveling tour of large "super-rallies" held in sports arenas like Madison Square Garden, with retired talk show host Phil Donahue as master of ceremonies.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH7Y52A74vs YouTube YouTube December 8, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20170220133836/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH7Y52A74vs February 20, 2017 live After initially ignoring Nader, the Gore campaign made a pitch to potential Nader supporters in the campaign's final weeks,Nader assails major parties: scoffs at charge he drains liberal vote https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nader-assails-major-parties/ CBS Associated Press April 6, 2000 September 14, 2008 There is a difference between Tweedledum and Tweedledee, but not that much. https://web.archive.org/web/20020410071752/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/04/06/politics/main180811.shtml April 10, 2002 live downplaying his differences with Nader on the issues and arguing that Gore's ideas were more similar to Nader's than Bush's were and that Gore had a better chance of winning than Nader.http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0010/26/nsst.00.html CNN Transcript - CNN NewsStand: Presidential Race Intensifies; Gore Campaign Worried Ralph Nader Could Swing Election to Bush - October 26, 2000 December 8, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20161220122806/http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0010/26/nsst.00.html December 20, 2016 dead On the other side, the Republican Leadership Council ran pro-Nader ads in a few states in an effort to split the liberal vote.https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20001027/aponline115918_000.htm GOP Group To Air Pro-Nader TV Ads Washingtonpost.com October 27, 2000 August 18, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160314024016/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20001027/aponline115918_000.htm March 14, 2016 dead Nader said his campaign's objective was to pass the 5-percent threshold so his Green Party would be eligible for matching funds in future races.Baer Susan October 26, 2000 Nader rejects concerns about role as spoiler https://www.baltimoresun.com/2000/10/26/nader-rejects-concerns-about-role-as-spoiler/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20161220163139/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2000-10-26/news/0010260328_1_nader-green-party-al-gore December 20, 2016 December 8, 2016 The Baltimore Sun Vice-presidential candidates Cheney and Lieberman campaigned aggressively. Both camps made numerous campaign stops nationwide, often just missing each other, such as when Cheney, Hadassah Lieberman, and Tipper Gore attended Chicago's Taste of Polonia over Labor Day Weekend.https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9901E2DB1F30F936A3575AC0A9669C8B63 The New York Times The 2000 Campaign: Campaign Briefing Published September 5, 2000 March 25, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080508004859/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9901E2DB1F30F936A3575AC0A9669C8B63 May 8, 2008 live Presidential debates 2000 United States presidential debates +Debates among candidates for the 2000 U.S. presidential election No. Date Host City Moderator Participants Viewership(millions) P1Tuesday, October 3, 2000University of Massachusetts BostonBoston, MassachusettsJim LehrerGovernor George W. BushVice President Al Gore46.6https://www.debates.org/index.php?page=2000-debates CPD: 2000 Debates www.debates.org January 8, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190108145524/https://www.debates.org/index.php?page=2000-debates January 8, 2019 live VPThursday, October 5, 2000Centre CollegeDanville, KentuckyBernard ShawSecretary Dick CheneySenator Joe Lieberman28.5 P2Wednesday, October 11, 2000Wake Forest UniversityWinston-Salem, North CarolinaJim LehrerGovernor George W. BushVice President Al Gore37.5 P3Tuesday, October 17, 2000Washington University in St. LouisSt. Louis, MissouriJim LehrerGovernor George W. BushVice President Al Gore37.7 USA USA University of Massachusetts BostonBoston, MA 65 top 42.3149 -73.0176 USA Centre CollegeDanville, KY 65 bottom 37.6457 -84.7815 USA Washington University in St. LouisSt. Louis, MO 65 top 38.648 -90.305 USA Wake Forest UniversityWinston-Salem , NC 65 right 36.1431 -80.2779 Map of United States showing debate locations Sites of the 2000 general election debateshttp://www.debates.org/index.php?page=2000-debates#oct-3-2000 Commission on Presidential Debates Debates.org October 14, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20121014152010/http://www.debates.org/index.php?page=2000-debates#oct-3-2000 October 14, 2012 livehttp://www.debates.org/index.php?page=2000-debates#oct-11-2000 Commission on Presidential Debates Debates.org October 14, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20121014152010/http://www.debates.org/index.php?page=2000-debates#oct-11-2000 October 14, 2012 livehttp://www.debates.org/index.php?page=2000-debates#oct-17-2000 Commission on Presidential Debates Debates.org October 14, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20121014152010/http://www.debates.org/index.php?page=2000-debates#oct-17-2000 October 14, 2012 livehttp://www.debates.org/index.php?page=2000-debates#oct-5-2000 Commission on Presidential Debates Debates.org October 14, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20121014152010/http://www.debates.org/index.php?page=2000-debates#oct-5-2000 October 14, 2012 live 300 After the 1996 presidential election, the Commission on Presidential Debates set new candidate selection criteria. The new criteria required third-party candidates to poll at least 15% of the vote in national polls in order to take part in the CPD-sponsored presidential debates.http://www.opendebates.org/theissue/2000.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120306105105/http://www.opendebates.org/theissue/2000.html usurped March 6, 2012 Open Debates | What Happened in 2000? opendebates.org 2011 August 13, 2012 Nader was blocked from attending a closed-circuit screening of the first debate despite having a ticket,https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/05/us/2000-campaign-green-party-nader-wants-apology-debate-panel-for-turning-him-away.html The 2000 Campaign: the Green Party; Nader Wants Apology From Debate Panel for Turning Him Away Carey Goldberg The New York Times October 5, 2000 August 13, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20130502205922/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/05/us/2000-campaign-green-party-nader-wants-apology-debate-panel-for-turning-him-away.html May 2, 2013 live and barred from attending an interview near the site of the third debate (Washington University in St. Louis) despite having a "perimeter pass".http://www.naderlibrary.com/lit.crashparty.12.htm Crashing the Party Ralph Nader naderlibrary.com 2002 August 13, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20140811033217/http://www.naderlibrary.com/lit.crashparty.12.htm August 11, 2014 usurped Nader later sued the CPD for its role in the former incident. A settlement was reached that included an apology to him. http://www.ballot-access.org/2002/0501.html#05 https://web.archive.org/web/20030604163632/http://www.ballot-access.org/2002/0501.html#05 June 4, 2003 Ballot Access News – May 1, 2002 Richard Winger 2002 August 13, 2012 Notable expressions and phrases Lockbox/Rainy Day fund: Gore's description of what he would do with the federal budget surplus, which was repeated many times in the first debate. Fuzzy math: a term used by Bush to dismiss the figures used by Gore. Others later turned the term against Bush.Safire William Safire's political dictionary 2008 https://books.google.com/books?id=c4UoX6-Sv1AC&q=%22fuzzy+math%22&pg=PA271 270–71 Oxford University Press 9780195343342 October 15, 2020 March 31, 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220331172833/https://books.google.com/books?id=c4UoX6-Sv1AC&q=%22fuzzy+math%22&pg=PA271 liveKrugman Paul R. Bush George Walker Fuzzy math: the essential guide to the Bush tax plan 2001 W. W. Norton & Company 9780393050622 https://archive.org/details/fuzzymath00paul registration fuzzy math. Al Gore invented the Internet: an interpretation of Gore's having said he "took the initiative in creating the Internet," meaning that he was on the committee that funded the research leading to the Internet's formation. "Strategery": a phrase uttered by Saturday Night Lives Bush character (portrayed by Will Ferrell), which Bush staffers jokingly picked up to describe their operations. Results June 2020 Ballot access Presidential ticket Party Ballot access VotesGore / Lieberman Democratic 50+DC 50,999,897Bush / Cheney Republican 50+DC 50,456,002Nader / LaDuke Green 43+DC 2,882,955Buchanan / Foster Reform 49 448,895Browne / Olivier Libertarian 49+DC★ 384,431★Phillips / Frazier Constitution 41 98,020Hagelin / Goldhaber Natural Law 38 83,714 ★Although the Libertarian Party had ballot access in all fifty United States plus D.C., Browne's name only appeared on the ballot in forty-nine United States plus D.C. The Libertarian Party of Arizona opted to place L. Neil Smith on the ballot in Browne's place. When adding Smith's 5,775 Arizona votes to Browne's 384,431 votes nationwide, that brings the total presidential votes cast for the Libertarian Party in 2000 to 390,206. Florida recount 2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida thumb|Official Palm Beach County, Florida Votomatic voting machine used in the November 7, 2000 U.S. presidential election, on display at the Florida Historic Capitol Museum, Tallahassee, Florida On election night, it was unclear who had won, with Florida's electoral votes still undecided. The returns showed that Bush won Florida by such a close margin that state law required a recount. A month-long series of legal battles led to the highly controversial 5–4 U.S. Supreme Court decision Bush v. Gore, which ended the recount with Bush winning Florida by 537 votes, a margin of 0.009%. The Florida recount and subsequent litigation resulted in major post-election controversy, with some analysis suggesting that limited county-based recounts would have confirmed a Bush victory whereas a statewide recount would have given the state to Gore.The American Statistician February 2003 57 1 1–14 American Statistical Association 10.1198/0003130031144 Statistical Practice: Reliability of the Uncertified Ballots in the 2000 Presidential Election in Florida Kirk Wolter Diana Jergovic Whitney Moore Joe Murphy Colm O'Muircheartaigh http://www.amstat.org/misc/PresidentialElectionBallots.pdf 3087271 120778921 June 12, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160318154912/http://www.amstat.org/misc/PresidentialElectionBallots.pdf March 18, 2016 dead 0003-1305 Post-election analysis found that Palm Beach County's butterfly ballot misdirected over 2,000 votes from Gore to third-party candidate Pat Buchanan, tipping Florida—and the election—to Bush.The Butterfly Did It: The Aberrant Vote for Buchanan in Palm Beach County, Florida https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/publications/butterfly-did-it-aberrant-vote-buchanan-palm-beach-county-florida 2024-10-23 Stanford Graduate School of Business en January 30, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250130192350/https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/publications/butterfly-did-it-aberrant-vote-buchanan-palm-beach-county-florida live With the exceptions of Florida and Gore's home state of Tennessee, Bush carried the Southern states by comfortable margins, including Clinton's home state of Arkansas, and also won Ohio, Indiana, most of the rural Midwestern farming states, most of the Rocky Mountain states, and Alaska. Gore balanced Bush by sweeping the Northeastern United States (with the exception of New Hampshire, which Bush won narrowly), the Pacific Coast states, Hawaii, New Mexico, and most of the Upper Midwest. This was the only presidential election since 1988 where the Republican candidate carried any of the six New England states. As the night wore on, the returns in a handful of small-to-medium-sized states, including Iowa, Oregon and New Mexico (Gore by 355 votes) were extremely close, but the election came down to Florida. As the final national results were tallied the following morning, Bush had clearly won 246 electoral votes and Gore 249, with 270 needed to win. Two smaller states—Wisconsin (11 electoral votes) and Oregon (7)—were still too close to call, but Florida's 25 electoral votes would be decisive regardless of their results. The election's outcome was not known for more than a month after voting ended because of the time required to count and recount Florida's ballots. Between 7:50 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. EST on November 7, just before the polls closed in the largely Republican Florida panhandle, which is in the Central time zone, all major television news networks (CNN, NBC, FOX, CBS, and ABC) declared that Gore had won Florida. They based this prediction substantially on exit polls. But in the vote, Bush began to take a wide lead early in Florida, and by 10 p.m. EST, the networks had retracted their predictions and placed Florida back in the "undecided" column. At approximately 2:30 a.m. on November 8, with 85% of the vote counted in Florida and Bush leading Gore by more than 100,000 votes, the networks declared that Bush had carried Florida and therefore been elected president. But most of the remaining votes to be counted in Florida were in three heavily Democratic counties—Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach—and as their votes were reported Gore began to gain on Bush. By 4:30 a.m., after all votes were counted, Gore had narrowed Bush's margin to under 2,000 votes, and the networks retracted their declarations that Bush had won Florida and the presidency. Gore, who had privately conceded the election to Bush, withdrew his concession. The final result in Florida was slim enough to require a mandatory recount (by machine) under state law; Bush's lead dwindled to just over 300 votes when it was completed the day after the election. On November 8, Florida Division of Elections staff prepared a press release for Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris that said overseas ballots must be "postmarked or signed and dated" by Election Day. It was never released.16 A count of the overseas ballots later boosted Bush's margin to 930 votes. According to a report by The New York Times, 680 of the accepted overseas ballots were received after the legal deadline, lacked required postmarks or a witness signature or address, or were unsigned or undated, cast after election day, from unregistered voters or voters not requesting ballots, or double-counted.The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/15/us/examining-the-vote-how-bush-took-florida-mining-the-overseas-absentee-vote.html Examining the Vote; How Bush Took Florida: Mining the Overseas Absentee Vote David Barstow Don Jr. Van Natta July 15, 2001 November 16, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20161115173828/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/15/us/examining-the-vote-how-bush-took-florida-mining-the-overseas-absentee-vote.html November 15, 2016 live thumb|right|Florida Supreme Court during the recount Most of the post-electoral controversy revolved around Gore's request for hand recounts in four counties (Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Volusia), as provided under Florida state law. Harris, who also co-chaired Bush's Florida campaign, announced she would reject any revised totals from those counties if they were not turned in by 5 p.m. on November 14, the statutory deadline for amended returns. The Florida Supreme Court extended the deadline to November 26, a decision later vacated by the U.S. Supreme Court. Miami-Dade eventually halted its recount and resubmitted its original total to the state canvassing board, while Palm Beach County failed to meet the extended deadline, turning in its completed recount results at 7 p.m., which Harris rejected. On November 26, the state canvassing board certified Bush as the winner of Florida's electors by 537 votes. Gore formally contested the certified results. A state court decision overruling Gore was reversed by the Florida Supreme Court, which ordered a recount of over 70,000 ballots previously rejected as undervotes by machine counters. The U.S. Supreme Court halted that order the next day, with Justice Scalia issuing a concurring opinion that "the counting of votes that are of questionable legality does in my view threaten irreparable harm to petitioner" (Bush).http://election2000.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/00-949x.pdf SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES. No. 00-949 (00A504) Bush v. Gore, On Application For Stay December 9, 2000 November 13, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20161114002000/http://election2000.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/00-949x.pdf November 14, 2016 live thumb|Gore-Lieberman supporters outside the U.S. Supreme Court On December 12, the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore issued a 5–4 per curiam decision that the Florida Supreme Court's ruling requiring a statewide recount of ballots was unconstitutional on equal protection grounds, and in a 5–4 vote reversed and remanded the case to the Florida Supreme Court for modification before the optional "safe harbor" deadline, which the Supreme Court decided the Florida court had said the state intended to meet. With only two hours remaining until the December 12 deadline, the Supreme Court's order effectively ended the recount, and the previously certified total held. Legislative action Even if the Supreme Court had decided differently in Bush v. Gore, the Florida Legislature had been meeting in Special Session since December 8 with the purpose of selecting of a slate of electors on December 12 should the dispute still be ongoing.Florida legislature to appoint electors during special session Friday http://staugustine.com/stories/120700/sta_120700002b.shtml#.WFQR2lMrKpo December 16, 2016 The St. Augustine Record December 7, 2000 https://web.archive.org/web/20161220183518/http://staugustine.com/stories/120700/sta_120700002b.shtml#.WFQR2lMrKpo December 20, 2016 dead mdy-allFLORIDA LEGISLATURE–SPECIAL SESSION A–2000 (Dec) HISTORY OF HOUSE BILLS http://www.leg.state.fl.us/data/session/2001a/citator/Final/hsehist.pdf December 16, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20161220174725/http://www.leg.state.fl.us/data/session/2001a/citator/Final/hsehist.pdf December 20, 2016 live Had the recount gone forward, it would have awarded those electors to Bush, based on the state-certified vote, and Gore's likely last recourse would have been to contest the electors in the United States Congress. The electors would then have been rejected only if both houses agreed to do so.U.S. Electoral College Frequently Asked Questions https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/faq.html#contestvotes archives.gov December 16, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20081218002735/http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/faq.html#contestvotes December 18, 2008 live Media recounts From the beginning of the controversy, politicians, litigants, and the press focused exclusively on undervotes, in particular incompletely punched hanging chads. Undervotes were the subject of much media coverage, most of the lawsuits, and the Florida Supreme Court ruling. After the election, recounts by various U.S. news media organizations continued to focus on undervotes. Results of reviews of these ballots indicated that Bush would have won if certain recounting methods had been used (including the one Gore favored at the time of the Supreme Court decision), but that Gore might have won under other standards and scenarios. Later, a larger consortium of news organizations, including USA Today, The Miami Herald, Knight Ridder, The Tampa Tribune, and five other newspapers conducted a full recount of all machine-rejected ballots, including both undervotes and overvotes. It found that Bush won under stricter standards and Gore won under looser standards.https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2001-05-10-recountmain.htm Florida voter errors cost Gore the election USA Today May 11, 2001 May 26, 2010 Finally, the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, sponsored by a consortium of major U.S. news organizations, conducted the Florida Ballot Project, a comprehensive review of ballots collected from the entire state, not just the disputed counties that were recounted.http://www.norc.uchicago.edu/fl/index.asp https://web.archive.org/web/20011217183836/http://www.norc.uchicago.edu/fl/index.asp December 17, 2001 Florida Ballots Project National Opinion Research Center May 28, 2010 Based on the NORC review, the media group concluded that if the disputes over the validity of all the ballots in question had been consistently resolved and any uniform standard applied, Gore would have won Florida by 60 to 171 votes.http://electionstudies.org/florida2000/data/data_files.htm 2000 Florida Ballots Project Data Files – NORC Files, Media Group Files November 16, 2016 American National Election Studies https://web.archive.org/web/20170509232004/http://www.electionstudies.org/florida2000/data/data_files.htm May 9, 2017Keating Dan Democracy Counts: The Media Consortium Florida Ballot Review https://www.scribd.com/document/104548804/20040526-KeatingPaper Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston Marriott Copley Place, Sheraton Boston & Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Massachusetts August 28, 2002 8 The standards chosen for the NORC study ranged from a "most restrictive" standard to a "most inclusive" standard. An analysis of the NORC data by University of Pennsylvania researcher Steven F. Freeman and journalist Joel Bleifuss concluded that, no matter the standard used, after a recount of all uncounted votes, Gore would have been the victor.Freeman Steven Fred Was the 2004 presidential election stolen? exit polls, election fraud, and the official count Bleifuss Joel 2006 Seven Stories Press 978-1-58322-687-2 1 New York 41–47, 68–83 According to factcheck.org, "Nobody can say for sure who might have won. A full, official recount of all votes statewide could have gone either way, but one was never conducted."https://www.factcheck.org/2008/01/the-florida-recount-of-2000/ The Florida Recount of 2000 January 22, 2008 Factcheck.org Brooks Jackson January 1, 2023 CNN and PBS reported that, had the recount continued with its existing standards, Bush would likely have still tallied more votes, but variations of those standards (or of which precincts were recounted) could have swung the election either way. They also concluded that had a full recount of all undervotes and overvotes taken place, Gore would have won, though his legal team never pursued such an option.https://www.cnn.com/2015/10/31/politics/bush-gore-2000-election-results-studies/index.html So, who really won? What the Bush v. Gore studies showed CNN Wade Payson-Denney October 31, 2015 January 18, 2023 The post-controversy recounts revealed that "if a manual recount had been limited to undervotes, it would have produced an inaccurate picture of the electorate's position." National results Though Gore came in second in the electoral vote, he received 543,895 more popular votes than Bush, making him the first person since Grover Cleveland in 1888 to win the popular vote but lose in the Electoral College.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38656271 BBC News Who is boycotting the Trump inauguration? January 20, 2017 April 18, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170118095753/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38656271 January 18, 2017 live Gore failed to win the popular vote in his home state, Tennessee, which both he and his father had represented in the Senate, making him the first major-party presidential candidate to have lost his home state since George McGovern lost South Dakota in 1972. Gore also lost West Virginia, a state that had last voted Republican in 1984, but has since always voted Republican. This was the first time since 1948 that Democrats won the popular vote in three consecutive elections.http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/compare.php?year=1980&fips=54&f=1&off=0&elect=0&type=state Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - Compare Data uselectionatlas.org November 6, 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20141225052846/http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/compare.php?year=1980&fips=54&f=1&off=0&elect=0&type=state December 25, 2014 live This is one of only four U.S. presidential elections in which the winner did not carry any of the three Rust Belt states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin; the others were 2004, 1916 and 1884. The 2000 election was also a rare instance in which the party controlling the White House lost a presidential election when the U.S. economy was not in a recession, the 1968 election being the most recent one. It is also the only election since 1968 where the popular vote was decided by under 1%. Before the election, the possibility that different candidates would win the popular vote and the Electoral College had been noted, but usually with the expectation of Gore winning the Electoral College and Bush the popular vote.Leinsdorf Joshua November 4, 2000 American Voters Pull Together To Make Tough Choices http://www.leinsdorf.com/newhampshireprimary.htm December 30, 2020 Institute of Election Analysis January 25, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210125225825/http://www.leinsdorf.com/newhampshireprimary.htm liveRamsey Ross November 6, 2000 Excess Stomach Acid https://www.texastribune.org/2000/11/06/excess-stomach-acid/ December 30, 2020 The Texas Tribune en February 28, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210228222145/https://www.texastribune.org/2000/11/06/excess-stomach-acid/ liveNovember 2, 2000 Anything Can Happen https://www.cbsnews.com/news/anything-can-happen/ December 30, 2020 CBS News en-US January 25, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210125230259/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/anything-can-happen/ liveDevlin Ron November 7, 2000 Old buttons pin down history of the presidency https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-2000-11-07-3333849-story.html December 30, 2020 The Morning Call en-US March 27, 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220327171613/https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-2000-11-07-3333849-story.html liveNovember 7, 2000 War on the Electoral College https://slate.com/human-interest/2000/11/war-on-the-electoral-college.html December 30, 2020 Slate en October 17, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20211017063054/https://slate.com/human-interest/2000/11/war-on-the-electoral-college.html live The idea that Bush could win the Electoral College and Gore the popular vote was not considered likely. right center 200 06.ElectionProtest.USSC.WDC.11December2000 (22179863008).jpg 56.ElectionProtest.USSC.WDC.11December2000 (21752049743).jpg Bush–Cheney and Gore–Lieberman supporters protest This was the first time since 1928 when a non-incumbent Republican candidate won West Virginia. The Electoral College results were the closest since 1876, making this election the second-closest Electoral College result in history and the third-closest popular vote victory. Gore's 266 electoral votes are the highest for a losing nominee. The 537-vote margin in Florida is the closest for a tipping point state in history.Brownfield Tony November 3, 2020 The Five Closest Presidential Elections https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2020/11/the-five-closest-u-s-presidential-elections/ December 30, 2020 Saturday Evening Post en-US January 6, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210106183616/https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2020/11/the-five-closest-u-s-presidential-elections/ live Bush was the first winning Republican since William McKinley to win with under 300 electoral votes. He was also the first son of a former president to be elected president himself since John Quincy Adams in 1824. Bush was the first Republican in American history to win the presidency without carrying Vermont, Illinois, or New Mexico, as well as the second Republican to win the presidency without carrying California after James A. Garfield in 1880, and Pennsylvania, Maine, Michigan, and Connecticut after Richard Nixon in 1968, as well as the first winning Republican not to receive any electoral votes from California as Garfield received one electoral vote in 1880. Bush was the first Republican to win without New Jersey or Delaware since 1888. As of 2024, Bush is the last Republican nominee to win New Hampshire. This marked the first time since Iowa entered the union in 1846 in which the state voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in four elections in a row, and was the last time until 2020 that Iowa did not vote for the winning candidate. Bush is the second Republican to win the presidency without Iowa (his father was the first, in 1988). This election was the first time since 1976 that New Jersey, Connecticut, Vermont, Maine, Illinois, New Mexico, Michigan, and California voted for the losing candidate, as well as the first since 1980 that Maryland did so, the first since 1948 that Delaware did so, and the first since 1968 that Pennsylvania did so. There were only two counties in the nation that had voted Republican in 1996 and flipped to the Democratic column in 2000: Charles County, Maryland, and Orange County, Florida, both rapidly diversifying counties, neither of which has voted Republican since. The 2016 Streak Breakers October 6, 2016 Sabato Crystal Ball 2017-09-15 http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/the-2016-streak-breakers/ August 1, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230801171732/https://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/the-2016-streak-breakers/ live Until 2024, this was the last time in which an incumbent vice president ran for president. This was the last time a Republican received any electoral votes from the Northeast until 2016. This and the following election were the only ones since 1980 in which the winner received fewer than 300 electoral votes (less than 55% of the total). Bush is the most recent candidate with gubernatorial experience to win the presidency. This is the most recent election in which both major-party nominees were under age 60, and in which the popular vote margin was under 1% and 1 million votes. George W. Bush Republican Texas 50,456,002 47.87% 271 Dick Cheney Wyoming Al Gore Democratic Tennessee 50,999,897 48.38% 266 Joe Lieberman Connecticut Ralph Nader Green Connecticut 2,882,955 2.74% 0 Winona LaDuke Minnesota Pat Buchanan Reform Virginia 448,895 0.43% 0 Ezola Foster California Harry Browne Libertarian Tennessee 384,431 0.36% 0 Art Olivier California Howard Phillips Constitution Virginia 98,020 0.09% 0 Curtis Frazier Missouri John Hagelin Natural Law Iowa 83,714 0.08% 0 Nat Goldhaber California 51,186 0.05% (Undervote)lower-alpha abstention One faithless elector from Washington, D.C., Barbara Lett-Simmons, cast a blank ballot in protest of the District's lack of voting representation in the United States Congress. Washington, D.C. has a non-voting delegate to Congress. She had been expected to vote for Gore/Lieberman.Being Counted, Baltimore SUN, Today Section, 2/5/01, re: Barbara Lett-Simmons vote as a D. C. Elector, MSA SC 2221-31- https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc2200/sc2221/000031/000008/html/lett_simmons.html 2025-01-14 msa.maryland.gov Lett-Simmons sat a while, crafting her sentence of protest. Finally, she wrote: "This blank ballot is cast for all the colonists of the District of Columbia."Dizikes Peter https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=122191 Electoral College Puts Bush Over the Top - ABC News Abcnews.go.com January 6, 2006 August 18, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160305144835/http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=122191 March 5, 2016 live — — January 2025 — 1 (Undervote) — 105,405,100 538 270 Source: http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2000/ptables.xlw 2000 Presidential Electoral and Popular Vote Excel 4.0 Federal Election Commission. Popular vote 600px 410px Gore Democratic Party (United States) 48.38 Bush Republican Party (United States) 47.87 Nader Green Party (United States) 2.74 Buchanan Reform Party (United States) 0.43 Browne Libertarian Party (United States) 0.36 Others #777777 0.22 Electoral vote 600px 410px Bush Republican Party (United States) 50.37 Gore Democratic Party (United States) 49.44 Abstention #777777 0.19 Results by state + Legend States/districts won by Gore/Lieberman States/districts won by Bush/Cheney † At-large results (For states that split electoral votes) George W. BushRepublican Al GoreDemocratic Ralph NaderGreen Pat BuchananReform Harry BrowneLibertarian Howard PhillipsConstitution John HagelinNatural Law Others MarginMarginswingPercentage point difference in margin from the 1996 election State total State EV electoral votes # % EV electoral votes # % EV electoral votes # % EV electoral votes # % EV electoral votes # % EV electoral votes # % EV electoral votes # % EV electoral votes # % EV electoral votes # % % # Alabama 9 941,173 56.48% 9 692,611 41.57% – 18,323 1.10% – 6,351 0.38% – 5,893 0.35% – 775 0.05% – 447 0.03% – 699 0.04% – 248,562 14.92% 7.96% 1,666,272 AL Alaska 3 167,398 58.62% 3 79,004 27.67% – 28,747 10.07% – 5,192 1.82% – 2,636 0.92% – 596 0.21% – 919 0.32% – 1,068 0.37% – 88,394 30.95% 13.42% 285,560 AK Arizona* 8 781,652 51.02% 8 685,341 44.73% – 45,645 2.98% – 12,373 0.81% – – – – 110 0.01% – 1,120 0.07% – 5,775 0.38% – 96,311 6.29% 8.52% 1,532,016 AZ Arkansas 6 472,940 51.31% 6 422,768 45.86% – 13,421 1.46% – 7,358 0.80% – 2,781 0.30% – 1,415 0.15% – 1,098 0.12% – – – – 50,172 5.44% 22.38% 921,781 AR California 54 4,567,429 41.65% – 5,861,203 53.45% 54 418,707 3.82% – 44,987 0.41% – 45,520 0.42% – 17,042 0.16% – 10,934 0.10% – 34 0.00% – −1,293,774 −11.80% 1.09% 10,965,856 CA Colorado 8 883,748 50.75% 8 738,227 42.39% – 91,434 5.25% – 10,465 0.60% – 12,799 0.73% – 1,319 0.08% – 2,240 0.13% – 1,136 0.07% – 145,521 8.36% 6.99% 1,741,368 CO Connecticut 8 561,094 38.44% – 816,015 55.91% 8 64,452 4.42% – 4,731 0.32% – 3,484 0.24% – 9,695 0.66% – 40 0.00% – 14 0.00% – −254,921 −17.47% 0.67% 1,459,525 CT Delaware 3 137,288 41.90% – 180,068 54.96% 3 8,307 2.54% – 777 0.24% – 774 0.24% – 208 0.06% – 107 0.03% – 93 0.03% – −42,780 −13.06% 2.16% 327,622 DE D.C. 3 18,073 8.95% – 171,923 85.16% 2 10,576 5.24% – – – – 669 0.33% – – – – – – – 653 0.32% 1 −153,850 −76.20% −0.35% 201,894 DC Florida 25 2,912,790 48.85% 25 2,912,253 48.84% – 97,488 1.63% – 17,484 0.29% – 16,415 0.28% – 1,371 0.02% – 2,281 0.04% – 3,028 0.05% – 537 0.01% 5.71% 5,963,110 FL Georgia 13 1,419,720 54.67% 13 1,116,230 42.98% – 13,432 0.52% – 10,926 0.42% – 36,332 1.40% – 140 0.01% – – – – 24 0.00% – 303,490 11.69% 10.52% 2,596,804 GA Hawaii 4 137,845 37.46% – 205,286 55.79% 4 21,623 5.88% – 1,071 0.29% – 1,477 0.40% – 343 0.09% – 306 0.08% – – – – −67,441 −18.33% 6.96% 367,951 HI Idaho 4 336,937 67.17% 4 138,637 27.64% – 12,292 2.45% – 7,615 1.52% – 3,488 0.70% – 1,469 0.29% – 1,177 0.23% – 6 0.00% – 198,300 39.53% 21.00% 501,621 ID Illinois 22 2,019,421 42.58% – 2,589,026 54.60% 22 103,759 2.19% – 16,106 0.34% – 11,623 0.25% – 57 0.00% – 2,127 0.04% – 4 0.00% – −569,605 −12.01% 5.50% 4,742,123 IL Indiana 12 1,245,836 56.65% 12 901,980 41.01% – 18,531 0.84% – 16,959 0.77% – 15,530 0.71% – 200 0.01% – 167 0.01% – 99 0.00% – 343,856 15.63% 10.05% 2,199,302 IN Iowa 7 634,373 48.22% – 638,517 48.54% 7 29,374 2.23% – 5,731 0.44% – 3,209 0.24% – 613 0.05% – 2,281 0.17% – 1,465 0.11% – −4,144 −0.31% 10.03% 1,315,563 IA Kansas 6 622,332 58.04% 6 399,276 37.24% – 36,086 3.37% – 7,370 0.69% – 4,525 0.42% – 1,254 0.12% – 1,375 0.13% – – – – 223,056 20.80% 2.59% 1,072,218 KS Kentucky 8 872,492 56.50% 8 638,898 41.37% – 23,192 1.50% – 4,173 0.27% – 2,896 0.19% – 923 0.06% – 1,533 0.10% – 80 0.01% – 233,594 15.13% 16.09% 1,544,187 KY Louisiana 9 927,871 52.55% 9 792,344 44.88% – 20,473 1.16% – 14,356 0.81% – 2,951 0.17% – 5,483 0.31% – 1,075 0.06% – 1,103 0.06% – 135,527 7.68% 19.75% 1,765,656 LA Maine† 2 286,616 43.97% – 319,951 49.09% 2 37,127 5.70% – 4,443 0.68% – 3,074 0.47% – 579 0.09% – – – – 27 0.00% – −33,335 −5.11% 15.75% 651,817 ME ME-1 Maine's 1st congressional district 1 148,618 42.59% – 176,293 50.52% 1 20,297 5.82% – 1,994 0.57% – 1,479 0.42% – 253 0.07% – – – – 17 0.00% – −27,675 −7.93% 12.37% 348,951 ME-1 ME-2 Maine's 2nd congressional district 1 137,998 45.56% – 143,658 47.43% 1 16,830 5.56% – 2,449 0.81% – 1,595 0.53% – 326 0.11% – – – – 10 0.00% – −5,660 −1.87% 19.63% 302,866 ME-2 Maryland 10 813,797 40.18% – 1,145,782 56.57% 10 53,768 2.65% – 4,248 0.21% – 5,310 0.26% – 919 0.05% – 176 0.01% – 1,480 0.07% – −331,985 −16.39% −0.41% 2,025,480 MD Massachusetts 12 878,502 32.50% – 1,616,487 59.80% 12 173,564 6.42% – 11,149 0.41% – 16,366 0.61% – – – – 2,884 0.11% – 4,032 0.15% – −737,985 −27.30% 6.09% 2,702,984 MA Michigan 18 1,953,139 46.15% – 2,170,418 51.28% 18 84,165 1.99% – 1,851 0.04% – 16,711 0.39% – 3,791 0.09% – 2,426 0.06% – – – – −217,279 −5.13% 8.08% 4,232,501 MI Minnesota 10 1,109,659 45.50% – 1,168,266 47.91% 10 126,696 5.20% – 22,166 0.91% – 5,282 0.22% – 3,272 0.13% – 2,294 0.09% – 1,050 0.04% – −58,607 −2.40% 13.74% 2,438,685 MN Mississippi 7 572,844 57.62% 7 404,614 40.70% – 8,122 0.82% – 2,265 0.23% – 2,009 0.20% – 3,267 0.33% – 450 0.05% – 613 0.06% – 168,230 16.92% 11.79% 994,184 MS Missouri 11 1,189,924 50.42% 11 1,111,138 47.08% – 38,515 1.63% – 9,818 0.42% – 7,436 0.32% – 1,957 0.08% – 1,104 0.05% – – – – 78,786 3.34% 9.64% 2,359,892 MO Montana 3 240,178 58.44% 3 137,126 33.36% – 24,437 5.95% – 5,697 1.39% – 1,718 0.42% – 1,155 0.28% – 675 0.16% – 11 0.00% – 103,052 25.07% 22.19% 410,997 MT Nebraska† 2 433,862 62.25% 2 231,780 33.25% – 24,540 3.52% – 3,646 0.52% – 2,245 0.32% – 468 0.07% – 478 0.07% – – – – 202,082 28.99% 10.29% 697,019 NE NE-1 Nebraska's 1st congressional district 1 142,562 58.90% 1 86,946 35.92% – 10,085 4.17% – 1,324 0.55% – 754 0.31% – 167 0.07% – 185 0.08% – – – – 55,616 22.98% 11.28% 242,023 NE-1 NE-2 Nebraska's 2nd congressional district 1 131,485 56.92% 1 88,975 38.52% – 8,495 3.68% – 845 0.37% – 925 0.40% – 146 0.06% – 141 0.06% – – – – 42,510 18.40% 3.90% 231,012 NE-2 NE-3 Nebraska's 3rd congressional district 1 159,815 71.35% 1 55,859 24.94% – 5,960 2.66% – 1,477 0.66% – 566 0.25% – 155 0.07% – 152 0.07% – – – – 103,956 46.41% 16.31% 223,984 NE-3 Nevada 4 301,575 49.52% 4 279,978 45.98% – 15,008 2.46% – 4,747 0.78% – 3,311 0.54% – 621 0.10% – 415 0.07% – 3,315 0.54% – 21,597 3.55% 4.57% 608,970 NV New Hampshire 4 273,559 48.07% 4 266,348 46.80% – 22,198 3.90% – 2,615 0.46% – 2,757 0.48% – 328 0.06% – 55 0.01% – 1,221 0.21% – 7,211 1.27% 11.22% 569,081 NH New Jersey 15 1,284,173 40.29% – 1,788,850 56.13% 15 94,554 2.97% – 6,989 0.22% – 6,312 0.20% – 1,409 0.04% – 2,215 0.07% – 2,724 0.09% – −504,677 −15.83% 2.03% 3,187,226 NJ New Mexico 5 286,417 47.85% – 286,783 47.91% 5 21,251 3.55% – 1,392 0.23% – 2,058 0.34% – 343 0.06% – 361 0.06% – – – – −366 −0.06% 7.26% 598,605 NM New York 33 2,403,374 35.23% – 4,107,697 60.21% 33 244,030 3.58% – 31,599 0.46% – 7,649 0.11% – 1,498 0.02% – 24,361 0.36% – 1,791 0.03% – −1,704,323 −24.98% 3.88% 6,821,999 NY North Carolina 14 1,631,163 56.03% 14 1,257,692 43.20% – – – – 8,874 0.30% – 12,307 0.42% – – – – – – – 1,226 0.04% – 373,471 12.83% 8.14% 2,911,262 NC North Dakota 3 174,852 60.66% 3 95,284 33.06% – 9,486 3.29% – 7,288 2.53% – 660 0.23% – 373 0.13% – 313 0.11% – – – – 79,568 27.60% 20.79% 288,256 ND Ohio 21 2,351,209 49.97% 21 2,186,190 46.46% – 117,857 2.50% – 26,724 0.57% – 13,475 0.29% – 3,823 0.08% – 6,169 0.13% – 10 0.00% – 165,019 3.51% 9.87% 4,705,457 OH Oklahoma 8 744,337 60.31% 8 474,276 38.43% – – – – 9,014 0.73% – 6,602 0.53% – – – – – – – – – – 270,061 21.88% 14.07% 1,234,229 OK Oregon 7 713,577 46.52% – 720,342 46.96% 7 77,357 5.04% – 7,063 0.46% – 7,447 0.49% – 2,189 0.14% – 2,574 0.17% – 3,419 0.22% – −6,765 −0.44% 7.65% 1,533,968 OR Pennsylvania 23 2,281,127 46.43% – 2,485,967 50.60% 23 103,392 2.10% – 16,023 0.33% – 11,248 0.23% – 14,428 0.29% – – – – 934 0.02% – −204,840 −4.17% 5.03% 4,913,119 PA Rhode Island 4 130,555 31.91% – 249,508 60.99% 4 25,052 6.12% – 2,273 0.56% – 742 0.18% – 97 0.02% – 271 0.07% – 614 0.15% – −118,953 −29.08% 3.81% 409,112 RI South Carolina 8 785,937 56.84% 8 565,561 40.90% – 20,200 1.46% – 3,519 0.25% – 4,876 0.35% – 1,682 0.12% – 942 0.07% – – – – 220,376 15.94% 10.11% 1,382,717 SC South Dakota 3 190,700 60.30% 3 118,804 37.56% – – – – 3,322 1.05% – 1,662 0.53% – 1,781 0.56% – – – – – – – 71,896 22.73% 19.27% 316,269 SD Tennessee 11 1,061,949 51.15% 11 981,720 47.28% – 19,781 0.95% – 4,250 0.20% – 4,284 0.21% – 1,015 0.05% – 613 0.03% – 2,569 0.12% – 80,229 3.86% 6.27% 2,076,181 TN Texas 32 3,799,639 59.30% 32 2,433,746 37.98% – 137,994 2.15% – 12,394 0.19% – 23,160 0.36% – 567 0.01% – – – – 137 0.00% – 1,365,893 21.32% 16.39% 6,407,637 TX Utah 5 515,096 66.83% 5 203,053 26.34% – 35,850 4.65% – 9,319 1.21% – 3,616 0.47% – 2,709 0.35% – 763 0.10% – 348 0.05% – 312,043 40.49% 19.42% 770,754 UT Vermont 3 119,775 40.70% – 149,022 50.63% 3 20,374 6.92% – 2,192 0.74% – 784 0.27% – 153 0.05% – 219 0.07% – 1,789 0.61% – −29,247 −9.94% 12.32% 294,308 VT Virginia 13 1,437,490 52.47% 13 1,217,290 44.44% – 59,398 2.17% – 5,455 0.20% – 15,198 0.55% – 1,809 0.07% – 171 0.01% – 2,636 0.10% – 220,200 8.04% 6.09% 2,739,447 VA Washington 11 1,108,864 44.58% – 1,247,652 50.16% 11 103,002 4.14% – 7,171 0.29% – 13,135 0.53% – 1,989 0.08% – 2,927 0.12% – 2,693 0.11% – −138,788 −5.58% 6.96% 2,487,433 WA West Virginia 5 336,475 51.92% 5 295,497 45.59% – 10,680 1.65% – 3,169 0.49% – 1,912 0.30% – 23 0.00% – 367 0.06% – 1 0.00% – 40,978 6.32% 21.07% 648,124 WV Wisconsin 11 1,237,279 47.61% – 1,242,987 47.83% 11 94,070 3.62% – 11,471 0.44% – 6,640 0.26% – 2,042 0.08% – 853 0.03% – 3,265 0.13% – −5,708 −0.22% 10.11% 2,598,607 WI Wyoming 3 147,947 67.76% 3 60,481 27.70% – 4,625 2.12% – 2,724 1.25% – 1,443 0.66% – 720 0.33% – 411 0.19% – – – – 87,466 40.06% 27.09% 218,351 WY Totals† 538 50,456,002 47.86% 271 50,999,897 48.38% 266 2,882,955 2.74% – 448,895 0.43% – 384,431* 0.36%* – 98,020 0.09% – 83,714 0.08% – 51,186 0.05% – −543,895 −0.52% 8.00% 105,405,100 US †Maine and Nebraska each allow for their electoral votes to be split between candidates. In both states, two electoral votes are awarded to the winner of the statewide race and one electoral vote is awarded to the winner of each congressional district. The votes for each candidate are only singly counted in the column totals.http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/2000g/gen00p-c.htm Maine General Election Tabulations, President of the United States by Congressional District November 7, 2000 September 24, 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20120906013952/http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/2000g/gen00p-c.htm September 6, 2012 livehttp://www.sos.ne.gov/elec/prev_elec/2000/pdf/pres_cong_dist.pdf Nebraska Statewide General Election 2000 Results - President by Congressional District Nebraska Secretary of State September 24, 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20150924104003/http://www.sos.ne.gov/elec/prev_elec/2000/pdf/pres_cong_dist.pdf September 24, 2015 dead *The Libertarian Party of Arizona had ballot access but opted to supplant Browne with L. Neil Smith. In Arizona, Smith received 5,775 votes, or 0.38% of the Arizona vote. Adding Smith's 5,775 votes to Browne's 384,431 votes nationwide, the total votes cast for president for the Libertarian Party in 2000 was 390,206, or 0.37% of the national vote. States that flipped from Democratic to Republican Arizona Arkansas Florida Kentucky Louisiana Missouri Nevada New Hampshire Ohio Tennessee West Virginia Close states #1560BD Al Gore 1px #AAAAAA solid #E32636 George W. Bush 1px #AAAAAA solid States where the margin of victory was less than 1% (55 electoral votes):Sheppard Mike How close were U.S. Presidential Elections? http://www.mit.edu/~mi22295/elections.html dead https://web.archive.org/web/20120825102042/http://www.mit.edu/~mi22295/elections.html#2000 August 25, 2012 24 December 2020 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Wayback Machine Florida, 0.009% (537 votes) (tipping point state) New Mexico, 0.061% (366 votes) Wisconsin, 0.22% (5,708 votes) Iowa, 0.31% (4,144 votes) Oregon, 0.44% (6,765 votes) States where the margin of victory was more than 1% but less than 5% (85 electoral votes): New Hampshire, 1.27% (7,211 votes) Maine's 2nd Congressional District, 1.87% (5,660 votes) Minnesota, 2.41% (58,607 votes) Missouri, 3.34% (78,786 votes) Ohio, 3.51% (165,019 votes) Nevada, 3.54% (21,597 votes) Tennessee, 3.87% (80,229 votes) Pennsylvania, 4.17% (204,840 votes) States where the margin of victory was more than 5% but less than 10% (84 electoral votes): Maine, 5.12% (33,335 votes) Michigan, 5.14% (217,279 votes) Arkansas, 5.45% (50,172 votes) Washington, 5.57% (138,788 votes) Arizona, 6.28% (96,311 votes) West Virginia, 6.33% (40,978 votes) Louisiana, 7.67% (135,527 votes) Maine's 1st Congressional District, 7.93% (27,675 votes) Virginia, 8.03% (220,200 votes) Colorado, 8.36% (145,518 votes) Vermont, 9.93% (29,247 votes) Statistics 2000 Presidential General Election Data - National, Uselectionatlas.org. Counties with highest percent of vote (Republican) Glasscock County, Texas 92.47% Ochiltree County, Texas 90.72% Hansford County, Texas 89.75% Harding County, South Dakota 88.92% Carter County, Montana 88.84% Counties with highest percent of vote (Democratic) Macon County, Alabama 86.80% Bronx County, New York 86.28% Shannon County, South Dakota 85.36% Washington, D.C. 85.16% City of Baltimore, Maryland 82.52% Counties with highest percent of vote (other) San Miguel County, Colorado 17.20% Missoula County, Montana 15.03% Grand County, Utah 14.94% Mendocino County, California 14.68% Hampshire County, Massachusetts 14.59% Maps Voter demographics + The 2000 presidential vote by demographic subgroup Demographic subgroupGoreBushOther % oftotal vote Total vote 48 48 4 100Ideology Liberals 81 13 6 20 Moderates 53 45 2 50 Conservatives 17 82 1 29Party Democrats 87 11 2 39 Republicans 8 91 1 35 Independents 46 48 6 26Gender Men 43 54 3 48 Women 54 44 2 52Race White 42 55 3 81 Black 90 9 1 10 Asian 55 41 4 2 Hispanic 62 35 3 7Age 18–24 years old 47 47 6 9 25–29 years old 49 46 5 8 30–49 years old 48 50 2 45 50–64 years old 50 48 2 24 65 and older 51 47 2 14Sexual orientation Gay, lesbian, or bisexual 71 25 4 4 Heterosexual 47 50 3 96Family income Under $15,000 58 38 4 7 $15,000–30,000 54 42 4 16 $30,000–50,000 49 48 3 24 $50,000–75,000 46 51 3 25 $75,000–100,000 46 52 2 13 Over $100,000 43 55 2 15Region East 56 40 4 23 Midwest 48 49 3 26 South 43 56 1 31 West 49 47 4 20Union households Union 59 37 4 26 Non-union 45 53 2 74 Source: Voter News Service exit poll from the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research (13,225 surveyed)https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/how-groups-voted-2000 How Groups Voted in 2000 ropercenter.cornell.edu February 1, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180213193326/https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/polls/us-elections/how-groups-voted/how-groups-voted-2000/ February 13, 2018 live Aftermath After Florida was decided and Gore conceded, Texas Governor George W. Bush became the president-elect and began forming his transition committee.Bush, now president-elect, signals will to bridge partisan gaps Ian Christopher McCaleb December 13, 2000 http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/12/13/election.wrap/ CNN.com February 10, 2009 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090212155920/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/12/13/election.wrap/ February 12, 2009 mdy-all In a speech on December 13, in the Texas House of Representatives chamber,http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=161267-1 Bush Acceptance—December 13, 2000 November 8, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081116145327/http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=161267-1 November 16, 2008 dead mdy-all Bush said he was reaching across party lines to bridge a divided America, saying, "the President of the United States is the President of every single American, of every race, and every background". During the transition period, Clinton staffers, upset by Gore's loss, reportedly vandalized White House furnishings, including removing the W keys from computer keyboards and stealing items, including several antique doorknobs. Approximately $15,000 in damage was reported.https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jun-12-na-clinton12-story.html Clinton Transition Left $15,000 Damage, GAO Says Michelle Munn June 12, 2002 Los Angeles Timeshttp://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/transcripts/121300/bush.html George W. Bush statement—December 13, 2000 CNN dead https://web.archive.org/web/20081212032134/http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/transcripts/121300/bush.html December 12, 2008 This election was one of only four U.S. presidential elections held since the Democrats and Republicans became the two major parties in which the winner did not carry any of the three Rust Belt states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin; the others were 1884, 1916, and 2004, when Bush was reelected.https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/17/politics/blue-wall-states-harris-trump-analysis/index.html Why these three states are the most consistent tipping point in American politics CNN Brownstein Ronald September 16, 2024 September 16, 2024 September 21, 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240921111750/https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/17/politics/blue-wall-states-harris-trump-analysis/index.html live Post-recount thumb|Joint session of Congress certifying the election results alongside Al Gore; January 6, 2001 On January 6, 2001, a joint session of Congress met to count the electoral votes. Twenty members of the House of Representatives, most of them members of the all-Democratic Congressional Black Caucus, rose one by one to file objections to the electoral votes of Florida. But pursuant to the Electoral Count Act, any such objection had to be sponsored by both a representative and a senator. No senator co-sponsored these objections, deferring to the Supreme Court's ruling. Therefore, Gore, who presided in his capacity as President of the Senate, ruled each of these objections out of order.http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=CREC&browsePath=2001%2F01%2F01-06\%2F7&isCollapsed=false&leafLevelBrowse=false&ycord=482 FDsys - Browse CREC Gpo.gov January 6, 2001 August 18, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20170701123721/https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=CREC&browsePath=2001%2F01%2F01-06%5C%2F7&isCollapsed=false&leafLevelBrowse=false&ycord=482 July 1, 2017 live Subsequently, Congress counted the electoral votes from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.Mitchell Alison Over Some Objections, Congress Certifies Electoral Vote (Published 2001) https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/07/us/over-some-objections-congress-certifies-electoral-vote.html https://web.archive.org/web/20110207100228/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/07/us/over-some-objections-congress-certifies-electoral-vote.html 2011-02-07 subscription live The New York Times January 30, 2021 January 7, 2001 Gore was the last incumbent vice president until Kamala Harris to certify their opponent's Electoral College victory in a presidential election. Bush took the oath of office on January 20, 2001. He served for the next eight years. Gore has not, as of 2024, considered another presidential run, endorsing Howard Dean's candidacy during the 2004 Democratic primary and remaining neutral in the Democratic primaries of 2008, 2016 and 2020.https://prospect.org/article/new-new-gore The New New Gore Klein Ezra March 19, 2006 The American Prospect February 5, 2019 en-US 1049-7285 https://web.archive.org/web/20190207015859/https://prospect.org/article/new-new-gore February 7, 2019 liveGore speaks: I still may endorse https://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/05/06/gore-speaks-i-still-may-endorse/ February 8, 2021 en February 9, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210209013331/https://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/05/06/gore-speaks-i-still-may-endorse/ dead Wright David May 23, 2016 Al Gore: No endorsement yet for Clinton, Sanders https://www.cnn.com/2016/05/23/politics/al-gore-no-endorsement-democrat/index.html February 8, 2021 CNN Digital en February 14, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210214105403/https://www.cnn.com/2016/05/23/politics/al-gore-no-endorsement-democrat/index.html live Astor Maggie April 22, 2020 Al Gore Endorses Joe Biden for President: 'This Is Not Complicated' en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/us/politics/al-gore-endorse-joe-biden.html https://web.archive.org/web/20200422175027/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/us/politics/al-gore-endorse-joe-biden.html 2020-04-22 subscription live February 8, 2021 0362-4331Oshin Olafimihan 2022-07-24 Al Gore knocks notion of another presidential run: 'I'm a recovering politician' https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/3572206-al-gore-knocks-notion-of-another-presidential-run-im-a-recovering-politician/ 2023-05-01 The Hill en-US October 15, 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20221015104342/https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/3572206-al-gore-knocks-notion-of-another-presidential-run-im-a-recovering-politician/ live The first independent recount of undervotes was conducted by the Miami Herald and USA Today. The commission found that under most scenarios for completion of the initiated recounts, Bush would have won the election, but Gore would have won using the most generous standards for undervotes.https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/media-jan-june01-recount_04-03 Media Recount: Bush Won The 2000 election PBS September 17, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20171003021106/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/media-jan-june01-recount_04-03/ October 3, 2017 live Ultimately, a media consortium—comprising The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Tribune Co. (parent of the Los Angeles Times), Associated Press, CNN, The Palm Beach Post and the St. Petersburg Timeshttp://fair.org/extra-online-articles/who-won-the-election-who-cares/ Who Won the Election? Who Cares? Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting October 30, 2012 January 2002 https://web.archive.org/web/20121208152442/http://fair.org/extra-online-articles/who-won-the-election-who-cares/ December 8, 2012 live—hired NORC at the University of Chicago to examine 175,010 ballots collected from the entire state, not just the disputed counties that were recounted; these ballots contained undervotes (ballots with no machine-detected choice made for president) and overvotes (ballots with more than one choice marked). Their goal was to determine the reliability and accuracy of the systems used for the voting process. Based on the NORC review, the media group concluded that if the disputes over all the ballots in question had been resolved by applying statewide any of five standards that would have met Florida's legal standard for recounts, the electoral result would have been reversed and Gore would have won by 60 to 171 votes. (Any analysis of NORC data requires, for each punch ballot, at least two of the three ballot reviewers' codes to agree or instead, for all three to agree.) For all undervotes and overvotes statewide, these five standards are: Prevailing standard – accepts at least one detached corner of a chad and all affirmative marks on optical scan ballots. County-by-county standard – applies each county's own standards independently. Two-corner standard – accepts at least two detached corners of a chad and all affirmative marks on optical scan ballots. Most restrictive standard – accepts only so-called perfect ballots that machines somehow missed and did not count, or ballots with unambiguous expressions of voter intent. Most inclusive standard – applies uniform criteria of "dimple or better" on punch marks and all affirmative marks on optical scan ballots. Such a statewide review including all uncounted votes was a tangible possibility, as Leon County Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis, whom the Florida Supreme Court had assigned to oversee the statewide recount, had scheduled a hearing for December 13 (mooted by the U.S. Supreme Court's final ruling on the 12th) to consider the question of including overvotes as well as undervotes. Subsequent statements by Lewis and internal court documents support the likelihood of including overvotes in the recount."The Final Word? New Documents Raise Questions About News Media's Findings On The 2000 Presidential Election" (archived from the original on October 30, 2008) Florida State University professor of public policy Lance deHaven-Smith observed that, even considering only undervotes, "under any of the five most reasonable interpretations of the Florida Supreme Court ruling, Gore does, in fact, more than make up the deficit".deHaven-Smith Lance 8, 15–16, 37–41 University Press of Florida 2005 Gainesville, Florida, United States The Battle for Florida: An Annotated Compendium of Materials from the 2000 Presidential Election Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting's analysis of the NORC study and media coverage of it supports these interpretations and criticizes the coverage of the study by media outlets such as The New York Times and the other media consortium members. Further, according to sociologists Christopher Uggen and Jeff Manza, the 2000 election might have gone to Gore if the disenfranchised population of Florida had voted. Florida law disenfranchises convicted felons, requiring individual applications to regain suffrage. In a 2002 American Sociological Review article, Uggen and Manza found that the released felon vote could have altered the outcome of seven senatorial races between 1978 and 2000, and the 2000 presidential election. Florida's ex-convicts seek right to vote https://www.chicagotribune.com/2004/07/20/floridas-ex-convicts-seek-right-to-vote/ tribunedigital-chicagotribune July 20, 2004 February 23, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304181347/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-07-20/news/0407200186_1_felons-civil-rights-re-elect March 4, 2016 live Matt Ford noted their study concluded, "if the state's 827,000 disenfranchised felons had voted at the same rate as other Floridians, Democratic candidate Al Gore would have won Florida—and the presidency—by more than 80,000 votes."Matt Ford, "Restoring Voting Rights for Felons in Maryland" https://web.archive.org/web/20170421090255/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/02/maryland-felon-voting/462000/ April 21, 2017 , The Atlantic, February 9, 2016, accessed March 23, 2016 The effect of Florida's law is such that in 2014, purportedly "[m]ore than one in ten Floridians—and nearly one in four African-American Floridians—are shut out of the polls because of felony convictions."Brent Staples, "Florida Leads the Pack – in Felon Disenfranchisement", New York Times, November 7, 2014, accessed March 23, 2016 Voting machines Because the 2000 presidential election was so close in Florida, the federal government and state governments pushed for election reform to be prepared by the 2004 presidential election. Many of Florida's 2000 election night problems stemmed from usability and ballot design factors with voting systems, including the potentially confusing "butterfly ballot." Many voters had difficulties with the paper-based punch card voting machines and were either unable to understand the voting process or unable to perform it. This resulted in an unusual number of overvotes (voting for more candidates than is allowed) and undervotes (voting for fewer than the minimum candidates, including none at all). Many undervotes were caused by voter error, unmaintained punch card voting booths, or errors having to do merely with the characteristics of punch card ballots (resulting in hanging, dimpled, or pregnant chads). Post-election analyses of Florida voting data found higher rates of ballot spoilage in Florida counties with larger numbers of African Americans, especially in Duval County, with its "caterpillar ballot", in which the presidential section stretched across multiple pages."", Dr. Allan J. Lichtman, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, June, 2001"", Philip A. Klinkner, Whose Votes Don't Count?: An Analysis of Spoiled Ballots in the 2000 Florida Election, June, 2001"", Dr. Allan J. Lichtman, 2000: When the wrong man was elected President, August, 2024 A proposed solution to these problems was the installation of modern electronic voting machines. The 2000 presidential election spurred the debate about election and voting reform but did not end it. In the aftermath of the election, the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) was passed to help states upgrade their election technology in the hopes of preventing similar problems in future elections. But the electronic voting systems that many states purchased to comply with HAVA actually caused problems in the 2004 presidential election. Exit polling and declaration of vote winners The Voter News Service's reputation was damaged by its treatment of Florida's presidential vote in 2000. Breaking its own guidelines,February 2017 VNS called the state as a win for Gore 12 minutes before polls closed in the Florida Panhandle. Although most of the state is in the Eastern Time Zone, counties in the Panhandle, in the Central Time Zone, had not yet closed their polls. Discrepancies between the results of exit polls and the actual vote count caused the VNS to change its call twice, first from Gore to Bush and then to "too close to call." Due in part to this (and other polling inaccuracies) the VNS was disbanded in 2003.News Outlets Disband Voter News Service https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/media-jan-june03-vns_01-13 9 February 2022 PBS 13 January 2003 February 9, 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220209161359/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/media-jan-june03-vns_01-13 live According to Bush adviser Karl Rove, exit polls early in the afternoon on election day showed Gore winning by three percentage points, but when the networks called the state for Gore, Bush led by about 75,000 votes in raw tallies from the Florida Secretary of State. Charges of media bias were leveled against the networks by Republicans, who claimed that the networks called states more quickly for Al Gore than for George W. Bush. Congress held hearings on this matter,House Hearing, 107th Congress — Election Night Coverage by the Networks https://www.congress.gov/event/107th-congress/house-event/LC16582/text January 20, 2021 Congress.gov March 27, 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220327171607/https://www.congress.gov/event/107th-congress/house-event/LC16582/text live at which the networks claimed to have no intentional bias in their election night reporting. A study of the calls made on election night 2000 indicated that states carried by Gore were called more quickly than states won by Bush;Mixon J. Wilson Sen Amit Stephenson E. Frank 2004 Are the Networks Biased? "Calling" States in the 2000 Presidential Election https://www.jstor.org/stable/30025921 Public Choice 118 1/2 53–59 10.1023/B:PUCH.0000013793.82613.60 30025921 51066655 0048-5829 March 3, 2021 February 21, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210221001104/https://www.jstor.org/stable/30025921 live subscription however, notable states carried by Bush, such as New Hampshire and Florida, were very close, and close states won by Gore, such as Iowa, Oregon, New Mexico and Wisconsin, were called late as well.Joseph Uscinski. 2007. "Too Close to Call? Uncertainty and Bias in Election Night Reporting" Social Science Quarterly vol. 88,(1). The early call of Florida for Gore has been alleged to have cost Bush several close states, including Iowa, New Mexico, Oregon, and Wisconsin.14 February 2001 Election Night Coverage by the Networks https://www.congress.gov/107/chrg/CHRG-107hhrg71490/CHRG-107hhrg71490.pdf live https://web.archive.org/web/20220331185052/https://www.congress.gov/107/chrg/CHRG-107hhrg71490/CHRG-107hhrg71490.pdf 31 March 2022 1 June 2024 United States Congress 29, 139 In each of these states, Gore won by less than 10,000 votes, and the polls closed after the networks called Florida for Gore. Because the Florida call was widely seen as an indicator that Gore had won the election, researcher John Lott claimed that the call depressed Republican turnout in the western Florida Panhandle during its final minutes of voting, which could have led to slim margins by which Gore carried several states.Lott Jr. John June 2005 The Impact of Early Media Election Calls on Republican Voting Rates in Florida's Western Panhandle Counties in 2000 https://www.jstor.org/stable/30026690 Public Choice 123 3/4 349–361 10.1007/s11127-005-7166-1 30026690 June 1, 2024 June 1, 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240601000030/https://www.jstor.org/stable/30026690 live Lott's survey assumed that the turnout in the western Panhandle counties, which was 65%, would have equaled the statewide average of 68% if the state had not been called for Gore while the polls were open. But the smaller turnout in the Panhandle has been attributed to the surge in the black vote elsewhere in Florida to 16% of the total from 10% of the total in 1996.Oh, Waiter! One Order of Crow! https://archive.org/details/ohwaiteroneorder00gree registration Jeff Greenfield 2001 G. P. Putnam's Sons New York 94–96 9780399147760 Research by Henry Brady and David Collier strongly disputes Lott's findings.Brady, Henry E.; Collier, David (2004). Rethinking Social Inquiry: Diverse Tools, Shared Standards. Rowman & Littlefield. 9780742511255. Brady and Collier sharply criticize Lott's methodology and claim that when all relevant factors are accounted for, the early call likely cost Bush only between 28 and 56 votes. Ralph Nader spoiler controversy Ralph Nader 2000 presidential campaign#Spoiler controversy Many Gore supporters claimed that Green Party nominee Ralph Nader acted as a spoiler in the election, under the presumption that Nader voters would have voted for Gore had Nader not been in the race.http://www.thenation.com/article/tweedledee-indeed/ Tweedledee, Indeed The Nation Eric Alterman March 22, 2001 December 16, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20170210111434/https://www.thenation.com/article/tweedledee-indeed/ February 10, 2017 live Nader received 2.74% of the popular vote nationwide, including 97,000 votes in Florida (by comparison, there were 111,251 overvotes)https://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2001-05-10-overvotetable.htm USA Today Overvote county summary May 10, 2001 September 17, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20120630154726/http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2001-05-10-overvotetable.htm June 30, 2012 live Herron Michael C. Lewis Jeffrey B. Did Ralph Nader spoil Al Gore's Presidential bid? A ballot-level study of Green and Reform Party voters in the 2000 Presidential election Quarterly Journal of Political Science 2 3 205–226 10.1561/100.00005039 August 2007 http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/polisci/faculty/lewis/pdf/greenreform9.pdf March 16, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170316125745/http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/polisci/faculty/lewis/pdf/greenreform9.pdf March 16, 2017 dead and 22,000 in New Hampshire, where Bush beat Gore by 7,000 votes. Winning either state would have made Gore president. Dan Perkins agreed and said that the margin in Florida was small enough that Democrats could blame any number of third-party candidates for the defeat, including Workers World Party candidate Monica Moorehead, who received 1,500 votes.http://archive.salon.com/comics/tomo/2000/11/13/tomo/index.html This Modern World Salon.com Comics May 23, 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20060315015827/http://archive.salon.com/comics/tomo/2000/11/13/tomo/index.html March 15, 2006 dead Nader's reputation was hurt by this perception, which may have hindered his goals as an activist. For example, Mother Jones wrote about the so-called "rank-and-file liberals" who saw Nader negatively after the election and pointed out that Public Citizen, the organization Nader founded in 1971, suffered a drop in contributions. Mother Jones also cited a Public Citizen letter sent out to people interested in Nader's relation with the organization at that time, with the disclaimer: "Although Ralph Nader was our founder, he has not held an official position in the organization since 1980 and does not serve on the board. Public Citizen—and the other groups that Mr. Nader founded—act independently."https://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2001/07/nader.html Nader Unrepentant Mother Jones July 27, 2013 August 18, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20090211230846/http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2001/07/nader.html February 11, 2009 live Press influence on race In their 2007 book The Nightly News Nightmare: Network Television's Coverage of US Presidential Elections, 1988–2004, professors Stephen J. Farnsworth and S. Robert Lichter said that most media outlets influenced the outcome of the election through the use of horse race journalism.https://archive.org/details/nightlynewsnight0000farn registration Farnsworth, S.J. Lichter, S.R. The Nightly News Nightmare: Network Television's Coverage of US Presidential Elections, 1988–2004 159–160 Rowman & Littlefield 2007 9780742553774 Some liberal supporters of Al Gore argued that the media had a bias against Gore and in favor of Bush. Peter Hart and Jim Naureckas, two commentators for Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), called the media "serial exaggerators" and took the view that several media outlets were constantly exaggerating criticism of Gore:Serial Exaggerators: Media's double standard on political lying Peter Hart Jim Naureckas January 1, 2001 http://fair.org/extra/serial-exaggerators/ FAIR December 4, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20161220045744/http://fair.org/extra/serial-exaggerators/ December 20, 2016 live they further argued that the media falsely claimed Gore lied when he claimed he spoke in an overcrowded science class in Sarasota, Florida, and that the media gave Bush a pass on certain issues, such as Bush allegedly exaggerating how much money he signed into the annual Texas state budget to help the uninsured during his second debate with Gore in October 2000. In the April 2000 issue of Washington Monthly, columnist Robert Parry wrote that media outlets exaggerated Gore's supposed claim that he "discovered" the Love Canal neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York during a campaign speech in Concord, New Hampshire on November 30, 1999, when he had only claimed he "found" it after it was already evacuated in 1978 because of chemical contamination.He's No Pinocchio: How the press exaggerated Al Gores exaggerations Robert Parry April 2000 http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2000/0004.parry.html Washington Monthly dead https://web.archive.org/web/20131115051407/http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2000/0004.parry.html November 15, 2013 mdy-all Rolling Stone columnist Eric Boehlert also alleged media outlets exaggerated criticism of Gore as early as July 22, 1999,Boehlert, Eric, (December 6, 2001), "The Press v. Al Gore", Rolling Stone when Gore, known for being an environmentalist, had a friend release 500 million gallons of water into a drought-stricken river to help keep his boat afloat for a photo shoot; Boehlert claimed that media outlets exaggerated the actual number of gallons that were released, as they claimed it was 4 billion. Effects on future elections and the Supreme Court A number of subsequent articles have characterized the election in 2000, and the Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore, as damaging the reputation of the Supreme Court, increasing the view of judges as partisan, and decreasing Americans' trust in the integrity of elections.https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/ct-xpm-2012-07-02-ct-oped-0702-krauthammer-20120702-17-story.html Why Roberts did it Chicago Tribune July 2, 2012 July 4, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190703052113/https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/ct-xpm-2012-07-02-ct-oped-0702-krauthammer-20120702-17-story.html July 3, 2019 live Balkin Jack M. Bush v. Gore and the Boundary - Between Law and Politics https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=4557&context=ylj dead https://web.archive.org/web/20200724141205/https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&httpsredir=1&article=4557&context=ylj July 24, 2020 digitalcommons.law.yale.edu July 30, 2021https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1417&context=facpub The Liberal Legacy of Bush v. Gore 2006 Cole David Georgetown University Law Center July 4, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190531023521/https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1417&context=facpub May 31, 2019 live https://theweek.com/articles/488658/legacy-bush-v-gore The legacy of Bush v. Gore The Week December 9, 2010 July 4, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190703052114/https://theweek.com/articles/488658/legacy-bush-v-gore July 3, 2019 live https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2010/12/the-real-legacy-of-bush-v-gore.html The real legacy of Bush v. Gore Slate December 3, 2010 July 4, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190703052114/https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2010/12/the-real-legacy-of-bush-v-gore.html July 3, 2019 live Hasen Richard L. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/11/just-how-bad-was-bush-v-gore/343247/ Just How Bad Was Bush v. Gore? The Atlantic November 29, 2010 July 4, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190703052114/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/11/just-how-bad-was-bush-v-gore/343247/ July 3, 2019 live The number of lawsuits brought over election issues more than doubled following the 2000 election cycle, an increase Richard L. Hasen of UC Irvine School of Law attributes to the "Florida fiasco". Westgate voter intimidation controversy In 2012, Westgate Resorts owner David A. Siegel admitted to surveying 8,000 Westgate employees nationwide and ensuring that those who supported Gore would not vote. Siegel, whose corporation was also based in Florida, acknowledged that his actions may have illegally blocked votes for Gore and ensured that Bush won the state.Berfield Susan Why Time-Share King David Siegel Thinks He Got Bush Elected http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-08-03/why-time-share-king-david-siegel-thinks-he-got-w-elected https://web.archive.org/web/20120805053002/http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-08-03/why-time-share-king-david-siegel-thinks-he-got-w-elected dead August 5, 2012 Business Weed April 9, 2025Goldberg Adam David Siegel, Florida Real Estate Mogul, Claims To Be 'Personally Responsible' For George W. Bush's 2000 Victory http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/31/david-siegel-george-w-bush-election_n_1725152.html The Huffington Post 9 April 2025 2012-07-31 Analysis The 2000 presidential election saw an increase in the urban-rural political divide and caused regional realignments that would evolve in the 21st century. Bush made major gains in most counties, particularly outside urban areas. The District of Columbia and every state except Maryland shifted rightward from the 1996 presidential election.https://split-ticket.org/2022/07/30/the-one-that-started-it-all-a-look-back-at-the-2000-presidential-election/ A Detailed Look Back At The 2000 Presidential Election Lakshya Jain Harrison Lavelle Split Ticket July 30, 2022 June 4, 2024 July 30, 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220730140002/https://split-ticket.org/2022/07/30/the-one-that-started-it-all-a-look-back-at-the-2000-presidential-election/ live The next time such a uniform shift occurred was in the 2024 presidential election, when every state, every Congressional District with electoral votes except Nebraska's 2nd congressional district, and D.C. shifted rightward from the 2020 presidential election.https://abcnews.go.com/538/americas-swing-2024-wide-deep/story?id=116639076 America's swing to the right in 2024 was wide, if not always deep December 10, 2024 December 11, 2024 Geoffrey Skelley ABC News From one presidential election to the next, more states usually swing toward the party that gains ground compared with how it performed four years earlier. However, it's rare for every state to move in the same direction, even in elections where one candidate wins decisively. ... But in 2024, all 50 states and D.C. swung to the right to varying degrees based on their margins versus the 2020 race. This marked the first presidential election since 1976 in which all 51 components of the Electoral College moved in the same direction relative to how they voted four years earlier. April 5, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250405221032/https://abcnews.go.com/538/americas-swing-2024-wide-deep/story?id=116639076 dead Except in 2008, no major-party ticket has won fewer than 200 electoral votes in any 21st-century election. None has surpassed George H. W. Bush's 426 electoral votes and 7.7% popular-vote margin in 1988. Gore's popular-vote margin of 0.5% remains the lowest of any presidential election since 2000. Demographic swings The demographic swings in the 2000 presidential election foreshadowed realignments that continued to evolve. It was the first election in which whites without college degrees voted significantly more Republican than college-educated whites, though income was still a key dividing line. In 2016, education replaced income as the political dividing line among whites.https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/education-not-income-predicted-who-would-vote-for-trump/ https://web.archive.org/web/20161122211024/https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/education-not-income-predicted-who-would-vote-for-trump/ dead November 22, 2016 Education, Not Income, Predicted Who Would Vote For Trump November 22, 2016 FiveThirtyEight Nate Silver By 2024, education had replaced income among all voters except Black voters.https://x.com/MattGrossmann/status/1925357233665093896 The diploma divide extended to Latino, Asian, & other race voters in 2024 but is still not present among Black voters. Matt Grossmann X May 21, 2025 Table 1. Democratic Support by College and Race Non-college whites swung toward Bush, which fueled his gains in the South. According to Split Ticket estimates, Bush won non-college whites by 17 points and college-educated whites by 9 points, winning whites as a whole by 13 points. Bush also made large gains with Hispanic voters and did even better among them in 2004. For example, Bush gained in Miami-Dade County, Florida, helping him win the state. Bush also nearly won New Mexico. Gore did well with African American voters, though it was not enough to win any Southern state. He also marginally improved among white women with college degrees, which foreshadowed increased Democratic strength in that demographic. States become Republican stronghold thumb|320px|Red states, along with the year since which they have been red. All states colored on this map have been red since at least 2016. The 2000 presidential election marked the permanent realignment of most of the Southern United States to the Republican Party at the presidential level. In addition to his home state of Tennessee, Gore lost every Southern state despite the closeness of the electoral vote and popular vote.Miller Gary Schofield Norman 2003 Activists and Partisan Realignment in the United States American Political Science Review 97 2 245–260 10.1017/S0003055403000650 12885628 1537-5943 By 2000, however, the New Deal party alignment no longer captured patterns of partisan voting. In the intervening 40 years, the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts had triggered an increasingly race-driven distinction between the parties. ... Goldwater won the electoral votes of five states of the Deep South in 1964, four of them states that had voted Democratic for 84 years (Califano 1991, 55). He forged a new identification of the Republican party with racial conservatism, reversing a century-long association of the GOP with racial liberalism. This in turn opened the door for Nixon's "Southern strategy" and the Reagan victories of the eighties. Gore's performance in the South was similar to that of Michael Dukakis in 1988, even as Gore won the popular vote by 0.5% and Dukakis lost it by 7.7%. No Democratic presidential nominee has won Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska (excluding Nebraska's 2nd congressional district), Kansas, or Oklahoma since 1964. None has won South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, or Texas since 1976. None has won Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, or West Virginia since 1996. Gore suffered particularly steep losses in Appalachia and the Upper South, which foreshadowed Democrats' 21st-century performance in those regions. For example, Dukakis won West Virginia in 1988, but Gore lost it, and it became one of the nation's most reliably Republican states thereafter. Virginia has supported the Democratic nominee in every presidential election since 2008. https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/political_commentary/commentary_by_geoffrey_skelley/the_new_dominion_virginia_s_ever_changing_electoral_map The New Dominion: Virginia's Ever-Changing Electoral Map Geoffrey Skelley July 13, 2017 Rasmussen Reports June 4, 2024 January 8, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250108160010/https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/political_commentary/commentary_by_geoffrey_skelley/the_new_dominion_virginia_s_ever_changing_electoral_map live But every winning Republican presidential ticket has carried all the other ten former Confederate states in every 21st-century presidential election. In 2008, Barack Obama won Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida, and in 2012 he won Virginia and Florida. In 2020, Joe Biden won Virginia and Georgia, the only 21st-century Democratic presidential nominee to win a Deep South state. States become Democratic stronghold Gore held up well in the Midwest, losing only two states Bill Clinton won in 1996, Ohio (by 3.51%) and Missouri (by 3.34%). He won Wisconsin by 0.22% and Iowa by 0.32%. Gore's performance in the Midwest later inspired the phrase "blue wall", referring to states that voted for Democratic presidential nominees from 1992 to 2012.http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/12/politics/blue-wall-democrats-election/index.html Holding Democratic 'blue wall' was crucial for Obama victory - CNNPolitics.com Paul Steinhauser CNN 12 November 2012 9 May 2017 31 October 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201031184142/https://www.cnn.com/2012/11/12/politics/blue-wall-democrats-election/index.html live The 2000 presidential election also marked the realignment of much of the Western United States, particularly the West Coast, toward the Democratic Party. The West Coast was competitive at the time, with Gore winning California by 12% and Washington by 5.5%. Gore narrowly won Oregon (by 0.44%) and New Mexico (by 0.06%), the latter of which was actually closer in raw votes than Florida. California was believed to be competitive at the time and Bush campaigned there, but Gore won it by double digits.https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/26/us/2000-campaign-race-california-offensive-bush-producing-results-across-california.html THE 2000 CAMPAIGN: THE RACE IN CALIFORNIA; OFFENSIVE BY BUSH PRODUCING RESULTS ACROSS CALIFORNIA The New York Times October 26, 2000 Todd S. Purdum Democratic nominees have won Oregon in all 21st-century presidential elections. Bush won Colorado and New Mexico in 2004, the last time a Republican presidential nominee has won either state.https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-06-16/columnist-mark-z-barabak-the-new-west A series on political shifts in the West Mark Z. Los Angeles Times Barabak November 2023 June 4, 2024 June 19, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230619195256/https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-06-16/columnist-mark-z-barabak-the-new-west live Bush won both Nevada and Arizona. This election was the last time Nevada voted for the popular-vote loser. It has voted for the popular-vote winner in all subsequent presidential elections, the longest streak of any U.S. state. Arizona stayed Republican except in 2020, when it narrowly voted for Joe Biden. The 2000 presidential election was much less of a realignment in the Northeastern United States. Bush won New Hampshire by 1.27% and lost all other northeastern states. This was the last time any New England state voted Republican, although Donald Trump won Maine's 2nd congressional district in all three of his runs. See also United States Politics 2000s Newspaper endorsements in the 2000 United States presidential election 2000 United States gubernatorial elections 2000 United States House of Representatives elections 2000 United States Senate elections First inauguration of George W. Bush List of close election results National Popular Vote Interstate Compact Ralph Nader's presidential campaigns 1987 Philippine Senate election, where a vote recount for the 24th Senate seat was held for three months until the Supreme Court ordered its termination in favor of Juan Ponce EnrileSantos Sammy Enrile asks SC to stop vote recount https://books.google.com/books?id=OGcVAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA1&article_id=2120,2746122 September 2, 2025 Manila Standard I 175 Standard Publications, Inc. August 4, 1987 1–2 In a 34-page petition for certiorari and mandamus, Enrile also asked that he be proclaimed the 24th winning candidate in the last senatorial election.Santos Sammy SC orders Comelec to proclaim Enrile https://books.google.com/books?id=QWcVAAAAIBAJ September 2, 2025 Manila Standard I 184 Standard Publications, Inc. August 13, 1987 1–2 Notes References Further reading Books Abramson Paul R. Rohde, David W. Aldrich, John Herbert Change and Continuity in the 2000 Elections 2002 1-56802-740-0 CQ Press Washington, D.C. https://archive.org/details/changecontinuity0000abra_a2s3 Brinkley Douglas Douglas Brinkley 36 Days: The Complete Chronicle of the 2000 Presidential Election Crisis 2001 0-8050-6850-3 Times Books https://archive.org/details/36days00newy Vincent Bugliosi Vincent Bugliosi 2001 The Betrayal of America: How the Supreme Court Undermined the Constitution and Chose Our President Thunder's Mouth Press 1-56025-355-X The Betrayal of America Corrado Anthony Election of 2000: Reports and Interpretations Chatham House Publishers 2001 etal de La Garza, Rodolfo O. Rodolfo de la Garza Muted Voices: Latinos and the 2000 Elections 2004 0-7425-3590-8 Rowman & Littlefield Lanham, MD Denton Robert E. Jr. The 2000 Presidential Campaign: A Communication Perspective Praeger 2002 Alan M. Dershowitz Alan M. Dershowitz 2001 Supreme Injustice: How the High Court Hijacked Election 2000 https://archive.org/details/supremeinjustice00alan_0 registration 0-19-514827-4 Oxford Univ. Press New York Dover E. D. Missed Opportunity: Gore, Incumbency, and Television in Election 2000 2002 0-275-97638-6 Praeger Westport, Conn. https://archive.org/details/missedopportunit00eddo H. Gillman 2001 The Votes That Counted: How the Court Decided the 2000 Presidential Election https://archive.org/details/votesthatcounted00gill registration 0-226-29408-0 Univ. of Chicago Press Chicago Jacobson Arthur J. Rosenfeld, Michel Michel Rosenfeld The Longest Night: Polemics and Perspectives on Election 2000 2002 Moore David W. How to Steal an Election: The Inside Story of How George Bush's Brother and FOX Network Miscalled the 2000 Election and Changed the Course of History 2006 1-56025-929-9 Nation Press New York Greg Palast Greg Palast 2002 The Best Democracy Money Can Buy Pluto Press 0-7453-1846-0 The Best Democracy Money Can Buy Posner Richard A. Richard Posner Breaking the Deadlock: The 2000 Election, the Constitution, and the Courts 2001 0-691-09073-4 Princeton Univ. Press Princeton https://archive.org/details/breakingdeadlock00posn Rakove Jack N. Jack N. Rakove The Unfinished Election of 2000 2002 0-465-06837-5 Basic Books New York https://archive.org/details/unfinishedelecti00rako Sabato Larry J. Larry Sabato Overtime! The Election 2000 Thriller 2001 0-321-10028-X Longman New York https://archive.org/details/overtimeelection00saba Sammon Bill Bill Sammon At Any Cost: How Al Gore Tried to Steal the Election 2001 Regnery Publishing, Inc. 0-89526-227-4 https://archive.org/details/atanycosthowalgo00samm Steed, Robert P. The 2000 Presidential Election in the South: Partisanship and Southern Party Systems in the 21st Century 2002 Toobin Jeffrey Jeffrey Toobin Too Close To Call: The Thirty-Six-Day Battle to Decide the 2000 Election 2001 Random House 0-375-50708-6 https://archive.org/details/tooclosetocallth00toob Journal articles Arthur H. Miller Thomas F. Klobucar The Role of Issues in the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election Presidential Studies Quarterly 33 1 2003 101+ 10.1111/j.1741-5705.2003.tb00018.x Wattenberg Martin P. Martin Wattenberg (political scientist) The Democrats' Decline in the House during the Clinton Presidency: An Analysis of Partisan Swings Presidential Studies Quarterly 29 1999 10.1111/j.0268-2141.2003.00057.x 685 3 Wattier Mark J. The Clinton Factor: The Effects of Clinton's Personal Image in 2000 Presidential Primaries and in the General Election White House Studies 4 2004 Tribe, Laurence H.: "Erog .v Hsub and its Disguises: Freeing Bush v. Gore from its Hall of Mirrors", 115 Harvard Law Review 170 (November 2001). Jowei Chen and Jonathan Rodden (2013), "Unintentional Gerrymandering: Political Geography and Electoral Bias in Legislatures", Quarterly Journal of Political Science: Vol. 8: No. 3, pp 239–269. Papers Keating, Dan (The Washington Post). "Democracy Counts, The Florida ballot recount project", paper prepared for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, 2002. Underhill, Wendy "Election 2000: Before and After: September 2012", State Legislatures Magazine, a 2012 retrospective on improvements started by the 2000 election. External links 2000 Presidential General Election Results (popular vote by states) 2000 popular vote by states (with bar graphs) Campaign commercials from the 2000 election CBS News Coverage of Election Night 2000: Investigation, Analysis, Recommendations (231 kB PDF). Presidential Primaries, Caucuses, and Conventions Report from United States Commission on Civil Rights Supreme Court Decisions of December 9, 2000 Timeline of the 2000 Presidential Election Booknotes interview with Jeff Greenfield on Oh, Waiter! One Order of Crow: Inside the Strangest Presidential Election Finish in American History, July 22, 2001. United States Election 2000 Web Archive from the U.S. Library of Congress Election of 2000 in Counting the Votes Category:George W. Bush Category:Al Gore Category:Vice presidency of Dick Cheney Category:Joe Lieberman Category:November 2000 in the United States Category:Presidency of Bill Clinton Category:Presidency of George W. Bush Category:Contested elections in the United States