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United States presidential election, 2000

← 1996 November 7, 2000 2004 →
  George-W-Bush.jpeg Al Gore, Vice President of the United States, official portrait 1994.jpg
Nominee George W. Bush Al Gore
Party Republican Democrat
Home state Texas Tennessee
Running mate Dick Cheney Joe Lieberman
Electoral vote 271 266
States carried 30 20+DC
Popular vote 50,456,002 50,999,897
Percentage 47.9% 48.4%

ElectoralCollege2000.svg
Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Bush/Cheney(30), Blue denotes those won by Gore/Lieberman(20+DC).

President before election

Bill Clinton
Democrat

Elected President

George W. Bush
Republican

The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President, and Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush.

Incumbent Democratic President Bill Clinton was not eligible to serve a third term, and Vice President Gore was able to secure the Democratic nomination. Bush was seen as the early favorite for the Republican nomination, and despite a contentious primary battle with Senator John McCain and other candidates, secured the nomination by Super Tuesday. Many third party candidates also ran, most prominently Ralph Nader. Bush chose former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney as his running mate, and Gore chose Senator Joe Lieberman as his. Both candidates focused primarily on domestic issues, such as the budget, tax relief, and reforms for federal social insurance programs, though foreign policy was not ignored. Clinton and Gore did not often campaign together, a deliberate decision resulting from the Lewinsky scandal two years prior.

Bush narrowly won the November 7 election, with 271 electoral votes to Gore's 266. There was a disagreement over who won Florida's 25 electoral votes, the recount that happened there, and the uncommon event that the winner got fewer popular votes than the loser. The Court's contentious decision in Bush v. Gore announced on December 12, 2000, ended the recounts, effectively awarding Florida's votes to Bush and granting him the victory.

Candidates

Democratic Party

Nominees

Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party Ticket, 2000
Al Gore Joe Lieberman
for President for Vice President
Al Gore, Vice President of the United States, official portrait 1994.jpg
Joe Lieberman official portrait 2.jpg
45th
Vice President of the United States
(1993–2001)
U.S. Senator from Connecticut
(1989–2013)
Campaign

Withdrawn candidate

Republican Party

Nominees

Republican Party (United States)
Republican Party Ticket, 2000
George W. Bush Dick Cheney
for President for Vice President
GeorgeWBush.jpg
Dick Cheney.jpg
46th
Governor of Texas
(1995–2000)
17th
U.S. Secretary of Defense
(1989–1993)
Campaign
Bush Cheney 2000.png

Withdrawn candidates

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Elecciones presidenciales de Estados Unidos de 2000 para niños

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