2000 United States presidential election

The 2000 United States presidential election happened on November 7, 2000. George W. Bush, the Republican candidate who was the Governor of Texas and the eldest son of the 41st president, George H. W. Bush, won the election. He defeated the Democratic candidate, Al Gore, who was the Vice President.

2000 United States presidential election

November 7, 2000
537 electoral votes (1 didn't vote) of the Electoral College 270 electoral votes needed to win
Turnout	51.2%[1] 2.2 pp
Nominee George W. Bush Al Gore Party Republican Democratic 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%
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 Democratic Elected President George W. Bush Republican

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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 the 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 because the way Florida voted was different from other states. A recount happened in the state and the uncommon event that the winner got fewer popular votes than the loser.[2] The Court's decision in Bush v. Gore announced on December 12, 2000, this ended the recounts, effectively awarding Florida's votes to Bush and granting him the victory.