2000 United States elections

{{short description|none}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}

{{Infobox United States elections

| year = 2000

| type = Presidential election year

| incumbent_president = Bill Clinton (Democratic)

| election_day = November 7, 2000

| next_congress = 107th

| president_control = Republican gain

| president_pv_margin = Democratic +0.5%

| president_candidate1 = George W. Bush (R)

| electoral_vote1 = 271

| president_candidate2 = Al Gore (D)

| electoral_vote2 = 266

| president_map = {{United States presidential election, 2000 imagemap}}

| president_map_caption = 2000 presidential election results. Red denotes states won by Bush, blue denotes states won by Gore. Numbers indicate the electoral votes won by each candidate.

| senate_seats_contested = 34 of 100 seats
(33 Class I seats +1 special election)

| senate_control = Republican holdRepublicans briefly lost their Senate majority in January 2001 when the 107th Congress was seated, but they regained their majority that same month when Republican Dick Cheney was sworn in as vice president. Democrats gained the majority in the Senate in May 2001 after Senator Jim Jeffords left the Republican Senate Caucus.

| senate_net_change = Democratic +4

| senate_map = {{2000 United States Senate elections imagemap}}

| senate_map_caption = 2000 Senate results
{{legend0|#f48882|Republican hold}} {{legend0|#ca0120|Republican gain}}
{{legend0|#92c5de|Democratic hold}} {{legend0|#0671b0|Democratic gain}}

| house_seats_contested = All 435 voting members

| house_control = Republican hold

| house_pv_margin = Republican +0.5%

| house_net_change = Democratic +1

| house_map = 400px

| house_map_caption = 2000 House of Representatives results
(territorial delegate races not shown)
{{legend0|#f48882|Republican hold}} {{legend0|#ca0120|Republican gain}}
{{legend0|#92c5de|Democratic hold}} {{legend0|#0671b0|Democratic gain}}
{{legend0|#999999|Independent hold}} {{legend0|#666666|Independent gain}}

| governor_seats_contested = 14 (12 states, 2 territories)

| governor_net_change = Democratic +1

| governor_map = {{2000 United States gubernatorial elections imagemap}}

| governor_map_caption = 2000 gubernatorial election results
{{legend0|#F48984|Republican hold}}
{{legend0|#0272B1|Democratic gain}} {{legend0|#94C6DF|Democratic hold}}
{{legend0|#FF3333|Popular Democratic gain}} {{legend0|#999999|Nonpartisan}}

}}

Elections were held in the United States on November 7, 2000. Republican governor George W. Bush of Texas defeated Democratic Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee in the presidential election. Republicans retained control of both houses of Congress, giving the party unified control of Congress and the presidency for the first time since the 1954 elections.

With Democratic president Bill Clinton term-limited, Gore won his party's nomination by defeating Senator Bill Bradley in the Democratic primaries. Bush defeated Senator John McCain in the Republican primaries to win his party's presidential nomination. Bush took 271 of the 538 electoral votes, winning the decisive state of Florida by a margin of 537 votes after a recount was halted by the Supreme Court in the case of Bush v. Gore. Bush was the first winning presidential candidate to lose the popular vote since the 1888 presidential election. This marked the first time since 1988 where the winning presidential candidate's party failed to have any coattails in either house of Congress.

Democrats picked up a net of four seats in the Senate, tying Republicans, but Dick Cheney provided the tie-breaking vote as Vice President of the United States. Republicans maintained control of the chamber until June 6, 2001, when Senator Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party and began caucusing with the Democrats. Democrats also picked up a net of one seat in the House, but Republicans retained an overall narrow majority. In the gubernatorial elections, Democrats won a net gain of one seat.

Federal elections

=President=

{{Main|2000 United States presidential election}}

In the 2000 presidential election, Republican Texas Governor George W. Bush defeated Democratic incumbent vice president Al Gore. The election was eye-catchingly close, but was the third straight election where neither party won a majority of the popular vote.

Scammon, Richard M., Alice V. McGillivray, and Rhodes Cook. America Votes 24: A Handbook of Contemporary American Election Statistics, 2000. Washington, D.C.: CQ, 2001. Print.

=United States Senate=

{{main|2000 United States Senate elections}}

The 33 seats in the United States Senate Class 1 were up for election plus one special election. Democrats picked up net of four seats.{{cite web|title=Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 2000|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2000election.pdf|publisher=U.S. House of Reps, Office of the Clerk|access-date=10 April 2017}} Six senators were defeated in the November 2000 election. The five defeated Republicans included Spencer Abraham of Michigan, John Ashcroft of Missouri, Slade Gorton of Washington, Rod Grams of Minnesota, and William V. Roth of Delaware. The single defeated Democrat was Charles S. Robb of Virginia.Scammon, Richard M., Alice V. McGillivray, and Rhodes Cook. America Votes 24: A Handbook of Contemporary American Election Statistics, 2000. Washington, D.C.: CQ, 2001. Print.

The Senate elections left both parties with control of fifty Senate seats. In the subsequent 107th United States Congress, Democrats controlled the Senate from January 3, 2001, to January 20, 2001, when Dick Cheney was sworn in as vice president. Republicans maintained control of the chamber until June 6, 2001, when Senator Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party and began caucusing with the Democrats.

=United States House of Representatives=

{{main|2000 United States House of Representatives elections}}

Republicans won the national popular vote for the House of Representatives by a margin of 0.5 points.{{cite web |title=Election Statistics, 1920 to Present |url=https://history.house.gov/Institution/Election-Statistics/Election-Statistics/ |publisher=United States House of Representatives}} Republicans lost two seats in the House, while Democrats gained 1 seat and 1 independent, Virgil Goode, was elected.{{cite web|title=2000 Presidential Election|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/showelection.php?year=2000|publisher=The American Presidency Project|access-date=13 August 2011}} Following the 2000 election, the majority of the House seaters in the South and Midwest were held by the Republican party, while the larger number of seats in the Northeast and West were held by the Democratic party.Scammon, Richard M., Alice V. McGillivray, and Rhodes Cook. America Votes 24: A Handbook of Contemporary American Election Statistics, 2000. Washington, D.C.: CQ, 2001. Print.

State elections

=Gubernatorial elections=

{{main|2000 United States gubernatorial elections}}

One sitting governor was defeated in the November 2000 general election. Cecil H. Underwood, Republican of West Virginia, concluded the 2000 election with a 47.2 election percentage. Democrat Bob Wise was elected to a four-year term.Scammon, Richard M., Alice V. McGillivray, and Rhodes Cook. America Votes 24: A Handbook of Contemporary American Election Statistics, 2000. Washington, D.C.: CQ, 2001. Print.

=State legislative elections=

{{Excerpt|only=paragraphs|2000 United States state legislative elections}}

=Ballot Initiatives=

[[File:U.S. state constitutional amendments banning same-sex unions, November 7, 2000.svg|thumb|350px|left|

Vote for same-sex marriage ban by counties:

{{legend|DarkGreen|90–100% |border=1px #AAAAAA solid}}

{{legend|ForestGreen|80–90% |border=1px #AAAAAA solid}}

{{legend|LimeGreen|70–80% |border=1px #AAAAAA solid}}

{{legend|Lime|60–70% |border=1px #AAAAAA solid}}

{{legend|GreenYellow|50–60% |border=1px #AAAAAA solid}}]]

{{clear}}

Local elections

=Mayoral elections=

Some of the major American cities that held their mayoral elections in 2000 included:

  • San Diego – Superior Court Judge Dick Murphy (R) was elected to a first term as mayor.{{cite news|last1=Perry|first1=Tony|title=San Diego Winner Puts Ethics Panel on Agenda|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-nov-09-mn-49490-story.html|access-date=October 19, 2014|work=Los Angeles Times|date=November 9, 2000}}

References

{{Reflist}}