Hello and welcome to another edition of the presidential election series. Today, we’ll be discussing the Election of 2000. America entered the new millennium with high hopes for the future, but it ended the year in what might still be the closest and most controversial election in U.S. history.
Clinton’s Second Term & Vice President Gore
As Bill Clinton’s second term drew to a close, he could look back on his presidency knowing he had overseen a booming economy, made efforts to end the Bosnian War, and facilitated peace talks in places like Britain and Ireland, as well as between Israel and Palestine. However, Clinton’s involvement—or lack thereof—in crises like Rwanda, Somalia, and Kosovo was problematic. Additionally, his signing of the 1994 Crime Bill and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which repealed the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, led to increased control of commercial and investment banking by banks, an issue that would resurface in subsequent years.
By far the biggest blunder of the Clinton presidency was his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky and the subsequent impeachment trial. Although he was acquitted by the Senate, the scandal tarnished his legacy.
Regardless, Vice President Al Gore decided to make another run for the presidency. After defeating New Jersey Senator and former basketball player Bill Bradley for the Democratic nomination, Gore picked Joe Lieberman, a Senator from Connecticut, as his running mate, making Lieberman the first Jewish candidate to be nominated on a major party’s presidential ticket.
The 2000 Republican Presidential Candidates
Going into the Election of 2000, a number of Republicans vied for the nomination. Among them were well-known figures like Steve Forbes, Dan Quayle, and Alan Keyes, but the two candidates who garnered the most attention were Arizona Senator and war hero John McCain, and George W. Bush, the Governor of Texas and eldest son of former President George H.W. Bush. Bush positioned himself as a moderate yet compassionate conservative. He won the Iowa caucuses but lost the New Hampshire, Michigan, and Arizona primaries to McCain. While this could have spelled the end for Bush’s presidential ambitions, campaign advisor Karl Rove conducted a smear campaign against McCain, allowing Bush to regain momentum by Super Tuesday, ultimately becoming the party’s nominee.
Dick Cheney, the former Secretary of Defense under Bush Senior, was initially chosen to help find a running mate for Bush. However, Cheney believed he would make a great choice himself, and Bush agreed. This necessitated Cheney changing his voter registration back to his home state of Wyoming, as having both candidates from Texas would invalidate votes in that state.
Campaign Strategies & Debates
During the election, Al Gore sought to distance himself from Clinton, fearing that the Lewinsky affair and other scandals would tarnish his campaign. Most historians believe this was a misstep, as Clinton remained popular despite the controversy.
Nonetheless, Gore promised to balance the budget annually, lower taxes for middle-class Americans, and pay down the national debt, while also maintaining Medicare and Social Security with the budget surplus. Meanwhile, Governor Bush promised to end Washington partisanship, bring “Honor and Dignity” back to the White House, and criticized Clinton’s foreign policy of intervening in overseas conflicts.
In the presidential debates, Gore came off as more intelligent and calculating than Bush, which helped him in the eyes of some viewers. However, this also backfired, as many pundits and voters perceived Gore as cold and aloof, while Bush appeared more folksy and relatable. It likely didn’t help Gore that he frequently rolled his eyes, sighed, and seemed condescending when Bush responded to questions.
Election Night Fiasco
Little did anyone know that November 7, 2000, would become one of the most polarizing events in modern American history. Both Bush and Gore were close to reaching the 270 electoral votes needed to become president. As the night progressed, many news networks initially called Florida for Gore, which would have meant his victory. However, the vote was too close to call, leading networks to retract their statements and place Florida in the undecided category before eventually calling the state for Bush around 10 PM.
The following morning, as more votes came in from key locations in Florida, the state was again placed in the undecided pile. This prompted Gore to retract his earlier concession to Bush, as the votes were still being counted. When the recount took place, Bush reportedly won the state by just 300 votes, or 930 votes when overseas ballots were included. This prompted Gore and his team to call for manual recounts in four key Florida counties, leading to a debacle that eventually reached the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court Ruling & Election Results
On December 12, more than a month after Election Day, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the Florida Supreme Court’s allowance of recounts beyond the original deadline was unconstitutional. With Bush ahead by just 537 votes in Florida, he was awarded all the state’s electoral votes by the Supreme Court, thus winning the Election of 2000. Bush became the 43rd President of the United States, carrying 30 states for a total of 271 electoral votes, while Gore carried 20 states and D.C. for 266 electoral votes.
However, Al Gore won the popular vote with 48.4% compared to Bush’s 47.9%, with approximately 543,895 votes separating them. This marked the first time since 1888 that a candidate who did not win the popular vote became president. Many believe that Ralph Nader, the Green Party’s candidate in 2000, spoiled the election for Gore, leading to the close race. However, there is no concrete evidence to support claims that Nader’s candidacy significantly impacted the outcome.
This election became the closest in American history since 1876, and like that election, its outcome would change the course of history for generations to come.
