| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Al Gore | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
From January 24 to June 6, 2000, voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for president in the 2000 United States presidential election. Incumbent Vice President Al Gore was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 2000 Democratic National Convention held from August 14 to 17, 2000, in Los Angeles, California, but he went on to lose the Electoral College in the general election against Governor George W. Bush held on November 7 of that year, despite winning the popular vote by 0.5%.
The apparent front runner, incumbent Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee, only faced one major candidate in the primaries, U.S. Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey. Both men campaigned to succeed term-limited incumbent Bill Clinton. During the course of the five-month primary season, Gore managed to win every single primary contest over his opponent, and easily won the party's nomination for the 2000 election.
Serious early speculation surrounded Bill Bradley, a U.S. Senator and former NBA player, who had long been considered a potential Democratic contender for the presidency. In December 1998, Bradley formed a presidential exploratory committee and began organizing a campaign. [1] Gore, however, had been considered the favorite for the Democratic nomination as early as 1997, with the commencement of President Clinton's second term. [2] Though numerous candidates for the Democratic nomination tested the waters, including Senator John Kerry, Governor Howard Dean, [3] Representative Richard Gephardt, and Reverend Jesse Jackson, [4] only Gore and Bradley ultimately entered the contest.
Bradley campaigned as the liberal alternative to Gore, taking positions to the left of him on issues like universal health care, gun control, and campaign finance reform. On the issue of taxes, Bradley trumpeted his sponsorship of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which had significantly cut tax rates while abolishing dozens of loopholes. [5] He voiced his belief that the best possible tax code would be one with low rates and no loopholes, but he refused to rule out the idea of raising taxes to pay for his health care program.
On public education, Bradley pushed for increased federal funding for schools under Title I, as well as the expansion of the Head Start program. [6] He further promised to bring 60,000 new teachers into the education system annually by offering college scholarships to anyone who agreed to become a teacher after graduating. [7] Bradley also made child poverty a significant issue in his campaign. Having voted against the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, better known as the "Welfare Reform Act," which, he said, would result in even higher poverty levels, [5] he promised to repeal it as president. He also promised to address the minimum wage, expand the Earned Income Tax Credit, allow single parents on welfare to keep their child support payments, make the Dependent Care Tax Credit refundable, build support homes for pregnant teenagers, enroll 400,000 more children in Head Start, and increase the availability of food stamps. [7]
Although both Gore and Bradley showed comparable success in terms of fund-raising, Bradley lagged behind Gore in many polls from the start and never gained a competitive position. Despite the late endorsement of the Des Moines Register , [8] Bradley went on to be defeated in the Iowa Caucus; Gore garnered 62.9% of the votes, while Bradley received only 36.6%. [9] Gore won the primary competition in New Hampshire as well, though by a significantly smaller margin, receiving 49.7% to Bradley's 46.6%. On Super Tuesday, Bradley attracted some support in various primaries, especially in northeastern states, but he failed to gain the majority of delegates in any of these competitions. He withdrew from the race on March 9. [10]
Since the advent of the modern presidential primary system began in 1972, Gore remains the only non-incumbent (Republican or Democrat) to sweep all the nominating contests held in a given year.
Candidate | Most recent office | Home state | Campaign | Popular vote | Contests won | Running mate | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Al Gore | Vice President of the United States (1993–2001) | Tennessee | (Campaign) | 10,885,814 (75.4%) | 56 | Joe Lieberman |
Candidate | Most recent office | Home state | Campaign | Popular vote | Contests won | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bill Bradley | U.S. Senator from New Jersey (1979–1997) | New Jersey | (Campaign) Withdrew: March 9, 2000 | 3,027,912 (21.0%) | 0 | ||
Lyndon LaRouche | Founder of the LaRouche Movement | New Hampshire | (Campaign) | 276,075 (1.19%) | 0 |
Source [16] | Date | Al Gore | Bill Bradley | Jesse Jackson | Dick Gephardt | John Kerry | Bob Kerrey | Paul Wellstone |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gallup | Sep. 6–7, 1997 | 49% | 13% | 15% | 7% | 5% | 4% | 0% |
Gallup | May 8–10, 1998 | 51% | 8% | 12% | 7% | 2% | 3% | 1% |
Gallup | Oct. 23–25, 1998 | 41% | 15% | 11% | 14% | 4% | 4% | 1% |
Gallup | Jan. 8–10, 1999 | 47% | 12% | 11% | 13% | 5% | - | 1% |
Gallup | Mar. 12–14, 1999 | 58% | 21% | 15% | - | - | - | - |
Gallup | Apr. 13–14, 1999 | 54% | 34% | - | - | - | - | - |
Gallup | Apr. 30 – May 2, 1999 | 66% | 23% | - | - | - | - | - |
Gallup | May 23–24, 1999 | 59% | 30% | - | - | - | - | - |
Gallup | Jun. 4–5, 1999 | 63% | 28% | - | - | - | - | - |
Gallup | Jun. 25–27, 1999 | 64% | 28% | - | - | - | - | - |
Gallup | Aug. 16–18, 1999 | 58% | 31% | - | - | - | - | - |
Gallup | Sep. 10–14, 1999 | 63% | 30% | - | - | - | - | - |
Gallup | Oct. 8–10, 1999 | 51% | 39% | - | - | - | - | - |
Gallup | Oct. 21–24, 1999 | 57% | 32% | - | - | - | - | - |
Gallup | Nov. 4–7, 1999 | 58% | 33% | - | - | - | - | - |
Date | Pledged delegates | Contest | Bill Bradley | Al Gore | Lyndon LaRouche |
January 24 | 47 | Iowa caucuses | 36.60% (18) | 62.85% (29) | 0.00% |
February 1 | 22 | New Hampshire primary | 45.59% (9) | 49.73% (13) | 0.08% |
February 5 | 0 | Delaware primary | 40.18% | 57.24% | 2.59% |
February 29 | 0 | Washington primary | 34.21% | 65.25% | 0.54% |
March 7 (1,310) | 6 | American Samoa caucuses | ?% (1) | ?% (3) | 3.03% |
367 | California primary | 18.19% (62) | 81.21% (305) | 0.60% | |
54 | Connecticut primary | 41.37% (24) | 55.60% (30) | 3.03% | |
77 | Georgia primary | 16.18% (12) | 83.82% (65) | - | |
20 | Hawaii caucuses | ?% (2) | ?% (20) | ?% | |
18 | Idaho caucuses | ?% (4) | ?% (14) | ?% | |
23 | Maine primary | 41.26% (10) | 54.02% (13) | 0.32% | |
68 | Maryland primary | 28.45% (19) | 67.32% (49) | 0.89% | |
93 | Massachusetts primary | 37.17% (35) | 59.77% (58) | 0.37% | |
75 | Missouri primary | 33.56% (24) | 64.62% (51) | 0.34% | |
243 | New York primary | 326,417 33.46% | 639,417 65.62% | 0.92% | |
14 | North Dakota caucuses | ?% (2) | ?% (12) | ?% | |
146 | Ohio primary | 24.70% (37) | 73.61% (109) | 1.69% | |
22 | Rhode Island primary | 40.35% (9) | 56.92% (13) | 0.42% | |
15 | Vermont primary | 43.89% (6) | 54.33% (9) | 0.72% | |
75 | Washington caucuses | 28.20% (22) | 68.39% (53) | 0.54% | |
March 9 | 43 | South Carolina caucuses | 1.78% | 91.79% (43) | 0.0% |
March 10 (75) | 51 | Colorado primary | 23.29% (7) | 71.43% (44) | 0.93% |
24 | Utah primary | 20.14% (3) | 79.86% (21) | - | |
March 11 (250) | 47 | Arizona primary | 18.88% (7) | 77.89% (40) | 1.66% |
129 | Michigan caucuses | 16.27% (9) | 82.74% (120) | 0.99% | |
74 | Minnesota caucuses | ~12% (2) | ~74% (72) | 11.0% | |
March 12 | 20 | Nevada caucuses | 2.22% | 88.91% (20) | 0.0% |
March 14 (566) | 161 | Florida primary | 18.17% (17) | 81.83% (144) | - |
61 | Louisiana primary | 19.92% (7) | 72.96% (54) | 3.89% | |
37 | Mississippi primary | 8.60% | 89.62% (37) | 1.78% | |
45 | Oklahoma primary | 25.44% (7) | 68.71% (38) | 5.85% | |
68 | Tennessee primary | 5.26% | 92.13% (68) | 0.48% | |
194 | Texas primary | 16.34% (12) | 80.24% (182) | 3.42% | |
March 18 | 3 | Guam caucuses | ?% | ?% (3) | 1.41% |
March 21 | 161 | Illinois primary | 14.24% (12) | 84.35% (149) | 1.41% |
March 25 | 13 | Wyoming caucuses | 4.98% | 85.44% (13) | 7.28% |
March 27 | 15 | Delaware caucuses | ?% | ?% (15) | ?% |
April 1 | 51 | Virgin Islands caucuses | ?% | ?% (3) | ?% |
April 2 | 51 | Puerto Rico caucuses | ?% | ?% (51) | ?% |
April 4 (238) | 161 | Pennsylvania primary | 20.73% (21) | 74.20% (139) | 4.53% |
77 | Wisconsin primary | 8.77% | 88.55% (77) | 1.01% | |
April 15 | 79 | Virginia caucuses | ?% | ?% (79) | ?% |
April 22 | 13 | Alaska caucuses | ?% | 68.39% (13) | ?% |
May 2 (175) | 17 | Washington, D.C. primary | - | 95.90% (17) | 4.10% |
72 | Indiana primary | 21.95% (10) | 74.91% (62) | 3.15% | |
86 | North Carolina primary | 18.31% (13) | 70% (73) | 2.11% | |
May 9 (56) | 26 | Nebraska primary | 26.27% (5) | 69.38% (21) | 3.01% |
30 | West Virginia primary | 18.44% (3) | 72.01% (27) | 1.90% | |
May 16 | 47 | Oregon primary | - | 84.86% (47) | 10.86% |
May 23 (86) | 37 | Arkansas primary | - | 78.47% (37) | 21.53% (7) |
0 | Idaho primary | 17.4% | 75.73% | 8.24% | |
49 | Kentucky primary | 14.68% (3) | 71.26% (46) | 2.24% | |
June 6 (217) | 54 | Alabama primary | - | 76.74% (54) | 5.58% |
17 | Montana primary | - | 77.87% (15) | - | |
105 | New Jersey primary | - | 94.89% (105) | 5.11% | |
26 | New Mexico primary | 20.57% (3) | 74.63% (23) | 2.32% | |
15 | South Dakota primary | - | ?% (15) | ?% |
Al Gore | Bill Bradley | Lyndon LaRouche | Uncommitted | Others | |
Popular Vote | 10,626,568 (75.80%) | 2,798,281 (19.96%) | 323,014 (2.30%) | 238,870 (1.70%) | 33,418 (0.24%) |
Delegates | 3,007 (85.16%) | 522 (14.78%) | 7 (0.06%) | 2 | - |
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. Other potential running-mates included:
Richard Andrew Gephardt is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who represented Missouri's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he was House majority leader from 1989 to 1995 and minority leader from 1995 to 2003. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in 1988 and 2004. Gephardt was mentioned as a possible vice presidential nominee in 1988, 1992, 2000, 2004, and 2008.
From January 14 to June 8, 2004, voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for president in the 2004 United States presidential election.
From February 10 to June 9, 1992, voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for president in the 1992 United States presidential election. Despite scandals and questions about his character, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton won the nomination through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1992 Democratic National Convention held from July 13 to July 16, 1992, in New York City. Clinton and Tennessee Senator Al Gore were nominated by the convention for president and vice president, respectively.
The 2000 presidential campaign of Al Gore, the 45th vice president of the United States under President Bill Clinton, began when he announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in Carthage, Tennessee, on June 16, 1999. Gore became the Democratic nominee for the 2000 presidential election on August 17, 2000.
The 1992 presidential campaign of Bill Clinton, the then-governor of Arkansas, was announced on October 3, 1991, at the Old State House in Little Rock, Arkansas. After winning a majority of delegates in the Democratic primaries of 1992, the campaign announced that then-junior U.S. senator from Tennessee, Al Gore, would be Clinton's running mate. The Clinton–Gore ticket defeated Republican incumbent President George H. W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle in the presidential election on November 3, 1992, and took office as the 42nd president and 45th vice president, respectively, on January 20, 1993.
The 1996 United States Senate elections were held on November 5, 1996, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. They coincided with the presidential election of the same year, in which Democrat Bill Clinton was re-elected president.
The 1990 United States Senate elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 1990, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. The Democratic Party increased its majority with a net gain of one seat from the Republican Party. The election cycle took place in the middle of President George H. W. Bush's term, and as with most other midterm elections, the party not holding the presidency gained seats in Congress. This was the first time since 1980 that any party successfully defended all their own seats, and the first time Democrats did so since 1958.
Robert M. "Bob" Shrum is the director of the Center for the Political Future and the Carmen H. and Louis Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics at the University of Southern California, where he is a professor of political science in the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. He is a former American political consultant, who has worked on numerous Democratic campaigns, including as senior advisor to the Kerry-Edwards campaign in 2004 and to the Gore-Lieberman campaign in 2000. Shrum wrote the famous speech Ted Kennedy gave at the 1980 Democratic National Convention conceding to and supporting President Jimmy Carter. He has been described as "the most sought-after consultant in the Democratic Party." Shrum served as speechwriter to New York Mayor John V. Lindsay from 1970 to 1971, speechwriter to Senator George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign and speechwriter and press secretary to Senator Edward M. Kennedy from 1980 to 1984 and political consultant until 2009.
The 1988 presidential campaign of Al Gore, U.S. Senator of Tennessee and former House Representative began on April 11, 1987. He campaigned for President of the United States as a Democratic candidate in the 1988 presidential election, against Democratic candidates Joe Biden, Dick Gephardt, Paul Simon, Jesse Jackson, and Michael Dukakis.
The 2002 United States Senate election in Minnesota took place on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Senator Paul Wellstone was running for a third term but died in a plane crash eleven days before the election. The Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) quickly chose former Vice President and 1984 presidential nominee Walter Mondale to replace Wellstone on the ballot. Mondale had previously held the seat from 1964 to 1976, resigning to assume the vice presidency. He narrowly lost to Republican Norm Coleman, the former mayor of Saint Paul. The day before the election, Governor Jesse Ventura appointed the 1996 Independence Party candidate, Dean Barkley, to serve the remainder of Wellstone's term.
From February 8 to June 14, 1988, voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for president in the 1988 United States presidential election. Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1988 Democratic National Convention held from July 18 to July 21, 1988, in Atlanta, Georgia.
From January 29 to June 4, 1996, voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for president in the 1996 United States presidential election. Incumbent President Bill Clinton was again selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1996 Democratic National Convention held from August 26 to August 29, 1996, in Chicago, Illinois.
The 2000 Missouri Democratic presidential primary took place on March 7, 2000, as one of 15 states and one territory holding primaries on the same day, known as Super Tuesday, in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2000 presidential election. The Missouri primary was an open primary, with the state awarding 92 delegates towards the 2000 Democratic National Convention, of which 75 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary.
The 2004 presidential campaign of Howard Dean, 79th Governor of Vermont, began when he formed an exploratory committee to evaluate a presidential election campaign on May 31, 2002. Dean then formally announced his intention to compete in the 2004 Democratic primaries to seek the Democratic Party's nomination for President on June 23, 2003. Dean dropped out of the race in February 2004 after a poor showing in the Wisconsin primary.
The 2004 presidential campaign of Dick Gephardt, the Democratic former House Minority Leader and member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri, was formally launched in February 2003. Gephardt had previously ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, but lost to Mike Dukakis. In 2002, Gephardt resigned as House Minority Leader to focus on his campaign.
The 2000 presidential campaign of Bill Bradley, former Senator of New Jersey began when he formed an exploratory committee in December 1998, with a formal announcement in January 1999. He ran in the 2000 presidential primaries, opposing incumbent Vice President Al Gore for his party's nomination. Bradley campaigned as a progressive alternative to Gore, taking positions to the left of Gore on a number of issues, including universal health care, gun control, and campaign finance reform.
Since 1983, the Democratic Party of the United States holds a few debates between candidates for the Democratic nomination in presidential elections during the primary election season. Unlike debates between party-nominated candidates, which have been organized by the bi-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates since 1988, debates between candidates for party nomination are organized by mass media outlets.
This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Democratic nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 2000 election. Incumbent Vice President Al Gore won the 2000 Democratic nomination for President of the United States, and chose Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman as his running mate on August 7, 2000. Lieberman, a centrist two-term Democratic senator, was chosen for being "tough on defense" and foreign policy issues. Lieberman was the first Jewish nominee chosen for a national ticket. The choice of Lieberman was announced shortly before the 2000 Democratic National Convention. Former Secretary of State Warren Christopher led the vetting process. The Gore–Lieberman ticket ultimately lost to the Bush–Cheney ticket in the general election. Coincidental to the presidential election, Lieberman was re-elected to a third term as senator from Connecticut.
The 2000 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary, was the second major test of the leading contenders for the Democratic Party's nomination as its candidate for the 2000 presidential election, took place on February 1, 2000.