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This website is a part of a research project for MSTD 335. The above stages demonstrate the process
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Timeline of Election 2000 | ||||||||
March 1999 9 - Former Governor Lamar Alexander (R-TN) announces that he will run for president again. 16 - Steve Forbes (R-NY) officially begins his second crusade for the Republican nomination. Forbes performed poorly in 1996 despite substantially out financing his opponents. 29 - Conservative commentator Pat Buchanan announces his candidacy for the Republican nomination in New Hampshire, the site of his 1992 primary upset of George H. W. Bush. June 1999 12 - Governor George W. Bush (R-TX), son of former President George H.W. Bush, officially begins his presidential campaign. He quickly raises large sums of money and becomes the Republican establishment favorite. 16 - Vice President Al Gore (D-TN) finally makes his expected presidential campaign announcement. July 1999 13 - Conservative Senator Bob Smith (R-NH), one of Republicans seeking the nomination, leaves the Republican Party but continues his presidential quest as an Independent. He later flirts with the U.S. Taxpayers Party and is eventually welcomed back into the Republican fold by his Washington colleagues. August 1999 16 - Lamar Alexander ends his brief presidential pursuit after a poor showing in an Iowa straw poll. September 1999 8 - Having established a campaign committee months earlier, former professional basketball player Senator Bill Bradley (D-NJ) announces that he will challenge Al Gore for the Democratic nomination. 9 - Outgoing Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) endorses Bill Bradley for president, saying that Gore is “unelectable.” 27 - Former Vice President Dan Quayle (R-IN), having strategically moved to Arizona, surprises the political world by declaring that he will not continue his presidential candidacy. Former prisoner of war and maverick Senator John McCain (R-AZ) makes his campaign official the same day. Campaign finance reform is a key part of his campaign message. October 1999 20 - Elizabeth Dole (R-KS), wife of former presidential candidate Robert Dole and an executive branch veteran, suspends her presidential campaign before it is even formally begun. She offers no endorsements on the way out and points to fund raising difficulties as the reason for her departure. 25 - Buchanan leaves the Republican Party to seek the Reform Party nomination. New York developer and millionaire Donald Trump left the GOP for the Reform Party the day before. 27 - A Democratic “town meeting” featuring Bradley and Gore is held in New Hampshire. 28 - A Republican “town meeting” in New Hampshire features five candidates but notably absent is frontrunner George W. Bush. At the same time, Bob Smith ends his independent bid for president in part because of the death of fellow Republican Senator John Chaffee (R-RI) that allows him a possible committee chair position. December 1999 16 - Strange bedfellows Bradley and McCain pledge joint support across party lines for a ban on “soft money” donations to political campaigns. They meet at the same site in Claremont, NH where Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich shook hands on failed a campaign finance reform agenda in 1995. 19 - Bradley and Gore appear together on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Gore proposes that the candidates debate twice weekly and run no campaign advertisements, an idea rejected by underdog Bradley. January 2000 4 - Elizabeth Dole adds to Bush’s long list of endorsements. 5 - Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) provides Gore with some liberal credentials by endorsing him rather than Bradley. This occurs on the first day of “Debate Week” featuring four intraparty debates. 24 - The first round of the Iowa Caucuses occurs, giving victories to frontrunners Bush and Gore, though neither is a slam-dunk. Gore takes 63% of the Democratic vote while Bush takes 41% of the Republican vote, followed close behind by Forbes’ 30%. 26 - On the heals of a pitiful showing in Iowa, Orrin Hatch (R-UT) ends a short-lived presidential campaign that never attracted much attention. February 2000 1 - McCain pulls an upset victory over Bush in the New Hampshire primary, thus turning the Republican nomination into a serious two-way race. He wins nearly half of the vote to Bush’s 31% and Forbes’ 13%. Gore edges Bradley by just 4 percentage points in a surprisingly close Democratic race. 2 - Just a day after his defeat in New Hampshire, Bush gives what would become a controversial address at anti-Catholic Bob Jones University in South Carolina. 4 - Nearly unknown Republican candidate Gary Bauer ends his socially conservative campaign after earning just 1% of the New Hampshire vote. New polls show McCain with enough momentum to pull even with Bush in the upcoming South Carolina primary. Though his New Hampshire win was unexpected, a strong showing in the conservative South is even more surprising. 6 - Hillary Clinton announces her campaign for the New York Senate seat currently held by Moynihan. She becomes the only First Lady to have run for the U.S. Senate. 11 - Forbes drops out of the race after third finishing behind McCain in Delaware where McCain did not even campaign but Forbes spent a great deal of money. 14 - Trump announces on the “Today Show” that he is out of the running. This occurs just days after Jesse Ventura left what he called a “dysfunctional” Reform Party. Meanwhile the Reform Party convention in Nashville is an incoherent mess. 16 - Bauer endorses McCain following a three-way debate and just before the important South Carolina contest. 19 - Bush beats McCain by more than 10 points in the South Carolina primary. Though Democrats and Independents support McCain in the open primary, the Bush campaign turned out more of the conservative Republican base for a win. 23 - Reviving his campaign on the heals of a South Carolina loss, McCain defeats Bush in the Michigan and Arizona primaries. His victories depend on the votes of crossover Democrats and Independents since Bush still wins a majority of the base Republican vote. 29 - Bush and Gore each sweep several primaries. Bush wins surprisingly large victories in Washington and Virginia, stemming in part from McCain’s attack on the religious right. March 2000 7- Super Tuesday primaries held in over a dozen confirm that Bush and Gore will win their parties’ nominations. Bradley fails to win a single state and McCain wins only New England with the help of Democrats and Independents. Bush appears not to suffer among Catholics despite the Bob Jones University controversy. The candidates, now nearly out of money, begin looking toward the general election. 9 - Bradley and McCain suspend their presidential campaigns in different ways. Bradley endorses Gore while McCain merely wishes Bush well and confirms that he will remain a Republican. 14 - Bush and Gore clinch their parties’ nominations in southern state primaries, thus setting up the longest general election campaign in history. April 2000 22 - Young Cuban refugee Elian Gonzalez is forceably removed from his temporary Miami home by INS agents. The long Florida drama ends but its repercussions will likely affect the presidential vote there. National polls show Bush with a continuing 5-10 point lead over Gore. May 2000 10 - McCain finally endorses Bush. July 2000 13 - Following weeks of little campaign activity, Bradley throws his full support behind Gore by releasing his Democratic convention delegates. 26 - Bush announces that Richard Cheney is his choice as vice presidential running mate. Cheney is a Washington veteran who had been heading Governor Bush’s search for a running mate and agrees to run only after some persuasion. Cheney brings experience, clout, and appeal to the party base. Meanwhile Keyes bows out and endorses Bush-Cheney. 31 - The Republican National Convention begins in Philadelphia. Over the course of four days, a flawless and relatively moderate convention stresses education issues and inclusiveness. The right wing of the party, so prominent in earlier conventions, is nowhere to be seen and uncontroversial figures like Laura Bush and Colin Powell are the key speakers. McCain is also on board, though his pet issue – campaign finance reform – gets no attention. August 2000 8 - Gore announces in Connecticut that Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) will be his running mate. Lieberman is the first Jew, orthodox at that, on a major party ticket. He differs from Gore on issues including vouchers, Social Security, and the media. Notably, Lieberman was the first Democrat to criticize President Clinton after the Lewinsky scandal became public. 9 - The Reform Party convention begins in Long Beach, CA. Party founder Ross Perot is absent while Buchanan and John Hagelin of the Natural Law Party battle for the nomination. The winner will inherit over $12 million in federal funds made available by Perot’s showing in 1996. 11 - Buchanan beats Hagelin two to one in mail-in Reform balloting. He announces that black activist Ezola Foster will be his running mate. 14 - The Democratic National Convention begins in Los Angeles. The convention spotlights a number of party leaders including Bradley, several Kennedys, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and several celebrities. Gore tries to separate himself from the Clinton legacy be declaring that he is “his own man.” He speech and the convention focuses on policy specifics to contrast with the Republican image a month earlier. The Democrats appear to the have the momentum for once and pull ahead of Bush for the first time. September 2000 - Polls show Bush and Gore in a dead heat, one of the closest presidential campaigns in decades. October 2000 3 - The first presidential debate is held in Boston. Though veteran debater Gore is expected to dominate Bush, he appears arrogant while Bush exceeds his low expectations. The result is a close decision based on heavy discussion of issues such as tax cuts, prescription drug coverage, and education. Nader is excluded from the debate and later sues over it. 5 - The only vice presidential “debate” is held in Kentucky. The civil discussion between Cheney and Lieberman across a common desktop impresses viewers. 11 - The second presidential debate occurs at Wake Forest University. The format is discussion with candidates seated at desks, as in the vice presidential meeting a few days before. The exchanges focus on foreign policy with the moderator trying to find differences between the candidates. Bush holds his own and perceived as the victor. 17 - The final presidential debate is a “town hall” style meeting in St. Louis. Gore performs better and is more aggressive on the heals of Mideast violence and the death of Missouri Governor and Senate candidate Mel Carnahan. The audience questions center on such issues as affirmative action, the death penalty, health care, and education. November 2000 2 - A Maine reporter reveals Bush’s 1976 arrest for drunken driving in Kennebunkport. Bush quickly acknowledges the new information and expresses remorse. The news does not seem to cut Bush’s lead just days before the election. Meanwhile Perot endorses Bush on “ Larry King Live,” apparently without Bush’s prior knowledge, though the drunken driving news overshadows the endorsement. 7 - Election Day A confusing election night leaves the presidential election unsettled. The Electoral College vote is historically close, with the decision apparently dependent on the outcome in Florida. Early in the evening it appears that Gore has won Florida, but television the networks then call it for Bush several hours later. He is soon after declared the winner, but the declaration is then retracted. At one point Gore concedes to Bush on the phone, but then calls him back to retract the concession. It also appears that Republicans have lost several seats in both chambers of Congress. The Senate is likely to be split 50-50 if the Washington seat goes to Democrat Maria Cantwell as expected. Close presidential votes in New Mexico, Oregon, and other states are to be scrutinized as well, but the Bush and Gore camps quickly dispatch teams to represent them in the Florida proceedings. Nader finishes with 2.6%, far less than the 5% needed to secure federal matching funds in 2000. Buchanan barely registers with .4% of the popular vote. In addition to Florida irregularities, Buchanan and Nader each could have influenced who won as Bush won 48.0% of the vote to Gore’s 48.3%. 8 - The first complete counts in Florida show Bush beating Gore by 1,784 votes out of nearly 6 million cast. Florida law calls for an automatic recount. A number of voting irregularities in Florida are reported. Most noteworthy is the confusing “butterfly ballot", the format used in Palm Beach County that caused some Gore supports to vote mistakenly for Buchanan. Punch card systems used in much of Florida are also suspect. Canvassing boards in Florida and the American public wrestle with how “hanging” and “pregnant” chad – the material removed by voters’ incomplete punches – should be counted. 14 - Florida Secretary of State, Republican Katherine Harris, requires that county elections officials complete their recounts by 5:00pm and the next day refuses to accept late totals. It remains unclear who won the presidential election, though by now it is apparent that Gore won the popular vote. 15 - Gore proposes that he meet with Bush personally and that he is open to the possibility of recounting all of the Florida ballots by hand. Bush declines. 16 - The Florida Supreme Court allows counties to proceed with hand recounts of ballots. 21 - The Florida Supreme Court rules that counties may continue their recounts until Sunday, November 26. The recounts dominate the news over the Thanksgiving holiday. 22 - Cheney experiences chest pains and is checked into the hospital. 26 - Without including Palm Beach county recounts, Harris certifies Bush as the winner in Florida by a mere 537 votes. Bush claims victory with 271 electoral votes and begins the unofficial presidential transition. December 2000 4 - A judge in Leon County, Florida rules against Gore’s call for hand counts of contested and rejected ballots in Miami-Dade County. Many suspect that Democratic votes were disproportionately undercounted and that a full hand count would benefit Gore. The only chance remaining for Gore is the Florida Supreme Court. Bush pushes onward with his unfunded transition, headed by Cheney, while the Florida legislature considers a special session to choose electors. 8 - In a surprising shot in the arm for Democrats, the Florida Supreme Court rules 4-3 that all undervotes in the state should counted by hand. 12 - The United States Supreme Court ends the legal wrangling over Florida by issuing a decision in Bush v. Gore. The Court rules 5-4 in favor of Bush, arguing that there is not enough time to do a full hand count that meets “minimal constitutional standards.” The majority argues that the manual count violated the equal protection clause. 13 - The 36 days of legal and political maneuvering since the election comes to a formal conclusion. Gore offers a gracious concession speech and is followed soon after by Bush’s acceptance speech, which emphasizes bipartisanship. Despite losing the popular vote by more than half a million votes, Bush has won presidency with 271 to 266 electoral votes (with one Gore elector abstaining in protest). Gore’s electoral vote total is the highest ever for a losing candidate and 2000 becomes the first election in over a century in which the popular vote and electoral vote winners were different.
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