The 2000 US Election is considered to be one of the closest Presidential elections in the history of US Presidential elections. The 2000 US election saw the defeat of the Democratic Party candidate Al Gore and the victory of George W. Bush, the candidate of the US Republican Party. George W. Bush defeated Al Gore with the margin of only 537 popular votes and merely five electoral votes.
The nomination process of the Democrats in the US Presidential Election of 2000 was conspicuous because of the reluctance of serious candidates to run for the nominations. The popularity of Vice-President Al Gore was largely uncontested, and he was almost a unanimous choice for the party. Whatever competition he faced was in the form of Bill Bradley, the former Senator of New Jersey. Joe Lieberman was nominated as the running mate to Al Gore. The Republican nomination, on the other hand saw the participation of a number of candidates. However, the only serious challenge to George W. Bush, son of the former US-President George H.W. Bush, came in the early stages of the primaries through Alan Keyes. John McCain also posed some serious challenge. Despite an early loss to McCain at the New Hampshire primary, George W. Bush ultimately won the nomination quite handsomely. He secured as many as 2038 delegate votes. Bush selected Richard B. (Dick) Cheney as his running mate. The inclusion of Ralph Nader as the third party candidate further added to the excitement of the elections.
Soon after securing his nomination, Bush started vigorous campaigning tours for ensuring his success in the 2000 US Presidential Election. Gore also stressed on the economic progress of the country and consciously downplayed the Clinton scandal. The Republicans however, used it as a pointer to prove the overall moral degradation of the American society, a trend that they pledged to stop. Bush not only emphasized on improving the social scenario of the country, but also promised an establishment of peace and integrity within the country.
The election of 2000 did not lack in drama, and the result was one of the most controversial ones in the history of US Presidential elections. After the two competitors ran neck to neck, almost equally sharing the spoils, problems resulted after the counting began in Florida. After a series of unexpected turns to the event, Bush was finally declared winner with a slender margin of around 500 votes. Gore immediately asked for recounting. The incident gave rise to a number of lawsuits, and it was only after prolonged legal debates that Bush was finally declared to have carried Florida.
At the end, Gore ended up with marginally more votes than Bush in the popular votes, securing 48.4% of the votes to Bush’s 47.9%. However, when the electoral votes were cast, Bush won the day with five more votes than Gore. Bush received 271 electoral votes, whereas Gore received 266 electoral votes. Gore’s defeat is often accounted to his loss in his home state Tennessee.
U.S. Presidential Election 1836