Difference between revisions of "United States presidential election, 2000"
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| − | In 2000, the United States presidential election was one of the closest and most controversial presidential elections in history. After a month of recounts and court challenges, [[George W. Bush]] was declared the winner over [[Vice President]] [[Al Gore]] by 537 votes in the state of [[Florida]]. | + | [[Image:00-main.jpg|right|thumb|300px|George W. Bush and Al Gore]] In 2000, the United States presidential election was one of the closest and most controversial presidential elections in history. After a month of recounts and court challenges, [[George W. Bush]] was declared the winner over [[Vice President]] [[Al Gore]] by 537 votes in the state of [[Florida]]. |
This was the 16th time in history that a candidate won the [[Electoral College]] vote without receiving the majority of the nation's popular vote.<ref>It also happened in 1844, 1856, 1860, 1876, 1880, 1884, 1888, 1892, 1912, 1916, 1948, 1960, 1968, 1992, and 1996. It was the first time since [[United States presidential election%2C 2000|Kennedy in 1960]] that the presidential winner failed to win a plurality of the popular vote. </ref> | This was the 16th time in history that a candidate won the [[Electoral College]] vote without receiving the majority of the nation's popular vote.<ref>It also happened in 1844, 1856, 1860, 1876, 1880, 1884, 1888, 1892, 1912, 1916, 1948, 1960, 1968, 1992, and 1996. It was the first time since [[United States presidential election%2C 2000|Kennedy in 1960]] that the presidential winner failed to win a plurality of the popular vote. </ref> | ||
Revision as of 00:08, September 27, 2008
In 2000, the United States presidential election was one of the closest and most controversial presidential elections in history. After a month of recounts and court challenges, George W. Bush was declared the winner over Vice President Al Gore by 537 votes in the state of Florida.
This was the 16th time in history that a candidate won the Electoral College vote without receiving the majority of the nation's popular vote.[1]
The campaigns of both Ralph Nader on the Green Party ticket and Pat Buchanan on the Reform Party ticket gained major media attention during the campaign. Although this failed to translate into any electoral votes for either, with the final margin of victory being so small, the role of both and what impact they had on the election received prominence during the time when neither major party candidate would concede.
There has also been much speculation on what might have happened if there had been additional recounts. A consortium of newspapers did an investigation, and concluded that Bush would have won under the recounts that Gore had proposed. However, the Florida supreme court had attempted a closed-door recount using unspecified procedures, and no one knows how it might have manipulated the outcome.
In a rare situation in Presidential elections, Al Gore lost his home state of Tennessee to George Bush.
The Election Results eventually showed[2]
| Candidates | Popular Vote | Percent | Electoral Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| George W. Bush | 50,460,110 | 47.9% | 271 |
| Albert Gore, Jr. | 51,003,926 | 48.4% | 266 |
| Ralph Nader | 2,883,105 | 2.7% | 0 |
| Patrick J. Buchanan | 449,205 | 0.4% | 0 |
| Other | 620,892 | 0.6% | 0 |
Further reading
- A Blatant Conflict of Interest, Theresa LePore should recuse herself from the Palm Beach vote-count process, John Fund, OpinionJournal, November 12, 2000.
See Also
References
- ↑ It also happened in 1844, 1856, 1860, 1876, 1880, 1884, 1888, 1892, 1912, 1916, 1948, 1960, 1968, 1992, and 1996. It was the first time since Kennedy in 1960 that the presidential winner failed to win a plurality of the popular vote.
- ↑ Leip, Dave. Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved 7/1/2007