From January 24 to June 6, 2000, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 2000 United States presidential election. Texas Governor George W. Bush was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 2000 Republican National Convention held from July 31 to August 3, 2000, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Campaign
The primary contest began with a fairly wide field, as the Republicans lacked an incumbent president or vice president. George W. Bush, Governor of Texas and son of George H. W. Bush, the most recent Republican president, took an early lead, with the support of much of the party establishment as well as a strong fund-raising effort. Former cabinet member George Shultz played an important early role in securing Republican support for Bush. In April 1998, he invited Bush to discuss policy issues with experts including Michael Boskin, John Taylor, and Condoleezza Rice. The group, which was "looking for a candidate for 2000 with good political instincts, someone they could work with," was impressed, and Shultz encouraged Bush to enter the race. Due in part to establishment backing, Bush dominated in early polling and fundraising figures. Despite stumbling in early primary debates, he easily won the Iowa caucuses, defeating his nearest opponent, Steve Forbes, by a margin of 41% to 31%.
Considered a dark horse, U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona won 48% of the vote to Bush's 30% in the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary, giving his campaign a boost of energy and donations. Durham, New Hampshire was the site of an early debate between the Republican candidates.
Then, the main primary season came down to a race between Bush and McCain. McCain's campaign, centered on campaign finance reform, drew positive press coverage and a fair amount of public excitement, with polls giving the senator superior crossover support from independents and Democrats. With Vice President Gore easily locking up the Democratic nomination, many moderate and center-left voters felt compelled to make their voice heard in the still-contested Republican contest.THE 2000 CAMPAIGN: CROSSOVER VOTERS; Democrats Drawn to McCain Are Unsettling RepublicansDemocrats helped McCain over finish line in 2000 Michigan GOP primaryStuart Rothenberg: Can Democrats and independents nominate John McCain? Bush's campaign dealt with "compassionate conservatism," including a greater role for the federal government in education, subsidies for private charitable programs, and large reductions in income and capital gains taxes.
The next primary contest in South Carolina was notorious for its negative tone. Although the Bush campaign said it was not behind any attacks on McCain, locals supporting Bush reportedly handed out fliers and made telephone calls to prospective voters suggesting among other things, unsubstantiated claims that McCain was a "Manchurian candidate" and that he had fathered a child out of wedlock with a black New York-based prostitute (an incorrect reference to Bridget McCain, a child he and his wife had adopted from Bangladesh). Bush also drew fire for a speech made at Bob Jones University, a school that still banned interracial dating among its students.Cornell University Law School, "Bob Jones Uni v. v. United States", "Legal Information Institute". Retrieved February 9, 2017 But the governor was seen to have the upper hand in a debate hosted by Larry King Live, and he won in South Carolina by nine points. McCain won primaries in Michigan, his home state of Arizona, and the remaining New England states except for Maine, but faced difficulty in appealing to conservative Republican primary voters. This was particularly true in Michigan, where despite winning the primary, McCain lost the GOP vote to Bush by a wide margin.THE 2000 CAMPAIGN: MICHIGAN; Loss by Bush Forces Debate on Open Primaries. The New York Times. 27 February 2000. Retrieved 2017-06-03. McCain also competed in the Virginia primary, counting on continued crossover support by giving a speech calling out Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, both leaders of the Christian right, for intolerance. Bush won Virginia easily in spite of this campaign tactic. Bush's subsequent Super Tuesday victories in California, New York and the South made it nearly impossible, mathematically, for McCain to catch up, and he suspended his campaign the next day.
Other candidates included social conservative activist Gary Bauer, businessman Steve Forbes, Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, former ECOSOC Ambassador and Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Alan Keyes, former Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander, former Red Cross director and cabinet member Elizabeth Dole, Ohio Congressman John Kasich, and former Vice President Dan Quayle. Bauer and Hatch campaigned on a traditional Republican platform of opposition to legalized abortion and reductions in taxes. Keyes had a far more conservative platform, calling for the elimination of all federal taxes except tariffs. Keyes also called for returning to ban homosexuals in the military, while most GOP candidates supported the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Keyes continued participating in the campaign for nearly all the primaries and continued to appear in the debates with frontrunners McCain and Bush. As in 1996, Forbes campaigned on making the federal income tax non-graduated, an idea he called the flat tax, although he increased his focus on social conservatives in 2000. Although Forbes (who won a few states' primary contests in the 1996 primaries) came a close second to Bush in the Iowa caucuses and even tied with him in the Alaska caucuses, he nor any of these other candidates won a primary.
Candidates
Nominee CandidateMost recent officeHome stateCampaign Withdrawal datePopular voteContests wonRunning mateGeorge W. BushGovernor of Texas(1995–2000)(Campaign • Positions)Secured nomination: March 14, 200012,034,676(62.00%)44Dick Cheney
Withdrew prior to convention CandidateMost recent officeHome stateCampaignWithdrawal datePopular voteContests wonAlan KeyesAsst. Secretary of State(1985–1987)(Campaign)Withdrew: July 25985,819(5.1%)0
Withdrew during primaries CandidateMost recent officeHome stateCandidacyPopular voteContests wonDate Campaign SuspendedJohn McCainU.S. Senatorfrom Arizona(1987–2018)(Campaign)6,061,332(31.23%)7March 9, 2000Steve ForbesPublisher and editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine(1990–)(Campaign)171,860(0.89%)0February 10, 2000Gary BauerFormer Undersecretary of Education(1985–1987)<.05%0February 16, 2000Orrin HatchU.S. Senatorfrom Utah(1977–2019)<.05%0January 27, 2000
Withdrew before primary elections CandidateMost recent officeHome stateCandidacyDate Campaign SuspendedLamar AlexanderUnited States Secretary of Education(1991–1993)August 16, 1999Pat BuchananConservative commentator and 1992, and 1996 Presidential candidateOctober 25, 1999 (to run for the Reform Party nomination)Herman CainBusinessman(logo from 2012 campaign)Elizabeth DoleU.S. Secretary of Labor(1989–1990)October 1999John KasichU.S. Representative from Ohio(1983–2001)(Campaign)July 14, 1999Dan QuayleU.S. Vice President(1989–1993)(Campaign)September 28, 1999Bob SmithU.S. Senator from New Hampshire(1990–2003)July 1999 (to run with a third party)
Declined to run
National polling Source Date George W. Bush John McCain Steve Forbes Elizabeth Dole Dan Quayle Pat Buchanan Other Gallup Sep. 6–7, 1997 22% – 9% – 10% 5% 41% Gallup May 8–10, 1998 30% 4% 7% 14% 9% 3% 19% Gallup Oct. 23–25, 1998 39% – 7% 17% 12% – 16% Gallup Jan. 8–10, 1999 42% 8% 5% 22% 6% – 9% Gallup Mar. 12–14, 1999 52% 3% 1% 20% 9% 4% 7% Gallup Apr. 13–14, 1999 53% 5% 6% 16% 7% 4% 4% Gallup Apr. 30 – May 2, 1999 42% 4% 6% 24% 6% 5% 7% Gallup May 23–24, 1999 46% 6% 5% 18% 7% 6% 7% Gallup Jun. 4–5, 1999 46% 5% 5% 14% 9% 6% 6% Gallup Jun. 25–27, 1999 59% 5% 6% 8% 6% 3% 10% Gallup Aug. 16–18, 1999 61% 5% 4% 13% 6% 3% 4% Gallup Sep. 10–14, 1999 62% 5% 5% 10% 5% 3% 5% Gallup Oct. 8–10, 1999 60% 8% 4% 11% – 3% 13% Gallup Oct. 21–24, 1999 68% 11% 8% – – – 6% Gallup Nov. 4–7, 1999 68% 12% 6% – – – 6% Gallup Nov. 18–21, 1999 63% 16% 6% – – – 9% Gallup Dec. 9–12, 1999 64% 18% 7% – – – 8% Gallup Dec. 20–21, 1999 60% 17% 9% – – – 7% Gallup Jan. 7–10, 2000 63% 18% 5% – – – 5% Gallup Jan. 13–16, 2000 61% 22% 5% – – – 6% Gallup Jan. 17–19, 2000 63% 19% 6% – – – 4% Gallup Jan. 25–26, 2000 65% 15% 7% – – – 6% Gallup Feb. 4–6, 2000 56% 34% 2% – – – 3% Gallup Feb. 14–15, 2000 58% 31% – – – – 3% Gallup Feb. 20–21, 2000 58% 31% – – – – 3% Gallup Feb. 25–27, 2000 57% 33% – – – – 4%
Results Statewide +2000 Republican primary and caucus results2000 Republican Primary Election Events TimelineDatePledged delegates State George W. Bush John McCain Alan Keyes Steve Forbes Gary Bauer Orrin Hatch Uncommitted/Others January 240 Alaska (caucus) 1,571 36.28% 412 9.52% 411 9.49% 1,566 36.17% 207 4.78% 163 3.76% -0 Iowa (caucus) 35,384 41.01% 4,053 4.67% 12,329 14.25% 26,338 30.51% 7,367 8.54% 888 1.02% - February 117 New Hampshire (primary) 72,330 30.36%
5 Del. 115,606 48.53%10 Del. 15,179 6.37% 30,166 12.66%2 Del. 1,640 0.69% 163 0.07% 3,122 1.31% February 7 – 130 Hawaii (caucus) - - - - - -~800 (100.00%) February 812 Delaware (primary) 15,250 50.73%12 Del. 7,638 25.41% 1,148 3.82% 5,883 19.57% 120 0.40% 21 0.07% - February 1937 South Carolina (primary) 305,998 53.39%34 Del. 239,964 41.87%3 Del. 25,996 4.54% 449 0.08% 618 0.11% 76 0.01% - February 22 (88)30 Arizona (primary) 115,115 35.68% 193,708 60.03%30 Del. 11,500 3.56% 1,211 0.38% 177 0.05% 637 0.20% 322 (0.10%)58 Michigan (primary) 549,665 43.05%6 Del. 605,805 50.97%52 Del. 59,036 4.62% 4,894 0.38% 2,733 0.21% 905 0.07% 8,736 0.68% Feb 23 –Mar 210 Nevada (caucus) - - - - - -? ?% February 264 American Samoa (caucus) ? ?%4 Del. - - - - - -4 Guam (caucus) ? ?%4 Del. - - - - - -4 Virgin Islands (caucus) ? ?%4 Del. - - - - - - February 2714 Puerto Rico (primary) 87,375 94.21%14 Del. 4,903 5.29% 49 0.05% 210 0.23% 34 0.04% – 178 0.19% February 2956 Virginia (primary) 350,588 52.79%56 Del. 291,488 43.89% 20,356 3.07% 809 0.12% 852 0.13% – -12 Washington (primary) 284,053 57.84%7 Del. 191,101 38.91%5 Del. 11,753 2.39% 1,749 0.36% 1,469 0.30% 1,023 0.21% -19 North Dakota (caucus) 6,865 75.72%
14 Del. 1,717 18.94%
4 Del. 481 5.31%
1 Del. – – - 3 0.03% March 7162 California (primary) 1,725,162 60.58%162 Del. 988,706 34.72% 112,747 3.96% 8,449 0.30% 6,860 0.24% 5,997 0.21% -25 Connecticut (primary) 82,881 46.28%87,176 48.74%25 Del. 5,913 3.30% 1,242 0.69% 373 0.21% 178 0.10% 1,222 0.67%54 Georgia (primary) 430,480 66.93%54 Del. 179,046 27.84% 29,640 4.61% 1,647 0.26% 1,962 0.31% 413 0.06% - 14 Maine (primary) 49,308 51.03%14 Del. 42,510 44.00% 2,989 3.09% 455 0.47% 324 0.34% - 1,038 1.07%31 Maryland (primary) 211,439 56.23%31 Del. 135,981 36.16% 25,020 6.65% 1,678 0.45% 1,328 0.35% 588 0.16% -37 Massachusetts (primary) 159,534 31.78% 324,708 64.69%37 Del. 12,630 2.52% 1,407 0.28% 1,744 0.35% 262 0.05% 1,658 0.33%0 Minnesota (caucus) 11,531 62.67% 3,209 17.44% 3,661 19.90% – – - –35 Missouri (primary) 275,366 57.93%35 Del. 167,831 35.31% 27,282 5.74% 2,044 0.43% 1,038 0.22% 363 0.08% 1,439 0.28%93 New York (primary) 1,102,850 50.30%67 Del. 937,655 43.50%26 Del. 71,196 3.60% 49,817 2.60% – - -69 Ohio (primary) 810,369 57.99%63 Del. 516,790 36.98%6 Del. 55,266 3.95% 8,934 0.64% 6,169 0.44% – -14 Rhode Island (primary) 13,170 36.43% 21,754 60.18%14 Del. 923 2.55% 89 0.25% 35 0.10% 35 0.10% 114 0.32%12 Vermont (primary) 28,741 35.33% 49,045 60.29%12 Del. 2,164 2.66% 616 0.76% 293 0.36% – 496 0.61%18 Washington (caucus) 1,256 82.15%
18 Del. 197 12.88% 76 4.97% – – - – March 1012 Wyoming (county conventions) 77.62% 10.29% 11.66% – – - - 12 Del.40 Colorado (primary) 116,897 64.71%28 Del. 48,996 27.12%12 Del. 11,871 6.57% 1,197 0.66% 1,190 0.66% 504 0.28% -29 Utah (primary) 57,617 63.28%29 Del. 12,784 14.04% 19,367 21.27% 859 0.94% 426