United states Presidential election, 2000 - wikipedia United states Presidential election, 2000 For related races, see United States elections, 2000. United States presidential election, 2000 ← 1996 November 7, 2000 2004 → 537 electoral votes ( 1 abstaining ) of the Electoral College 270 electoral votes needed to win Turnout 51.2 % 2.2 pp Nominee George W. Bush Al Gore Party Republican Democratic Home state Texas Tennessee Running mate Dick Cheney Joe Lieberman Electoral vote 271 266 States carried 30 20 + DC Popular vote 50,456,002 50,999,897 Percentage 7001479000000000000 ♠ 47.9 % 7001484000000000000 ♠ 48.4 % Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Bush / Cheney, blue denotes those won by Gore / Lieberman. One of D.C. 's three electors abstained. Numbers indicate electoral votes allotted to the winner of each state. President before election Bill Clinton Democratic Elected President George W. Bush Republican The United States presidential election of 2000 was the 54th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 7, 2000. Republican candidate George W. Bush, the Governor of Texas and the eldest son of the 41st President George H.W. Bush, won the election by defeating Democratic nominee Al Gore, the incumbent vice president. It was the fourth of five presidential elections in which the winning candidate lost the popular vote. Vice President Gore was able to secure the Democratic nomination with relative ease, defeating a challenge by former Senator Bill Bradley. Bush was seen as the early favorite for the Republican nomination and, despite a contentious primary battle with Senator John McCain and other candidates, secured the nomination by Super Tuesday. Bush chose former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney as his running mate, while Gore chose Senator Joe Lieberman as his. The left - wing Green Party nominated a ticket consisting of political activists Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke. Both major party candidates focused primarily on domestic issues, such as the budget, tax relief, and reforms for federal social insurance programs, although foreign policy was not ignored. Due to Clinton 's sex scandal with Monica Lewinsky and subsequent impeachment, Gore avoided campaigning with Clinton. Republicans denounced Clinton 's indiscretions, while Gore criticized Bush 's alleged lack of experience. On election night, it was unclear who had won, with the electoral votes of the state of Florida still undecided. The returns showed that Bush had won Florida by such a close margin that state law required a recount. A month - long series of legal battles led to the contentious, 5 -- 4 Supreme Court decision of Bush v. Gore, which ended the recount. With the end of the recount, Bush won Florida by a margin of. 009 %, or 537 votes. The Florida recount and subsequent litigation resulted in a major post-election controversy, and various individuals and organizations have speculated about who would have won the election in various scenarios. Ultimately, Bush won 271 electoral votes, one more than was necessary for the majority, despite Gore receiving 543,895 more votes ( 0.51 % of all votes cast ). Contents 1 Background 2 Democratic Party nomination 2.1 Candidates gallery 3 Republican Party nomination 3.1 Candidates gallery 4 Other nominations 4.1 Reform Party nomination 4.2 Association of State Green Parties nomination 4.3 Libertarian Party nomination 4.4 Constitution Party nomination 4.5 Natural Law Party nomination 5 General election campaign 5.1 Presidential debates 5.2 Notable expressions and phrases 6 Results 6.1 Florida recount 6.2 National results 6.3 State results 6.4 Results by state 6.4. 1 Arizona results 6.4. 2 Maine and Nebraska district results 6.5 Ballot access 7 Voter demographics 8 Aftermath 8.1 Post recount 8.2 Voting machines 8.3 Exit polling and declaration of vote winners 8.4 Ralph Nader spoiler controversy 8.5 Press influence on race 8.6 Color coding 9 See also 10 Footnotes 11 References 12 Further reading 12.1 Books 12.2 Journal articles 12.3 Papers 13 External links Background Further information : United States presidential election § Procedure Bill Clinton, the incumbent president in 2000, whose term expired on January 20, 2001 Article Two of the United States Constitution provides that the President and Vice President of the United States must be natural - born citizens of the United States, at least 35 years old, and a resident of the United States for a period of at least 14 years. Candidates for the presidency typically seek the nomination of one of the political parties of the United States, in which case each party devises a method ( such as a primary election ) to choose the candidate the party deems best suited to run for the position. Traditionally, the primary elections are indirect elections where voters cast ballots for a slate of party delegates pledged to a particular candidate. The party 's delegates then officially nominate a candidate to run on the party 's behalf. The general election in November is also an indirect election, where voters cast ballots for a slate of members of the Electoral College ; these electors in turn directly elect the President and Vice President. President Bill Clinton, a Democrat and former Governor of Arkansas, was ineligible to seek reelection to a third term due to restrictions of the Twenty - second Amendment. In accordance with Section I of the Twentieth Amendment, his term expired at 12 : 00 noon EST on January 20, 2001. Democratic Party nomination Main article : Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2000 Democratic candidates Al Gore, Vice President of the United States Bill Bradley, former U.S. Senator from New Jersey ( withdrew on March 9, 2000, and endorsed Al Gore ) Democratic Party Ticket, 2000 Al Gore Joe Lieberman for President for Vice President 45th Vice President of the United States ( 1993 -- 2001 ) U.S. Senator from Connecticut ( 1989 -- 2013 ) Campaign Candidates gallery Vice President Al Gore ( campaign ) Former Senator Bill Bradley from New Jersey ( Withdrew on March 9, 2000 ) Al Gore from Tennessee was a consistent front - runner for the nomination. Other prominent Democrats mentioned as possible contenders included Bob Kerrey, Missouri Representative Dick Gephardt, Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone, and famous actor and director Warren Beatty, who declined to run. Of these, only Wellstone formed an exploratory committee. Running an insurgency campaign, Bradley positioned himself as the alternative to Gore, who was a founding member of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council. While former basketball star Michael Jordan campaigned for him in the early primary states, Bradley announced his intention to campaign `` in a different way '' by conducting a positive campaign of `` big ideas ''. The focus of his campaign was a plan to spend the record - breaking budget surplus on a variety of social welfare programs to help the poor and the middle - class, along with campaign finance reform and gun control. Gore easily defeated Bradley in the primaries, largely because of support from the Democratic Party establishment and Bradley 's poor showing in the Iowa caucus, where Gore successfully painted Bradley as aloof and indifferent to the plight of farmers. The closest Bradley came to a victory was his 50 -- 46 loss to Gore in the New Hampshire primary. On March 14, Al Gore clinched the Democratic nomination. None of Bradley 's delegates were allowed to vote for him, so Gore won the nomination unanimously at the Democratic National Convention. 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. Gore chose Lieberman over five other finalists : Senators Evan Bayh, John Edwards and John Kerry, House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, and New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen. Delegate totals : Vice President Albert Gore Jr. 4328 Abstentions 9 Republican Party nomination This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( January 2017 ) Main article : Republican Party presidential primaries, 2000 Republican Party Ticket, 2000 George W. Bush Dick Cheney for President for Vice President 46th Governor of Texas ( 1995 -- 2000 ) 17th U.S. Secretary of Defense ( 1989 -- 1993 ) Campaign Republican candidates John McCain, Senator from Arizona ( withdrew on March 9, 2000, and endorsed George W. Bush ) Alan Keyes, former U.S. ECOSOC Ambassador from Maryland ( withdrew on July 25, 2000, and endorsed George W. Bush ) Steve Forbes, businessman from New Jersey ( withdrew on February 10, 2000, and endorsed John McCain. He then endorsed George W. Bush ) Gary Bauer, former Undersecretary of Education from Kentucky ( withdrew on February 4, 2000, and endorsed John McCain. He then endorsed George W. Bush ) Orrin Hatch, Senator from Utah ( withdrew on January 26, 2000, and endorsed George W. Bush ) Elizabeth Dole, former Secretary of Labor from Kansas ( withdrew on October 20, 1999, and endorsed George W. Bush ) Pat Buchanan, publisher and author from Virginia ( withdrew on October 25, 1999, to run for the Reform Party nomination ) Dan Quayle, former Vice President of the United States, from Indiana ( withdrew on September 27, 1999, and endorsed George W. Bush ) Lamar Alexander, former Governor of Tennessee and former Secretary of Education ( withdrew on August 22, 1999, and endorsed George W. Bush ) Bob Smith, Senator from New Hampshire ( withdrew in October 1999 and endorsed George W. Bush ) John Kasich, Representative from Ohio ( withdrew in July 1999 and endorsed George W. Bush ) Herman Cain, CEO of Godfather 's Pizza from Nebraska ( withdrew and endorsed Steve Forbes. He then endorsed George W. Bush ) Candidates gallery Senator John McCain from Arizona ( campaign ) ( Withdrew on March 9, 2000 ) Former U.S. ECOSOC Ambassador Alan Keyes, from Maryland ( campaign ) ( Withdrew on July 25, 2000 ) Businessman Steve Forbes from New Jersey ( Withdrew on February 10, 2000 ) Former Undersecretary of Education Gary Bauer, from Kentucky ( Withdrew on February 4, 2000 ) Senator Orrin Hatch from Utah ( Withdrew on January 26, 2000 ) Publisher and author Pat Buchanan from Virginia ( Withdrew on October 25, 1999 ) Former Secretary of Labor Elizabeth Dole, from Kansas ( Withdrew on October 20, 1999 ) Senator Bob Smith from New Hampshire ( Withdrew in October 1999 ) Former Vice President Dan Quayle, from Indiana ( Withdrew on September 27, 1999 ) Former Governor and former Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander of Tennessee ( Withdrew on August 22, 1999 ) Representative John Kasich from Ohio ( campaign ) ( Withdrew in July 1999 ) Businessman Herman Cain from Nebraska ( Withdrew early in campaign ) George W. Bush became the early front - runner, acquiring unprecedented funding and a broad base of leadership support based on his governorship of Texas and the name recognition and connections of the Bush family. Former cabinet member George Shultz played an important early role in securing establishment 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 him to enter the race. Several aspirants withdrew before the Iowa Caucus because they were unable to secure funding and endorsements sufficient to remain competitive with Bush. These included Elizabeth Dole, Dan Quayle, Lamar Alexander, and Bob Smith. Pat Buchanan dropped out to run for the Reform Party nomination. That left Bush, John McCain, Alan Keyes, Steve Forbes, Gary Bauer, and Orrin Hatch as the only candidates still in the race. On January 24, Bush won the Iowa caucus with 41 % of the vote. Forbes came in second with 30 % of the vote. Keyes received 14 %, Bauer 9 %, McCain 5 %, and Hatch 1 %. Hatch dropped out. On the national stage, Bush was portrayed in the media as the establishment candidate. McCain, with the support of many moderate Republicans and Independents, portrayed himself as a crusading insurgent who focused on campaign reform. On February 1, McCain won a 49 -- 30 % victory over Bush in the New Hampshire primary. Gary Bauer dropped out. After coming in third in Delaware Forbes dropped out, leaving three candidates. In the South Carolina primary, Bush soundly defeated McCain. Some McCain supporters blamed it on the Bush campaign, accusing them of mudslinging and dirty tricks, such as push polling that implied that McCain 's adopted Bangladeshi - born daughter was an African - American child he fathered out of wedlock. While McCain 's loss in South Carolina damaged his campaign, he won both Michigan and his home state of Arizona on February 22. The primary election that year also affected the South Carolina State House, when a controversy about the Confederate flag flying over the capitol dome prompted the state legislature to move the flag to a less prominent position at a Civil War memorial on the capitol grounds. Most GOP candidates said the issue should be left to South Carolina voters, though McCain later recanted and said the flag should be removed. On February 24, McCain criticized Bush for accepting the endorsement of Bob Jones University despite its policy banning interracial dating. On February 28, McCain also referred to Rev. Jerry Falwell and televangelist Pat Robertson as `` agents of intolerance '', a term he would later distance himself from during his 2008 bid. He lost the state of Virginia to Bush on February 29. On Super Tuesday, March 7, Bush won New York, Ohio, Georgia, Missouri, California, Maryland, and Maine. McCain won Rhode Island, Vermont, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, but dropped out of the race. McCain would eventually become the Republican presidential nominee 8 years later, which he then lost to Barack Obama. On March 10, Alan Keyes got 21 % of the vote in Utah. Bush took the majority of the remaining contests and won the Republican nomination on March 14, winning his home state of Texas and his brother Jeb 's home state of Florida among others. At the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia George W. Bush accepted the nomination of the Republican party. Bush asked former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney to head up a team to help select a running mate for him, but ultimately, Bush decided that Cheney himself should be the vice presidential nominee. While the U.S. Constitution does not specifically disallow a president and a vice president from the same state, it does prohibit electors from casting both of his or her votes for persons from his or her own state. Accordingly, Cheney -- who had been a resident of Texas for nearly 10 years -- changed his voting registration back to Wyoming. Had Cheney not done this, either he or Bush would have forfeited their electoral votes from the Texas electors. Delegate totals Governor George W. Bush 1526 Senator John McCain 275 Ambassador Dr. Alan Keyes 23 Businessman Steve Forbes 10 Gary Bauer 2 None of the Names Shown 2 Uncommitted 1 Other nominations Reform Party nomination Main article : Reform Party presidential primaries, 2000 Television personality Pat Buchanan from Virginia ( campaign ) Reform Party candidates Pat Buchanan from Virginia, former speechwriter and senior advisor to President Richard Nixon John Hagelin from Iowa, Ph. D., past and then - current Natural Law Party candidate Donald Trump from New York, had left the Republican Party in 1999 due to conflicting ideas on key issues The nomination went to Pat Buchanan and running mate Ezola Foster from California, over the objections of party founder Ross Perot and despite a rump convention nomination of John Hagelin by the Perot faction ( see Other nominations below ). In the end, the Federal Election Commission sided with Buchanan, and that ticket appeared on 49 of 51 possible ballots. Association of state Green parties nomination Main article : 2000 Green National Convention Ralph Nader Founder of Public Citizen and progressive activist ( campaign ) Green Party candidates : Ralph Nader from Connecticut -- 295 Jello Biafra from California -- 10 Stephen Gaskin from Tennessee -- 11 Joel Kovel from New York -- 3 Abstain -- 1 The Greens / Green Party USA, the then - recognized national party organization, later endorsed Ralph Nader for president and he appeared on the ballots of 43 states and DC. Libertarian Party nomination Main article : 2000 Libertarian National Convention Writer Harry Browne from Tennessee ( campaign ) Libertarian Party candidates delegate totals : Harry Browne from Tennessee -- 493 Don Gorman from New Hampshire -- 166 Jacob Hornberger from Virginia -- 120 Barry Hess from Arizona -- 53 None of the Above -- 23 other write - ins -- 15 David Hollist from California -- 8 The Libertarian Party 's National Nominating Convention nominated Harry Browne from Tennessee and Art Olivier from California for president and vice president respectively. Browne was nominated on the first ballot and Olivier received the vice presidential nomination on the second ballot. Browne appeared on every state ballot except for Arizona, due to a dispute between the Libertarian Party of Arizona ( who instead nominated L. Neil Smith ) and the national Libertarian Party. Constitution Party nomination Main article : Constitution Party National Convention § 1999 Convention Constitution Party candidates : Howard Phillips Herb Titus Mathew Zupan The Constitution Party nominated Howard Phillips from Virginia for a third time and Curtis Frazier from Missouri. The Constitution Party was on the ballot in 41 states. Natural law Party nomination John Hagelin from Iowa and Nat Goldhaber from California The Natural Law Party held its national convention in Arlington, Virginia, August 31 -- September 2, nominating a ticket of Hagelin / Goldhaber via unanimous decision without a roll - call vote. The party was on 38 of the 51 ballots nationally. General election campaign Although the campaign focused mainly on domestic issues, such as the projected budget surplus, proposed reforms of Social Security and Medicare, health care, and competing plans for tax relief, foreign policy was often an issue. Bush criticized Clinton administration policies in Somalia, where 18 Americans died in 1993 trying to sort out warring factions, and in the Balkans, where United States peacekeeping troops perform a variety of functions. `` I do n't think our troops ought to be used for what 's called nation - building, '' Bush said in the second presidential debate. Bush also pledged to bridge partisan gaps in the nation 's capital, claiming the atmosphere in Washington stood in the way of progress on necessary reforms. Gore, meanwhile, questioned Bush 's fitness for the job, pointing to gaffes made by Bush in interviews and speeches and suggesting the Texas governor lacked the necessary experience to be president. Bill Clinton 's impeachment and the sex scandal that led up to it cast a shadow on the campaign, particularly on his vice president 's run to replace him. Republicans strongly denounced the Clinton scandals, particularly Bush, who made his repeated promise to restore `` honor and dignity '' to the White House a centerpiece of his campaign. Gore studiously avoided the Clinton scandals, as did Lieberman, even though Lieberman had been the first Democratic senator to denounce Clinton 's misbehavior. In fact, some media observers theorized that Gore actually chose Lieberman in an attempt to separate himself from Clinton 's past misdeeds, and help blunt the GOP 's attempts to link him to his boss. Others pointed to the passionate kiss Gore gave his wife during the Democratic Convention, as a signal that despite the allegations against Clinton, Gore himself was a faithful husband. Gore avoided appearing with Clinton, who was shunted to low visibility appearances in areas where he was popular. Experts have argued that this could have cost Gore votes from some of Clinton 's core supporters. Ralph Nader was the most successful of third - party candidates. His campaign was marked by a traveling tour of large `` super-rallies '' held in sports arenas like Madison Square Garden, with retired talk show host Phil Donahue as master of ceremonies. After initially ignoring Nader, the Gore campaign made a pitch to potential Nader supporters in the final weeks of the campaign, downplaying Gore 's differences with Nader on the issues and arguing that Gore 's ideas were more similar to Nader 's than Bush 's were, and noting that Gore had a better chance of winning than Nader. On the other side, the Republican Leadership Council ran pro-Nader ads in a few states in an effort to split the liberal vote. Nader claimed his objective in the campaign was to pass the 5 - percent threshold so his Green Party would be eligible for matching funds in future races. Both vice presidential candidates Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman campaigned aggressively in the 2000 presidential election. Both camps made numerous campaign stops nationwide, often just missing each other such as when Cheney, Hadassah Lieberman, and Tipper Gore attended Chicago 's Taste of Polonia over Labor Day Weekend. Presidential Debates Main article : United States presidential election debates, 2000 There were three presidential debates : October 3, 2000, at the University of Massachusetts in Boston October 11, 2000, at Wake Forest University in Winston - Salem, North Carolina October 17, 2000, at Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri There was also one vice-presidential debate : October 5, 2000, at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky After the 1996 presidential election, the Commission on Presidential Debates set new candidate selection criteria. The new criteria required third - party candidates to poll at least 15 % of the vote in national polls in order to take part in the CPD - sponsored presidential debates. Ralph Nader was blocked from attending a closed circuit screening of the first debate in spite of his holding a ticket. He was barred from attending an interview near the site of the third debate in spite of having a `` perimeter pass ''. Nader later sued the CPD for its role in the former incident. A settlement was reached that included an apology to Nader. Notable expressions and phrases Lockbox / Rainy Day fund : Gore 's description of what he would do with the federal budget surplus. Al Gore invented the Internet : an interpretation of a quote by Al Gore in which he said that he `` took the initiative in creating the Internet '', to say that he was on the committee that funded the research which led to the formation of the Internet. `` Strategery, '' a phrase uttered by Saturday Night Live 's parodic Bush character ( portrayed by Will Ferrell ), which was jokingly picked up by Bush staffers to describe their operations. Results Palm Beach County recount With the exceptions of Florida and Gore 's home state of Tennessee, Bush carried the Southern states by comfortable margins ( including then - President Bill Clinton 's home state of Arkansas ) and also secured wins in Ohio, Indiana, most of the rural Midwestern farming states, most of the Rocky Mountain states, and Alaska. Gore balanced Bush by sweeping the Northeastern United States ( with the sole exception of New Hampshire, which Bush won narrowly ), most of the Upper Midwest, and all of the Pacific Coast states as well as Hawaii and New Mexico. As the night wore on, the returns in a handful of small - to - medium - sized states, including Wisconsin and Iowa, were extremely close ; however, it was the state of Florida that would decide the winner of the election. As the final national results were tallied the following morning, Bush had clearly won a total of 246 electoral votes, while Gore had won 250 votes. Two hundred and seventy votes were needed to win. Two smaller states -- Wisconsin ( 11 electoral votes ) and Oregon ( 7 electoral votes ) -- were still too close to call. It was Florida ( 25 electoral votes ), however, on which the news media focused its attention. Mathematically, Florida 's 25 electoral votes became the key to an election win for either candidate. Although both Wisconsin and Oregon were declared in favor of Gore over the next few days, Florida 's statewide vote took center stage because that state 's winner would ultimately win the election. The outcome of the election was not known for more than a month after the balloting ended because of the time required to count and recount Florida 's presidential ballots. Florida recount Main article : 2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida 2000 Palm Beach County voting stand and ballot box Between 7 : 50 p.m. and 8 : 00 p.m. EST on election day, just before the polls closed in the largely Republican Florida panhandle, which is in the Central time zone, all major television news networks ( CNN, NBC, FOX, CBS and ABC ) declared that Gore had carried Florida 's 25 electoral votes. They based this prediction substantially on exit polls. However, in the actual vote tally Bush began to take a wide lead early in Florida, and by 10 p.m. EST the networks had retracted that prediction and placed Florida back into the `` undecided '' column. At approximately 2 : 30 a.m., with some 85 % of the votes counted in Florida and Bush leading Gore by more than 100,000 votes, the networks declared that Bush had carried Florida and therefore had been elected president. However, most of the remaining votes to be counted in Florida were located in three heavily Democratic counties -- Broward, Miami - Dade, and Palm Beach -- and as their votes were reported Gore began to gain on Bush. By 4 : 30 a.m., after all votes were counted, Gore had narrowed Bush 's margin to under 2,000 votes, and the networks retracted their predictions that Bush had won Florida and the presidency. Gore, who had privately conceded the election to Bush, withdrew his concession. The final result in Florida was slim enough to require a mandatory recount ( by machine ) under state law ; Bush 's lead dwindled to just over 300 votes when it was completed the day after the election. On November 8, Florida Division of Elections staff prepared a press release for Secretary of State Harris that said overseas ballots must be `` postmarked or signed and dated '' by Election Day. It was never released. A count of the overseas ballots later boosted Bush 's margin to 930 votes. ( According to a report by The New York Times, 680 of the accepted overseas ballots were received after the legal deadline, lacked required postmarks, were unsigned or undated, cast after election day, from unregistered voters or voters not requesting ballots, lacked a witness signature or address, or were double - counted. ) Florida Supreme Court during the recount Most of the post-electoral controversy revolved around Gore 's request for hand recounts in four counties ( Broward, Miami Dade, Palm Beach, and Volusia ), as provided under Florida state law. Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris ( also the co-chair of George W. Bush 's election efforts in Florida ) announced she would reject any revised totals from those counties if they were not turned in by 5 : 00 p.m. on November 14, the statutory deadline for amended returns. The Florida Supreme Court extended the deadline to November 26, a decision later vacated by the U.S. Supreme Court. Miami - Dade eventually halted its recount and resubmitted its original total to the state canvassing board, while Palm Beach County failed to meet the extended deadline, turning in its completed recount results at 7 : 00 p.m., which Harris indeed rejected. On November 26, the state canvassing board certified Bush the winner of Florida 's electors by 537 votes. Gore formally contested the certified results. A state court decision overruling Gore was reversed by the Florida Supreme Court, which ordered a recount of over 70,000 ballots previously rejected as undervotes by machine counters. The U.S. Supreme Court halted that order the next day, with Justice Scalia issuing a concurring opinion that `` the counting of votes that are of questionable legality does in my view threaten irreparable harm to petitioner '' ( Bush ). Supporters for the Gore - Lieberman ticket outside the U.S. Supreme Court On December 12, the Supreme Court ruled in a 7 -- 2 vote that the Florida Supreme Court 's ruling requiring a statewide recount of ballots was unconstitutional on equal protection grounds, and in a 5 -- 4 vote reversed and remanded the case to the Florida Supreme Court for modification prior to the optional `` safe harbor '' deadline, which the Florida court had said the state intended to meet. With only two hours remaining until the December 12 deadline, the Supreme Court 's order effectively ended the recount, and the previously certified total held. Even if the Supreme Court had decided differently in Bush v. Gore, the Florida Legislature had been meeting in Special Session since December 8 with the sole stated purpose being the selection of a slate of electors on December 12, should the dispute still be ongoing. Had the recount gone forward, it would have awarded those electors to Bush, based on the state - certified vote, and the likely last recourse for Gore would have been to contest the electors in the United States Congress. The electors would then only have been rejected if both GOP - controlled houses had agreed to reject them. National results Though Gore came in second in the electoral vote, he received 547,398 more popular votes than Bush, making him the first person since Grover Cleveland in 1888 to win the popular vote but lose in the Electoral College. Gore failed to win the popular vote in his home state, Tennessee, which both he and his father had represented in the Senate, making him the first major - party presidential candidate to have lost his home state since George McGovern lost South Dakota in 1972. Furthermore, Gore lost West Virginia, a state that had voted Republican only once in the previous six presidential elections, and Bill Clinton 's home state of Arkansas, which had voted twice before to elect Gore vice president. A victory in any of these three states would have given Gore enough electoral votes to win the presidency. Bush - Cheney and Gore - Lieberman supporters protest Bush was the first Republican in American history to win the presidency without winning Vermont or Illinois, the second Republican to win the presidency without winning California ( James A. Garfield in 1880 was the first ) or Pennsylvania ( Richard Nixon in 1968 was the first ), and the first winning Republican not to receive any electoral votes from California ( Garfield received one vote in 1880 ). Bush also lost in Connecticut, the state of his birth. As of 2016, Bush is the last Republican nominee to win New Hampshire. This is the first time since Iowa entered the union in 1846 in which the state voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in four elections in a row ( 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000 ), and the last time Iowa did n't vote for the overall winner. There were only two counties in the entire nation that voted Democratic in 2000 and that had voted Republican in 1996. Those were Charles County, Maryland and Orange County, Florida, both rapidly diversifying counties. The 2000 election was also the last time a Republican won a number of populous urban counties that have since turned into Democratic strongholds. These include Mecklenburg County, North Carolina ( Charlotte ) ; Marion County, Indiana ( Indianapolis ), Fairfax County, Virginia ( DC Suburbs ), and Travis County, Texas ( Austin ). In 2016, the most recent Presidential Election, Republican Donald Trump lost Mecklenburg by 30 %, Marion by 23 %, Fairfax by 36 %, and Travis by 38 %. Conversely, as of 2017 Gore is the last Democrat to have won any counties at all in Oklahoma. Presidential candidate Party Home state Popular vote Electoral vote Running mate Count Percentage Vice-presidential candidate Home state Electoral vote George Walker Bush Republican Texas 50,456,002 47.87 % 271 Richard Bruce Cheney Wyoming 271 Albert Arnold Gore, Jr. Democratic Tennessee 50,999,897 48.38 % 266 Joseph Isadore Lieberman Connecticut 266 Ralph Nader Green Connecticut 2,882,955 2.74 % 0 Winona LaDuke Minnesota 0 Pat Buchanan Reform Virginia 448,895 0.43 % 0 Ezola B. Foster California 0 Harry Browne Libertarian Tennessee 384,431 0.36 % 0 Art Olivier California 0 Howard Phillips Constitution Virginia 98,020 0.09 % 0 Curtis Frazier Missouri 0 John Hagelin Natural Law Iowa 83,714 0.08 % 0 Nat Goldhaber California 0 Other 51,186 0.05 % -- Other -- ( abstention ) -- -- -- -- ( abstention ) -- Total 105,421,423 100 % 538 538 Needed to win 270 270 Source : `` 2000 Presidential Electoral and Popular Vote '' ( Excel 4.0 ). Federal Election Commission. Popular vote Gore 48.38 % Bush 47.87 % Nader 2.74 % Buchanan 0.43 % Browne 0.36 % Others 0.22 % Electoral vote Bush 50.37 % Gore 49.44 % Abstention 0.19 % Results by county, shaded according to winning candidate 's percentage of the vote. Vote share by county for Green Party candidate Ralph Nader. Darker shades indicate a stronger Green performance. Election results by county. Results by Congressional District State results Al Gore George W. Bush States where the margin of victory was less than 1 % ( 55 electoral votes ) : Florida, 0.0092 % ( tipping point state ) New Mexico, 0.061 % Wisconsin, 0.22 % Iowa, 0.31 % Oregon, 0.44 % States where the margin of victory was less than 5 % ( 84 electoral votes ) : New Hampshire, 1.27 % Maine 's 2nd Congressional District, 1.87 % Minnesota, 2.40 % Missouri, 3.34 % Ohio, 3.51 % Nevada, 3.55 % Tennessee, 3.86 % Pennsylvania, 4.17 % States where the margin of victory was more than 5 % but less than 10 % ( 84 electoral votes ) : Maine, 5.11 % Michigan, 5.13 % Arkansas, 5.44 % Washington, 5.58 % Arizona, 6.29 % West Virginia, 6.32 % Louisiana, 7.68 % Maine 's 1st Congressional District, 7.93 % Virginia, 8.04 % Colorado, 8.36 % Vermont, 9.94 % Data comes from https://web.archive.org/web/20120825102042/http://www.mit.edu/~mi22295/elections.html#2000, a U.S. government document. Results by state States / districts won by Gore / Lieberman States / districts won by Bush / Cheney George W. Bush Republican Al Gore Democratic Ralph Nader Green Pat Buchanan Reform Harry Browne Libertarian Howard Phillips Constitution John Hagelin Natural Law Others Margin State Total State electoral votes # % electoral votes # % electoral votes # % electoral votes # % electoral votes # % electoral votes # % electoral votes # % electoral votes # % electoral votes # % # Alabama 9 941,173 56.48 % 9 692,611 41.57 % -- 18,323 1.10 % -- 6,351 0.38 % -- 5,893 0.35 % -- 775 0.05 % -- 447 0.03 % -- 699 0.04 % -- 248,562 14.92 % 1,666,272 AL Alaska 167,398 58.62 % 79,004 27.67 % -- 28,747 10.07 % -- 5,192 1.82 % -- 2,636 0.92 % -- 596 0.21 % -- 919 0.32 % -- 1,068 0.37 % -- 88,394 30.95 % 285,560 AK Arizona 8 781,652 51.02 % 8 685,341 44.73 % -- 45,645 2.98 % -- 12,373 0.81 % -- -- -- -- 110 0.01 % -- 1,120 0.07 % -- 5,775 0.38 % -- 96,311 6.29 % 1,532,016 AZ Arkansas 6 472,940 51.31 % 6 422,768 45.86 % -- 13,421 1.46 % -- 7,358 0.80 % -- 2,781 0.30 % -- 1,415 0.15 % -- 1,098 0.12 % -- -- -- -- 50,172 5.44 % 921,781 AR California 54 4,567,429 41.65 % -- 5,861,203 53.45 % 54 418,707 3.82 % -- 44,987 0.41 % -- 45,520 0.42 % -- 17,042 0.16 % -- 10,934 0.10 % -- 34 0.00 % -- − 1,293,774 − 11.80 % 10,965,856 CA Colorado 8 883,748 50.75 % 8 738,227 42.39 % -- 91,434 5.25 % -- 10,465 0.60 % -- 12,799 0.73 % -- 1,319 0.08 % -- 2,240 0.13 % -- 1,136 0.07 % -- 145,521 8.36 % 1,741,368 CO Connecticut 8 561,094 38.44 % -- 816,015 55.91 % 8 64,452 4.42 % -- 4,731 0.32 % -- 3,484 0.24 % -- 9,695 0.66 % -- 40 0.00 % -- 14 0.00 % -- − 254,921 − 17.47 % 1,459,525 CT Delaware 137,288 41.90 % -- 180,068 54.96 % 8,307 2.54 % -- 777 0.24 % -- 774 0.24 % -- 208 0.06 % -- 107 0.03 % -- 93 0.03 % -- − 42,780 − 13.06 % 327,622 DE D.C. 18,073 8.95 % -- 171,923 85.16 % 10,576 5.24 % -- -- -- -- 669 0.33 % -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 653 0.32 % − 153,850 − 76.20 % 201,894 DC Florida 25 2,912,790 48.85 % 25 2,912,253 48.84 % -- 97,488 1.63 % -- 17,484 0.29 % -- 16,415 0.28 % -- 1,371 0.02 % -- 2,281 0.04 % -- 3,028 0.05 % -- 537 0.01 % 5,963,110 FL Georgia 13 1,419,720 54.67 % 13 1,116,230 42.98 % -- 13,432 0.52 % -- 10,926 0.42 % -- 36,332 1.40 % -- 140 0.01 % -- -- -- -- 24 0.00 % -- 303,490 11.69 % 2,596,804 GA Hawaii 137,845 37.46 % -- 205,286 55.79 % 21,623 5.88 % -- 1,071 0.29 % -- 1,477 0.40 % -- 343 0.09 % -- 306 0.08 % -- -- -- -- − 67,441 − 18.33 % 367,951 HI Idaho 336,937 67.17 % 138,637 27.64 % -- 12,292 2.45 % -- 7,615 1.52 % -- 3,488 0.70 % -- 1,469 0.29 % -- 1,177 0.23 % -- 6 0.00 % -- 198,300 39.53 % 501,621 ID Illinois 22 2,019,421 42.58 % -- 2,589,026 54.60 % 22 103,759 2.19 % -- 16,106 0.34 % -- 11,623 0.25 % -- 57 0.00 % -- 2,127 0.04 % -- 0.00 % -- − 569,605 − 12.01 % 4,742,123 IL Indiana 12 1,245,836 56.65 % 12 901,980 41.01 % -- 18,531 0.84 % -- 16,959 0.77 % -- 15,530 0.71 % -- 200 0.01 % -- 167 0.01 % -- 99 0.00 % -- 343,856 15.63 % 2,199,302 IN Iowa 7 634,373 48.22 % -- 638,517 48.54 % 7 29,374 2.23 % -- 5,731 0.44 % -- 3,209 0.24 % -- 613 0.05 % -- 2,281 0.17 % -- 1,465 0.11 % -- − 4,144 − 0.31 % 1,315,563 IA Kansas 6 622,332 58.04 % 6 399,276 37.24 % -- 36,086 3.37 % -- 7,370 0.69 % -- 4,525 0.42 % -- 1,254 0.12 % -- 1,375 0.13 % -- -- -- -- 223,056 20.80 % 1,072,218 KS Kentucky 8 872,492 56.50 % 8 638,898 41.37 % -- 23,192 1.50 % -- 4,173 0.27 % -- 2,896 0.19 % -- 923 0.06 % -- 1,533 0.10 % -- 80 0.01 % -- 233,594 15.13 % 1,544,187 KY Louisiana 9 927,871 52.55 % 9 792,344 44.88 % -- 20,473 1.16 % -- 14,356 0.81 % -- 2,951 0.17 % -- 5,483 0.31 % -- 1,075 0.06 % -- 1,103 0.06 % -- 135,527 7.68 % 1,765,656 LA Maine 286,616 43.97 % -- 319,951 49.09 % 37,127 5.70 % -- 4,443 0.68 % -- 3,074 0.47 % -- 579 0.09 % -- -- -- -- 27 0.00 % -- − 33,335 − 5.11 % 651,817 ME Maryland 10 813,797 40.18 % -- 1,145,782 56.57 % 10 53,768 2.65 % -- 4,248 0.21 % -- 5,310 0.26 % -- 919 0.05 % -- 176 0.01 % -- 1,480 0.07 % -- − 331,985 − 16.39 % 2,025,480 MD Massachusetts 12 878,502 32.50 % -- 1,616,487 59.80 % 12 173,564 6.42 % -- 11,149 0.41 % -- 16,366 0.61 % -- -- -- -- 2,884 0.11 % -- 4,032 0.15 % -- − 737,985 − 27.30 % 2,702,984 MA Michigan 18 1,953,139 46.15 % -- 2,170,418 51.28 % 18 84,165 1.99 % -- 1,851 0.04 % -- 16,711 0.39 % -- 3,791 0.09 % -- 2,426 0.06 % -- -- -- -- − 217,279 − 5.13 % 4,232,501 MI Minnesota 10 1,109,659 45.50 % -- 1,168,266 47.91 % 10 126,696 5.20 % -- 22,166 0.91 % -- 5,282 0.22 % -- 3,272 0.13 % -- 2,294 0.09 % -- 1,050 0.04 % -- − 58,607 − 2.40 % 2,438,685 MN Mississippi 7 572,844 57.62 % 7 404,614 40.70 % -- 8,122 0.82 % -- 2,265 0.23 % -- 2,009 0.20 % -- 3,267 0.33 % -- 450 0.05 % -- 613 0.06 % -- 168,230 16.92 % 994,184 MS Missouri 11 1,189,924 50.42 % 11 1,111,138 47.08 % -- 38,515 1.63 % -- 9,818 0.42 % -- 7,436 0.32 % -- 1,957 0.08 % -- 1,104 0.05 % -- -- -- -- 78,786 3.34 % 2,359,892 MO Montana 240,178 58.44 % 137,126 33.36 % -- 24,437 5.95 % -- 5,697 1.39 % -- 1,718 0.42 % -- 1,155 0.28 % -- 675 0.16 % -- 11 0.00 % -- 103,052 25.07 % 410,997 MT Nebraska 5 433,862 62.25 % 5 231,780 33.25 % -- 24,540 3.52 % -- 3,646 0.52 % -- 2,245 0.32 % -- 468 0.07 % -- 478 0.07 % -- -- -- -- 202,082 28.99 % 697,019 NE Nevada 301,575 49.52 % 279,978 45.98 % -- 15,008 2.46 % -- 4,747 0.78 % -- 3,311 0.54 % -- 621 0.10 % -- 415 0.07 % -- 3,315 0.54 % -- 21,597 3.55 % 608,970 NV New Hampshire 273,559 48.07 % 266,348 46.80 % -- 22,198 3.90 % -- 2,615 0.46 % -- 2,757 0.48 % -- 328 0.06 % -- 55 0.01 % -- 1,221 0.21 % -- 7,211 1.27 % 569,081 NH New Jersey 15 1,284,173 40.29 % -- 1,788,850 56.13 % 15 94,554 2.97 % -- 6,989 0.22 % -- 6,312 0.20 % -- 1,409 0.04 % -- 2,215 0.07 % -- 2,724 0.09 % -- − 504,677 − 15.83 % 3,187,226 NJ New Mexico 5 286,417 47.85 % -- 286,783 47.91 % 5 21,251 3.55 % -- 1,392 0.23 % -- 2,058 0.34 % -- 343 0.06 % -- 361 0.06 % -- -- -- -- − 366 − 0.06 % 598,605 NM New York 33 2,403,374 35.23 % -- 4,107,697 60.21 % 33 244,030 3.58 % -- 31,599 0.46 % -- 7,649 0.11 % -- 1,498 0.02 % -- 24,361 0.36 % -- 1,791 0.03 % -- − 1,704,323 − 24.98 % 6,821,999 NY North Carolina 14 1,631,163 56.03 % 14 1,257,692 43.20 % -- -- -- -- 8,874 0.30 % -- 12,307 0.42 % -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 1,226 0.04 % -- 373,471 12.83 % 2,911,262 NC North Dakota 174,852 60.66 % 95,284 33.06 % -- 9,486 3.29 % -- 7,288 2.53 % -- 660 0.23 % -- 373 0.13 % -- 313 0.11 % -- -- -- -- 79,568 27.60 % 288,256 ND Ohio 21 2,351,209 49.97 % 21 2,186,190 46.46 % -- 117,857 2.50 % -- 26,724 0.57 % -- 13,475 0.29 % -- 3,823 0.08 % -- 6,169 0.13 % -- 10 0.00 % -- 165,019 3.51 % 4,705,457 OH Oklahoma 8 744,337 60.31 % 8 474,276 38.43 % -- -- -- -- 9,014 0.73 % -- 6,602 0.53 % -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 270,061 21.88 % 1,234,229 OK Oregon 7 713,577 46.52 % -- 720,342 46.96 % 7 77,357 5.04 % -- 7,063 0.46 % -- 7,447 0.49 % -- 2,189 0.14 % -- 2,574 0.17 % -- 3,419 0.22 % -- − 6,765 − 0.44 % 1,533,968 OR Pennsylvania 23 2,281,127 46.43 % -- 2,485,967 50.60 % 23 103,392 2.10 % -- 16,023 0.33 % -- 11,248 0.23 % -- 14,428 0.29 % -- -- -- -- 934 0.02 % -- − 204,840 − 4.17 % 4,913,119 PA Rhode Island 130,555 31.91 % -- 249,508 60.99 % 25,052 6.12 % -- 2,273 0.56 % -- 742 0.18 % -- 97 0.02 % -- 271 0.07 % -- 614 0.15 % -- − 118,953 − 29.08 % 409,112 RI South Carolina 8 785,937 56.84 % 8 565,561 40.90 % -- 20,200 1.46 % -- 3,519 0.25 % -- 4,876 0.35 % -- 1,682 0.12 % -- 942 0.07 % -- -- -- -- 220,376 15.94 % 1,382,717 SC South Dakota 190,700 60.30 % 118,804 37.56 % -- -- -- -- 3,322 1.05 % -- 1,662 0.53 % -- 1,781 0.56 % -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 71,896 22.73 % 316,269 SD Tennessee 11 1,061,949 51.15 % 11 981,720 47.28 % -- 19,781 0.95 % -- 4,250 0.20 % -- 4,284 0.21 % -- 1,015 0.05 % -- 613 0.03 % -- 2,569 0.12 % -- 80,229 3.86 % 2,076,181 TN Texas 32 3,799,639 59.30 % 32 2,433,746 37.98 % -- 137,994 2.15 % -- 12,394 0.19 % -- 23,160 0.36 % -- 567 0.01 % -- -- -- -- 137 0.00 % -- 1,365,893 21.32 % 6,407,637 TX Utah 5 515,096 66.83 % 5 203,053 26.34 % -- 35,850 4.65 % -- 9,319 1.21 % -- 3,616 0.47 % -- 2,709 0.35 % -- 763 0.10 % -- 348 0.05 % -- 312,043 40.49 % 770,754 UT Vermont 119,775 40.70 % -- 149,022 50.63 % 20,374 6.92 % -- 2,192 0.74 % -- 784 0.27 % -- 153 0.05 % -- 219 0.07 % -- 1,789 0.61 % -- − 29,247 − 9.94 % 294,308 VT Virginia 13 1,437,490 52.47 % 13 1,217,290 44.44 % -- 59,398 2.17 % -- 5,455 0.20 % -- 15,198 0.55 % -- 1,809 0.07 % -- 171 0.01 % -- 2,636 0.10 % -- 220,200 8.04 % 2,739,447 VA Washington 11 1,108,864 44.58 % -- 1,247,652 50.16 % 11 103,002 4.14 % -- 7,171 0.29 % -- 13,135 0.53 % -- 1,989 0.08 % -- 2,927 0.12 % -- 2,693 0.11 % -- − 138,788 − 5.58 % 2,487,433 WA West Virginia 5 336,475 51.92 % 5 295,497 45.59 % -- 10,680 1.65 % -- 3,169 0.49 % -- 1,912 0.30 % -- 23 0.00 % -- 367 0.06 % -- 0.00 % -- 40,978 6.32 % 648,124 WV Wisconsin 11 1,237,279 47.61 % -- 1,242,987 47.83 % 11 94,070 3.62 % -- 11,471 0.44 % -- 6,640 0.26 % -- 2,042 0.08 % -- 853 0.03 % -- 3,265 0.13 % -- − 5,708 − 0.22 % 2,598,607 WI Wyoming 147,947 67.76 % 60,481 27.70 % -- 4,625 2.12 % -- 2,724 1.25 % -- 1,443 0.66 % -- 720 0.33 % -- 411 0.19 % -- -- -- -- 87,466 40.06 % 218,351 WY Totals 538 50,456,002 47.87 % 271 50,999,897 48.38 % 267 2,882,955 2.74 % -- 448,895 0.43 % -- 384,431 0.36 % -- 98,020 0.09 % -- 83,714 0.08 % -- 51,186 0.05 % -- − 543,895 − 0.52 % 105,405,100 US Arizona results The Libertarian Party of Arizona had ballot access, but opted to supplant Browne with L. Neil Smith. Thus, in Arizona, Smith received 5,775 votes, constituting 0.38 % of the Arizona vote. When adding Smith 's 5,775 votes to Browne 's 384,431 votes nationwide, that brings the total votes cast for president for the Libertarian Party in 2000 to 390,206, or 0.37 % of the vote. Maine and Nebraska District results Maine and Nebraska each allow for their electoral votes to be split between candidates. In both states, two electoral votes are awarded to the winner of the statewide race and one electoral vote is awarded to the winner of each congressional district. The following table records the official presidential vote tallies for Maine and Nebraska 's congressional districts. District Electors Bush % Gore % Nader % Buchanan % Browne % Phillips % Hagelin % Other % Margin % Total Maine 's 1st congressional district 148,618 42.59 % 176,293 50.52 % 20,297 5.82 % 1,994 0.57 % 1,479 0.42 % 253 0.07 % -- -- 17 0.00 % -- 27,675 -- 7.93 % 348,951 Maine 's 2nd congressional district 137,998 45.56 % 143,658 47.43 % 16,830 5.56 % 2,449 0.81 % 1,595 0.53 % 326 0.11 % -- -- 10 0.00 % -- 5,660 -- 1.87 % 302,866 Nebraska 's 1st congressional district 142,562 58.90 % 86,946 35.92 % 10,085 4.17 % 1,324 0.55 % 754 0.31 % 167 0.07 % 185 0.08 % -- -- 55,616 22.98 % 242,023 Nebraska 's 2nd congressional district 131,485 56.92 % 88,975 38.52 % 8,495 3.68 % 845 0.37 % 925 0.40 % 146 0.06 % 141 0.06 % -- -- 42,510 18.40 % 231,012 Nebraska 's 3rd congressional district 159,815 71.35 % 55,859 24.94 % 5,960 2.66 % 1,477 0.66 % 566 0.25 % 155 0.07 % 152 0.07 % -- -- 103,956 46.41 % 223,984 Ballot access Presidential ticket Party Ballot access Votes Gore / Lieberman Democratic 50 + DC 50,999,897 Bush / Cheney Republican 50 + DC 50,456,002 Nader / LaDuke Green 43 + DC 2,882,955 Buchanan / Foster Reform 49 448,895 Browne / Olivier Libertarian 49 + DC 384,431 Phillips / Frazier Constitution 41 98,020 Hagelin / Goldhaber Natural Law 38 83,714 Although the Libertarian Party had ballot access in all fifty United States plus D.C., Browne 's name only appeared on the ballot in forty - nine United States plus D.C. The Libertarian Party of Arizona opted to place L. Neil Smith on the ballot in Browne 's place. When adding Smith 's 5,775 Arizona votes to Browne 's 384,431 votes nationwide, that brings the total presidential votes cast for the Libertarian Party in 2000 to 390,206. Voter demographics The 2000 presidential vote by demographic subgroup Demographic subgroup Gore Bush Other % of total vote Total vote 48 48 100 Ideology Liberals 81 13 6 20 Moderates 53 45 50 Conservatives 17 82 29 Party Democrats 87 11 39 Republicans 8 91 35 Independents 46 48 6 26 Gender Men 43 54 48 Women 54 44 52 Race White 42 55 81 Black 90 9 10 Asian 55 41 Hispanic 62 35 7 Age 18 -- 24 years old 47 47 6 9 25 -- 29 years old 49 46 5 8 30 -- 49 years old 48 50 45 50 -- 64 years old 50 48 24 65 and older 51 47 14 Sexual orientation Gay, lesbian, or bisexual 71 25 Heterosexual 47 50 96 Family income Under $15,000 58 38 7 $15,000 -- 30,000 54 42 16 $30,000 -- 50,000 49 48 24 $50,000 -- 75,000 46 51 25 $75,000 -- 100,000 46 52 13 Over $100,000 43 55 15 Region East 56 40 23 Midwest 48 49 26 South 43 56 31 West 49 47 20 Union households Union 59 37 26 Non-union 45 53 74 Source : Voter News Service exit poll from the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research ( 13,225 surveyed ) Aftermath After Florida was decided and Gore conceded, Texas Governor George W. Bush became the president - elect and began forming his transition committee. In a speech on December 13, in the Texas House of Representatives chamber, Bush stated he was reaching across party lines to bridge a divided America, saying, `` the President of the United States is the President of every single American, of every race, and every background. '' Post recount On January 6, 2001, a joint session of Congress met to certify the electoral vote. Twenty members of the House of Representatives, most of them members of the all - Democratic Congressional Black Caucus, rose one - by - one to file objections to the electoral votes of Florida. However, pursuant to the Electoral Count Act of 1887, any such objection had to be sponsored by both a representative and a senator. No senator would co-sponsor these objections, deferring to the Supreme Court 's ruling. Therefore, Gore, who presided in his capacity as President of the Senate, ruled each of these objections out of order. Subsequently, the joint session of Congress certified the electoral votes from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Bush took the oath of office on January 20, 2001. He would serve for the next eight years. Gore has not, as of 2018, considered another presidential run, endorsing Howard Dean 's candidacy during the 2004 Democratic primary and remaining neutral in the Democratic primaries of 2008 and 2016. The first independent recount of undervotes was conducted by the Miami Herald and USA Today. The commission found that under most scenarios for completion of the initiated recounts, Bush would have won the election ; however, Gore would have won using the most generous standards for undervotes. Ultimately, a media consortium -- comprising The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Tribune Co. ( parent of the Los Angeles Times ), Associated Press, CNN, The Palm Beach Post and the St. Petersburg Times -- hired NORC at the University of Chicago to examine 175,010 ballots that were collected from the entire state, not just the disputed counties that were recounted ; these ballots contained undervotes ( ballots with no machine - detected choice made for president ) and overvotes ( ballots with more than one choice marked ). Their goal was to determine the reliability and accuracy of the systems used for the voting process. Based on the NORC review, the media group concluded that if the disputes over all the ballots in question had been resolved by applying statewide any of five standards that would have met Florida 's legal standard for recounts, the electoral result would have been reversed and Gore would have won by 60 to 171 votes. ( Any analysis of NORC data requires, for each punch ballot, at least two of the three ballot reviewers ' codes to agree or instead, for all three to agree. ) For all undervotes and overvotes statewide, these five standards are : Prevailing standard -- accepts at least one detached corner of a chad and all affirmative marks on optical scan ballots. County - by - county standard -- applies each county 's own standards independently. Two - corner standard -- accepts at least two detached corners of a chad and all affirmative marks on optical scan ballots. Most restrictive standard -- accepts only so - called perfect ballots that machines somehow missed and did not count, or ballots with unambiguous expressions of voter intent. Most inclusive standard -- applies uniform criteria of `` dimple or better '' on punch marks and all affirmative marks on optical scan ballots. Such a statewide review including all uncounted votes was a tangible possibility, as Leon County Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis, whom the Florida Supreme Court had assigned to oversee the statewide recount, had scheduled a hearing for December 13 ( mooted by the U.S. Supreme Court 's final ruling on the 12th ) to consider the question of including overvotes as well as undervotes. Subsequent statements by Judge Lewis and internal court documents support the likelihood of including overvotes in the recount. Florida State University professor of public policy Lance deHaven - Smith observed that, even considering only undervotes, `` under any of the five most reasonable interpretations of the Florida Supreme Court ruling, Gore does, in fact, more than make up the deficit ''. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting 's analysis of the NORC study and media coverage of it supports these interpretations and criticizes the coverage of the study by media outlets such as The New York Times and the other media consortium members. Further, according to sociologists Christopher Uggen and Jeff Manza, the 2000 election might have gone to Gore if the disenfranchised population of Florida had voted. Florida law disenfranchises convicted felons, requiring individual applications to regain suffrage. In their 2002 American Sociological Review article, Uggen and Manza found that the released felon vote could have altered the outcome of seven senatorial races between 1978 and 2000, and the 2000 presidential election. Matt Ford noted their study concluded `` if the state 's 827,000 disenfranchised felons had voted at the same rate as other Floridians, Democratic candidate Al Gore would have won Florida -- and the presidency -- by more than 80,000 votes. '' The effect of Florida 's law is such that in 2014, purportedly `` ( m ) ore than one in ten Floridians -- and nearly one in four African - American Floridians -- are shut out of the polls because of felony convictions. '' Voting machines Because the 2000 presidential election was so close in Florida, the United States government and state governments pushed for election reform to be prepared by the 2004 presidential election. Many of Florida 's year 2000 election night problems stemmed from usability and ballot design factors with voting systems, including the potentially confusing `` butterfly ballot ''. Many voters had difficulties with the paper - based punch card voting machines and were either unable to understand the required process for voting or unable to perform the process. This resulted in an unusual amount of overvote ( voting for more candidates than is allowed ) and undervotes ( voting for fewer than the minimum candidates, including none at all ). Many undervotes were caused by voter error, unmaintained punch card voting booths, or errors having to do merely with the characteristics of punch card ballots ( resulting in hanging, dimpled, or pregnant chads ). A proposed solution to these problems was the installation of modern electronic voting machines. The United States presidential election of 2000 spurred the debate about election and voting reform, but it did not end it. In the aftermath of the election, the Help America Vote Act ( HAVA ) was passed to help states upgrade their election technology in the hopes of preventing similar problems in future elections. Unfortunately, the electronic voting systems that many states purchased to comply with HAVA actually caused problems in the presidential election of 2004. Exit polling and declaration of vote winners The Voter News Service 's reputation was damaged by its treatment of Florida 's presidential vote in 2000. Breaking its own guidelines, VNS called the state as a win for Gore 12 minutes before polls closed in the Florida panhandle. Although most of the state is in the Eastern Time Zone, counties in the Florida panhandle, located in the Central Time Zone, had not yet closed their polls. Discrepancies between the results of exit polls and the actual vote count caused the VNS to change its call twice, first from Gore to Bush and then to `` too close to call ''. Due in part to this ( and other polling inaccuracies ) the VNS was disbanded in 2003. According to Bush adviser Karl Rove, exit polls early in the afternoon on election day showed Gore winning by three percentage points, but when the networks called the state for Gore, Bush led by about 75,000 votes in raw tallies from the Florida Secretary of State. Also, charges of media bias were leveled against the networks by Republicans. They claimed that the networks called states more quickly for Al Gore than for George W. Bush. Congress held hearings on this matter, and the networks claimed to have no intentional bias in their election night reporting. However, a study of the calls made on election night 2000 indicated that states carried by Gore were called more quickly than states won by Bush ; however, notable Bush states, like New Hampshire and Florida, were very close, and close Gore states like Iowa, Oregon, New Mexico and Wisconsin were called late as well. The early call of Florida for Gore has been alleged to have cost Bush several close states, including Iowa, New Mexico, Oregon, and Wisconsin. In each of these states, Gore won by less than 10,000 votes, and the polls closed after the networks called Florida for Gore. Because the Florida call was widely seen as an indicator that Gore had won the election, it is possible that it depressed Republican turnout in these states during the final hours of voting, giving Gore the slim margin by which he carried each of them. Had Bush carried all four of these states, he would have been able to win the electoral vote, even with a loss in Florida. Likewise, the call may have affected the outcome of the Senate election in Washington state, where incumbent Republican Slade Gorton was defeated by approximately 2,000 votes statewide. Ralph Nader spoiler controversy Further information : Ralph Nader presidential campaign, 2000 § The `` spoiler '' controversy Many Gore supporters claimed that third - party candidate Nader acted as a spoiler in the election since Nader votes could have been cast for Gore, and for instance, Nader allegedly threw the election outcome to Bush. Nader received 2.74 percent of the popular vote nationwide, getting 97,000 votes in Florida ( by comparison, there were 111,251 overvotes ) and 22,000 votes in New Hampshire, where Bush beat Gore by 7,000 votes. Winning either state would have won the general election for Gore. Defenders of Nader, including Dan Perkins, argued that the margin in Florida was small enough that Democrats could blame any number of third - party candidates for the defeat, including Workers World Party candidate Monica Moorehead, who received 1,500 votes. But the controversy with Nader also drained energy from the Democratic party as divisive debate went on in the months leading up to the election. Nader 's reputation was hurt by this perception, which may have hindered his goals as an activist. For example, Mother Jones wrote about the so - called `` rank - and - file liberals '' who saw Nader negatively after the election and pointed that Public Citizen, the organization Nader founded in 1971, had a new fundraising problem in its own founder, citing a drop in contributions. Mother Jones also cited a Public Citizen 's letter sent out to people interested in Nader 's relation with the organization at that time, with the disclaimer : `` Although Ralph Nader was our founder, he has not held an official position in the organization since 1980 and does not serve on the board. Public Citizen -- and the other groups that Mr. Nader founded -- act independently. '' Democratic party strategist and Democratic Leadership Council ( DLC ) chair Al From expressed a different view. In the January 24, 2001, issue of the DLC 's Blueprint magazine, he wrote, `` I think they 're wrong on all counts. The assertion that Nader 's marginal vote hurt Gore is not borne out by polling data. When exit pollers asked voters how they would have voted in a two - way race, Bush actually won by a point. That was better than he did with Nader in the race. '' In an online article published by Salon.com on Tuesday, November 28, 2000, Texan progressive activist Jim Hightower claimed that in Florida, a state Gore lost by only 537 votes, 24,000 Democrats voted for Nader, while another 308,000 Democrats voted for Bush. According to Hightower, 191,000 self - described liberals in Florida voted for Bush, while fewer than 34,000 voted for Nader. Wrote Hightower : Even when Gore went skittering across the country in August on a widely ballyhooed `` Working Families Tour, '' he had the Clinton administration 's favorite Wall Streeter, Robert Rubin, by his side, sending a stage wink to the corporate powers, assuring them that all his ( Gore 's ) quasi-populist posturing was only rhetoric -- not to worry, Rubin still has a grip on policy. Press influence on race In their 2007 book The Nightly News Nightmare : Network Television 's Coverage of US Presidential Elections, 1988 -- 2004, professors Stephen J. Farnsworth and S. Robert Lichter alleged most media outlets influenced the outcome of the election through the use of horse race journalism. Some liberal supporters of Al Gore argued that the media had a bias against Gore and in favor of Bush. Peter Hart and Jim Naureckas, two commentators for Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting ( FAIR ), called the media `` serial exaggerators '' and alleged that several media outlets were constantly exaggerating criticism of Gore : they alleged that the media falsely claimed Gore lied when he claimed he spoke in an overcrowded science class in Sarasota, Florida, and also alleged the media gave Bush a pass on certain issues, such as Bush allegedly exaggerating how much money he signed into the annual Texas state budget to help the uninsured during his second debate with Gore in October 2000. In the April 2000 issue of Washington Monthly, columnist Robert Parry also alleged that media outlets exaggerated Gore 's supposed claim that he `` discovered '' the Love Canal neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York during a campaign speech in Concord, New Hampshire on November 30, 1999, when he had only claimed he `` found '' it after it was already evacuated in 1978 because of chemical contamination. Rolling Stone columnist Eric Boehlert also alleged media outlets exaggerated criticism of Gore as early as July 22, 1999, when Gore, known for being an environmentalist, had a friend release 500 million gallons of water into a drought stricken river to help keep his boat afloat for a photo shoot ; Boehlert claimed that media outlets exaggerated the actual number of gallons that were released, as they claimed it was 4 billion. Color coding This is the election that fixed red as a color for the Republican party and blue for the Democrats. The New York Times used these colors on their full - color election maps. Senior graphics editor Archie Tse, decided that as Republican started with an R then red `` was a more natural association ''. Prior to that color coding choices were inconsistent across the media. In 1976, NBC in its first election map on air, used bulbs that turned red for Carter - won states ( Democratic ), and blue for Ford ( Republican ). This original color scheme was based on the British political system, where blue is used to denote the conservative establishment minded party and red for the more liberal or socialist party. However the NBC format did not catch on long term, the media did not follow suit. The unusually long 2000 election helped to cement red and blue as colors in the collective mind. See also United States portal Politics portal 2000s portal Bush v. Gore First inauguration of George W. Bush History of the United States ( 1991 -- present ) List of close election results United States gubernatorial elections, 2000 United States House of Representatives elections, 2000 United States Senate elections, 2000 Ralph Nader 's presidential campaigns United States presidential election, 1824 United States presidential election, 1876 United States presidential election, 1888 United States presidential election, 2016 Footnotes ^ Jump up to : One faithless elector from the District of Columbia, Barbara Lett - Simmons, abstained from voting in protest of the District 's lack of voting representation in the United States Congress. ( D.C. has a non-voting delegate to Congress. ) She had been expected to vote for Gore / Lieberman. References Jump up ^ `` Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections ''. Presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved August 18, 2016. Jump up ^ One Democratic elector abstained in the official tally Jump up ^ Wolter, Kirk ; Jergovic, Diana ; Moore, Whitney ; Murphy, Joe ; O'Muircheartaigh, Colm ( February 2003 ). `` Statistical Practice : Reliability of the Uncertified Ballots in the 2000 Presidential Election in Florida '' ( PDF ). The American Statistician. American Statistical Association. 57 ( 1 ) : 1 -- 14. doi : 10.1198 / 0003130031144. JSTOR 3087271. Retrieved June 12, 2016. ^ Jump up to : deHaven - Smith, Lance, ed. ( 2005 ). The Battle for Florida : An Annotated Compendium of Materials from the 2000 Presidential Election. Gainesville, Florida, United States : University Press of Florida. pp. 8, 16, 37 -- 41. Jump up ^ `` 2000 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORAL AND POPULAR VOTE ''. Federal Election Commission. Retrieved March 22, 2017. Jump up ^ `` West Memphis Kerrey bows out of 2000 presidential race ''. CNN. December 13, 1998. Jump up ^ York, Anthony ( September 2, 1999 ) `` Life of the Party ? '' Salon News. Jump up ^ Dessauer, Carin ( April 8, 1998 ). `` Wellstone Launches Presidential Exploratory Committee ''. CNN. Jump up ^ `` Gore, Lieberman prepare for public debut of Democratic ticket ''. CNN. August 8, 2000. Archived from the original on November 5, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Statement of Candidacy ''. Federal Election Commission. Archived from the original on April 27, 2015. Retrieved October 5, 2011. Jump up ^ Frontline. The Choice. Boston. October 12, 2004. PBS. WGBH - TV. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ `` Interview with John McCain ''. Dadmag.com. June 4, 2000. Retrieved November 16, 2008. Jump up ^ Holmes, Steven A. `` After Campaigning on Candor, McCain Admits He Lacked It on Confederate Flag Issue. The New York Times. April 20, 2000. Retrieved 2015 - 06 - 19. Jump up ^ Confessore, Nicholas ; Haberman, Maggie ( August 9, 2015 ). `` Donald Trump Remains Defiant on News Programs Amid G.O.P. Backlash ''. The New York Times. Retrieved August 25, 2015. Mr. Trump 's flirtations with presidential runs span decades -- and parties. In 1999, he left the Republican Party to become a member of the Reform Party Jump up ^ `` Trump officially joins Reform Party ''. CNN. October 25, 1999. Retrieved August 25, 2015. Trump has not yet formally declared he would seek the Reform Party nomination, but he announced Sunday he was quitting the Republican Party Jump up ^ `` Q&A with Socialist Party presidential candidate Brian Moore ''. Independent Weekly. October 8, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Green Party Presidential Ticket -- President : Ralph Nader, Vice President : Winona LaDuke ''. Thegreenpapers.com. Retrieved January 15, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Libertarian Party Presidential Ticket -- President : Harry Browne, Vice President : Art Olivier ''. The Green Papers. July 3, 2000. Retrieved January 15, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Libertarian Party Presidential Ticket ''. The Green Papers. July 2, 2000. Retrieved November 16, 2008. ^ Jump up to : `` Bob Bickford `` 2000 Presidential Status Summary ( table ) '' Ballot Access News June 29, 2000 ``. Web.archive.org. October 1, 2000. Archived from the original on September 17, 2002. Retrieved August 8, 2010. Jump up ^ Richard Winger `` '' Natural Law Convention '' Ballot Access News October 1, 2000, Volume 16, Number 7 ``. Archived from the original on June 18, 2002. Retrieved June 18, 2002. CS1 maint : Unfit url ( link ) Jump up ^ `` The Second Gore - Bush Presidential Debate ''. 2000 Debate Transcript. Commission on Presidential Debates. 2004. Archived from the original on April 3, 2005. Retrieved October 21, 2005. Jump up ^ `` Election 2000 Archive ''. CNN / AllPolitics.com. Archived from the original on July 30, 2008. Retrieved November 16, 2008. Jump up ^ Rather, Dan. CBSNews.com. Out of the Shadows. August 9, 2000. Jump up ^ The New York Times. When a Kiss Is n't Just a Kiss. August 20, 2000. Jump up ^ `` Gore 's Defeat : Do n't Blame Nader ''. Greens.org. Retrieved May 28, 2010. Jump up ^ Jacob Weisberg ( November 8, 2000 ). `` Why Gore ( Probably ) Lost ''. Slate. Retrieved May 28, 2010. Jump up ^ YouTube Jump up ^ `` Nader assails major parties : scoffs at charge he drains liberal vote ''. CBS. Associated Press. April 6, 2000. Retrieved September 14, 2008. There is a difference between Tweedledum and Tweedledee, but not that much. Jump up ^ CNN Transcript - CNN NewsStand : Presidential Race Intensifies ; Gore Campaign Worried Ralph Nader Could Swing Election to Bush - October 26, 2000 Jump up ^ `` GOP Group To Air Pro-Nader TV Ads ''. Washingtonpost.com. October 27, 2000. Retrieved August 18, 2016. Jump up ^ Nader rejects concerns about role as spoiler - tribunedigital - baltimoresun Jump up ^ `` The 2000 Campaign : Campaign Briefing Published ''. The New York Times. September 5, 2000. Retrieved March 25, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Commission on Presidential Debates ''. Debates.org. Retrieved October 14, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Commission on Presidential Debates ''. Debates.org. Retrieved October 14, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Commission on Presidential Debates ''. Debates.org. Retrieved October 14, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Commission on Presidential Debates ''. Debates.org. Retrieved October 14, 2012. ^ Jump up to : `` Open Debates What Happened in 2000 ? ''. opendebates.org. 2011. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2012. Jump up ^ Goldberg, Carey ( October 5, 2000 ). `` THE 2000 CAMPAIGN : THE GREEN PARTY ; Nader Wants Apology From Debate Panel for Turning Him Away ''. The New York Times. New York : NYTC. ISSN 0362 - 4331. Retrieved August 13, 2012. Jump up ^ Nader, Ralph ( 2002 ). `` Crashing the Party ''. naderlibrary.com. Retrieved August 13, 2012. Jump up ^ Winger, Richard ( 2002 ). `` Ballot Access News -- May 1, 2002 ''. web.archive.org. Archived from the original on June 4, 2003. Retrieved August 13, 2012. Jump up ^ Barstow, David ; Van Natta, Don, Jr. ( July 15, 2001 ). `` Examining the Vote ; How Bush Took Florida : Mining the Overseas Absentee Vote ''. New York Times. Retrieved November 16, 2016. Jump up ^ `` SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES. No. 00 - 949 ( 00A504 ) Bush v. Gore, On Application For Stay '' ( PDF ). December 9, 2000. Jump up ^ `` Florida legislature to appoint electors during special session Friday ''. The St. Augustine Record. December 7, 2000. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2016. Jump up ^ `` FLORIDA LEGISLATURE -- SPECIAL SESSION A -- 2000 ( Dec ) HISTORY OF HOUSE BILLS '' ( PDF ). Retrieved December 16, 2016. Jump up ^ `` U.S. Electoral College Frequently Asked Questions ''. archives.gov. Retrieved December 16, 2016. Jump up ^ `` 2000 Presidential General Election Results ''. fec.gov. Jump up ^ `` Who is boycotting the Trump inauguration ? ''. BBC News. January 20, 2017. Retrieved April 18, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Dave Leip 's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - Compare Data ''. uselectionatlas.org. Jump up ^ Casteel, Chris. `` Oklahoma 's 28th presidential election will be first with GOP voters in majority ''. NewsOK. Retrieved March 18, 2017. Jump up ^ Dizikes, Peter ( January 6, 2006 ). `` Electoral College Puts Bush Over the Top - ABC News ''. Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved August 18, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Maine General Election Tabulations, President of the United States by Congressional District ''. November 7, 2000. Jump up ^ `` Nebraska Statewide General Election 2000 Results - President by Congressional District '' ( PDF ). Nebraska Secretary of State. Jump up ^ `` How Groups Voted in 2000 ''. ropercenter.cornell.edu. Retrieved February 1, 2018. Jump up ^ Ian Christopher McCaleb ( December 13, 2000 ). `` Bush, now president - elect, signals will to bridge partisan gaps ''. CNN.com. Archived from the original on February 12, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Bush Acceptance -- December 13, 2000 ''. Archived from the original on November 16, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008. Jump up ^ `` George W. Bush statement -- December 13, 2000 ''. CNN. Archived from the original on December 12, 2008. Jump up ^ `` FDsys - Browse CREC ''. Gpo.gov. January 6, 2001. Retrieved August 18, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Media Recount : Bush Won The 2000 election ''. PBS. ^ Jump up to : `` Who Won the Election ? Who Cares ? ''. Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting. Retrieved October 30, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Florida Ballots Project ''. National Opinion Research Center. Archived from the original on December 17, 2001. Retrieved May 28, 2010. Jump up ^ Wolter, K.M., Jergovic, D., Moore, W., Murphy, J. and O'Muirheartaigh, C. 2003. `` Reliability of the Uncertified Ballots in the 2000 Presidential Election in Florida ''. American Statistician. 57 ( 1 ) : 1 -- 14. Jump up ^ Freeman, Steven & Bleifuss, Joel. Was the 2000 Presidential Election Stolen ? : Exit Polls, Election Fraud, and the Official Count. Seven Stories Press, 2006, pp. 41 - 47. Jump up ^ `` The Final Word ? New Documents Raise Questions About News Media 's Findings On The 2000 Presidential Election '' ( archived from the original on October 30, 2008 ) Jump up ^ `` Florida 's ex-convicts seek right to vote ''. tribunedigital - chicagotribune. Retrieved February 23, 2016. Jump up ^ Matt Ford, `` Restoring Voting Rights for Felons in Maryland '', The Atlantic, February 9, 2016, accessed March 23, 2016 Jump up ^ Brent Staples, `` Florida Leads the Pack -- in Felon Disenfranchisement '', New York Times, November 7, 2014, accessed March 23, 2016 Jump up ^ Freeman, Steven & Bleifuss, Joel. Was the 2004 election stolen ? : exit polls, election fraud, and the official count. Seven Stories Press, 2006, p. 68 - 83. Jump up ^ Joseph Uscinski. 2007. `` Too Close Too Call ? Uncertainty and Bias in Election Night Reporting '' Social Science Quarterly vol. 88, ( 1 ). Jump up ^ Eric Alterman ( March 22, 2001 ). `` Tweedledee, Indeed ''. Jump up ^ `` Overvote county summary ''. USA Today. May 10, 2001. Jump up ^ Herron, Michael C. ; Lewis, Jeffrey B. ( August 2007 ). `` Did Ralph Nader spoil Al Gore 's Presidential bid ? A ballot - level study of Green and Reform Party voters in the 2000 Presidential election ''. Quarterly Journal of Political Science. Now Publishing Inc. 2 ( 3 ) : 205 -- 226. doi : 10.1561 / 100.00005039. Pdf. Jump up ^ `` This Modern World ''. Salon.com Comics. Archived from the original on March 15, 2006. Retrieved May 23, 2006. Jump up ^ `` Nader Unrepentant ''. Mother Jones. July 27, 2013. Retrieved August 18, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Building A New Progressive Majority by Al From ''. DLC. January 24, 2001. Retrieved January 15, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Democratic Leadership Council : Blueprint Magazine ''. Ndol.org. Retrieved January 15, 2011. Jump up ^ How Florida Democrats torpedoed Gore - Salon.com Jump up ^ Farnsworth, S.J. ; Lichter, S.R. ( 2007 ). The Nightly News Nightmare : Network Television 's Coverage of US Presidential Elections, 1988 -- 2004. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 159 -- 160. ISBN 9780742553774. ^ Jump up to : Peter Hart ; Jim Naureckas ( January 1, 2001 ). `` Serial Exaggerators : Media 's double standard on political lying ''. FAIR. ^ Jump up to : Robert Parry ( April 2000 ). `` He 's No Pinocchio : How the press exaggerated Al Gores exaggerations ''. Washington Monthly. Archived from the original on November 15, 2013. ^ Jump up to : Boehlert, Eric, ( December 6, 2001 ), `` The Press v. Al Gore '', Rolling Stone Jump up ^ Streams, Kimber. `` Why are Republicans red and Democrats blue ? ''. The Verge. Retrieved 11 August 2018. Further reading Books Brinkley, Douglas ( 2001 ). 36 Days : The Complete Chronicle of the 2000 Presidential Election Crisis. Times Books. ISBN 0 - 8050 - 6850 - 3. Steed, Robert P. ( ed. ), ed. ( 2002 ). The 2000 Presidential Election in the South : Partisanship and Southern Party Systems in the 21st Century. CS1 maint : Extra text : editors list ( link ) de La Garza, Rodolfo O. ( ed. ), ed. ( 2004 ). Muted Voices : Latinos and the 2000 Elections. Lanham, MD : Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0 - 7425 - 3590 - 8. CS1 maint : Extra text : editors list ( link ) Abramson, Paul R. ; Rohde, David W. ; Aldrich, John Herbert ( 2002 ). Change and Continuity in the 2000 Elections. Washington, D.C. : CQ Press. ISBN 1 - 56802 - 740 - 0. Bugliosi, Vincent ( 2001 ). The Betrayal of America : How the Supreme Court Undermined the Constitution and Chose Our President. Thunder 's Mouth Press. ISBN 1 - 56025 - 355 - X. Corrado, Anthony ; et al. ( 2001 ). Election of 2000 : Reports and Interpretations. Chatham House Publishers. Denton, Robert E., Jr. ( 2002 ). The 2000 Presidential Campaign : A Communication Perspective. Praeger. Dershowitz, Alan M. ( 2001 ). Supreme Injustice : How the High Court Hijacked Election 2000. New York : Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 0 - 19 - 514827 - 4. Dover, E.D. ( 2002 ). Missed Opportunity : Gore, Incumbency, and Television in Election 2000. Westport, Conn. : Praeger. ISBN 0 - 275 - 97638 - 6. Dougherty, John E. ( 2001 ). Election 2000 : How the Military Vote Was Suppressed. Cave Junction, OR : WorldNetDaily.com, Inc. ISBN 978 - 1 - 58939 - 065 - 2. Gillman, H. ( 2001 ). The Votes That Counted : How the Court Decided the 2000 Presidential Election. Chicago : Univ. of Chicago Press. ISBN 0 - 226 - 29408 - 0. Moore, David W. ( 2006 ). How to Steal an Election : The Inside Story of How George Bush 's Brother and FOX Network Miscalled the 2000 Election and Changed the Course of History. New York : Nation Press. ISBN 1 - 56025 - 929 - 9. Jacobson, Arthur J. ; Rosenfeld, Michel ( 2002 ). The Longest Night : Polemics and Perspectives on Election 2000. Palast, Greg ( 2002 ). The Best Democracy Money Can Buy. Pluto Press. ISBN 0 - 7453 - 1846 - 0. Posner, Richard A. ( 2001 ). Breaking the Deadlock : The 2000 Election, the Constitution, and the Courts. Princeton : Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 0 - 691 - 09073 - 4. Rakove, Jack N. ( 2002 ). The Unfinished Election of 2000. New York : Basic Books. ISBN 0 - 465 - 06837 - 5. Sabato, Larry J. ( 2001 ). Overtime ! The Election 2000 Thriller. New York : Longman. ISBN 0 - 321 - 10028 - X. Sammon, Bill ( 2001 ). At Any Cost : How Al Gore Tried to Steal the Election. Regnery Publishing, Inc. ISBN 0 - 89526 - 227 - 4. Toobin, Jeffrey ( 2001 ). Too Close To Call : The Thirty - Six - Day Battle to Decide the 2000 Election. Random House. ISBN 0 - 375 - 50708 - 6. Journal articles Miller, Arthur H. ; Thomas F. Klobucar ( 2003 ). `` The Role of Issues in the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election ''. Presidential Studies Quarterly. 33 ( 1 ) : 101 +. doi : 10.1111 / j. 1741 - 5705.2003. tb00018. x. Wattenberg, Martin P. ( 1999 ). `` The Democrats ' Decline in the House during the Clinton Presidency : An Analysis of Partisan Swings ''. Presidential Studies Quarterly. 29 ( 3 ) : 685. doi : 10.1111 / j. 0268 - 2141.2003. 00057. x. Wattier, Mark J. ( 2004 ). `` The Clinton Factor : The Effects of Clinton 's Personal Image in 2000 Presidential Primaries and in the General Election ''. White House Studies. 4. Tribe, Laurence H. : `` Erog. v Hsub and its Disguises : Freeing Bush v. Gore from its Hall of Mirrors '', 115 Harvard Law Review 170 ( November 2001 ). Papers Keating, Dan ( The Washington Post ). `` Democracy Counts, The Florida ballot recount project '', paper prepared for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, 2002. Underhill, Wendy `` Election 2000 : Before and After : September 2012 '', State Legislatures Magazine, a 2012 retrospective on improvements started by the 2000 election. 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Question: who was president of the usa in 2000
Answer: George W. Bush