# 2000 Republican Party presidential primaries

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
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. 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. 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. 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

| Candidate | Candidate | Candidate | Most recent office | Home state | Campaign Withdrawal date | Popular vote | Contests won | Running mate | Running mate |
| George W. Bush | | | Governor of Texas (1995–2000) | Texas | (Campaign • Positions) Secured nomination: March 14, 2000 | 12,034,676 (62.00%) | 44 | Dick Cheney | |

### Withdrew prior to convention

| Candidate | Candidate | Candidate | Most recent office | Home state | Campaign Withdrawal date | Popular vote | Contests won |
| Alan Keyes | | | Asst. Secretary of State (1985–1987) | Maryland | (Campaign) Withdrew: July 25 | 985,819 (5.1%) | 0 |

### Withdrew during primaries

| Candidate | Candidate | Candidate | Most recent office | Home state | Campaign Withdrawal date | Popular vote | Contests won |
| John McCain | | | U.S. Senator from Arizona (1987–2018) | Arizona | (Campaign) Withdrew: March 9 | 6,061,332 (31.23%) | 7 AZ, CT, MA, MI, NH, RI, VT |
| Steve Forbes | | | Publisher and editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine (1990–) | New Jersey | (Campaign) Withdrew: February 10 | 171,860 (0.89%) | 0 |
Other candidates campaigning for the nomination but receiving less than 0.5% of the national vote included:
* Former Undersecretary of Education Gary Bauer
* United States Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah

### Withdrew before primary elections

* Former Governor Lamar Alexander of Tennessee
* Commentator and presidential candidate Pat Buchanan of Virginia (to run for the Reform Party nomination)
* Businessman Herman Cain of Nebraska
* Former United States Secretary of Labor Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina
* Representative John Kasich of Ohio (Campaign)
* Former Vice President Dan Quayle of Indiana (Campaign)
* Senator Bob Smith of New Hampshire

### Declined to run

* John Ashcroft, Senator from Missouri (ran for reelection)
* Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
* Jack Kemp, former U.S. Representative from New York and nominee for vice-president in 1996
* George Pataki, Governor of New York
* Harold Stassen, former Governor of Minnesota
* Donald Trump, businessman from New York (ran for Reform Party nomination)
* Fred Thompson, Senator from Tennessee
* Tommy Thompson, Governor of Wisconsin
* Christine Todd Whitman, Governor of New Jersey
* Oliver North, political commentator and Senate candidate from Virginia
* Rudy Giuliani, Mayor of New York City

## 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% |
* ↑ 15% for Jack Kemp, 9% for Christine Whitman, 5% each for Newt Gingrich and Fred Thompson, 3% each for John Ashcroft and Lamar Alexander, and 2% for Bob Smith.
* ↑ 9% for Jack Kemp, 6% for Newt Gingrich, 2% for Lamar Alexander, and 1% each for Gary Bauer and John Kasich.
* ↑ 4% each for John Ashcroft, Newt Gingrich, John Kasich, and Lamar Alexander.
* ↑ 4% for Lamar Alexander, 2% each for Gary Bauer and John Kasich and 1% for Bob Smith.
* ↑ 3% for John Kasich, 2% for Lamar Alexander, and 1% each for Gary Bauer and Bob Smith.
* ↑ 2% each for Gary Bauer and John Kasich.
* ↑ 3% each for Lamar Alexander and Gary Bauer and 1% for John Kasich.
* ↑ 2% each for Gary Bauer, John Kasich, and Bob Smith, and 1% for Lamar Alexander.
* ↑ 3% for Lamar Alexander and 1% each for Gary Bauer, John Kasich, and Bob Smith.
* ↑ 3% for John Kasich, 2% each for Gary Bauer, Lamar Alexander, and Orrin Hatch, and 1% for Bob Smith.
* ↑ 2% for Gary Bauer and 1% each for Orrin Hatch and Alan Keyes.
* ↑ 2% each for Gary Bauer and Orrin Hatch and 1% for Alan Keyes.
* ↑ 5% for John Ashcroft, 3% each for Gary Bauer and Alan Keyes, and 2% for Orrin Hatch.
* ↑ 3% for Orrin Hatch, 2% for Alan Keyes, and 1% for Gary Bauer
* ↑ 2% each for Gary Bauer, Orrin Hatch, and Alan Keyes.
* ↑ 4% for Orrin Hatch, 3% for Gary Bauer, and 2% for Alan Keyes.
* ↑ 4% for Alan Keyes and 2% each for Gary Bauer and Orrin Hatch.
* ↑ 4% for Alan Keyes, 2% for Gary Bauer, and 1% for Orrin Hatch.
* ↑ 2% each for Orrin Hatch and Alan Keyes and 1% for Gary Bauer.
* ↑ 3% for Alan Keyes, 2% for Gary Bauer, and 1% for Orrin Hatch.
* ↑ 2% for Gary Bauer and 1% each for Orrin Hatch and Alan Keyes.
* ↑ 4% for Alan Keyes and 2% for Gary Bauer.
* ↑ 3% for Alan Keyes.
* ↑ 3% for Alan Keyes.
* ↑ 3% for Alan Keyes.
* ↑ 4% for Alan Keyes.

## Results
### Statewide

2000 Republican primary and caucus results :
| Date | Pledged delegates | State | George W. Bush | John McCain | Alan Keyes | Steve Forbes | Gary Bauer | Orrin Hatch | Uncommitted |
| January 24 | 0 | Alaska (caucus) | 36.28% | 9.52% | 9.49% | 36.17% | 4.78% | 3.76% | - |
| January 24 | 25 | Iowa (caucus) | 41.01% (10) | 4.67% (1) | 14.25% (4) | 30.51% (8) | 8.54% (2) | 1.02% | - |
| February 1 | 17 | New Hampshire (primary) | 30.36% (5) | 48.53% (10) | 6.37% | 12.66% (2) | 0.69% | 0.07% | - |
| February 7–13 | 14 | Hawaii (caucus) | - | - | - | - | - | - | (14) |
| February 8 | 12 | Delaware (primary) | 50.73% (12) | 25.41% | 3.82% | 19.57% | 0.40% | 0.07% | - |
| February 19 | 37 | South Carolina (primary) | 53.39% (34) | 41.87% (3) | 4.54% | 0.08% | 0.11% | 0.01% | - |
| February 22 (88) | 30 | Arizona (primary) | 35.68% | 60.03% (30) | 3.56% | 0.38% | 0.05% | 0.20% | - |
| February 22 (88) | 58 | Michigan (primary) | 43.05% (6) | 50.97% (52) | 4.62% | 0.38% | 0.21% | 0.07% | 0.68% |
| Feb 23–Mar 21 (17) | 17 | Nevada (caucus) | - | - | - | - | - | - | (17) |
| February 26 (12) | 4 | American Samoa (caucus) | ?% (4) | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| February 26 (12) | 4 | Guam (caucus) | ?% (4) | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| February 26 (12) | 4 | Virgin Islands (caucus) | ?% (4) | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| February 27 | 14 | Puerto Rico (primary) | 94.21% (14) | 5.29% | 0.05% | 0.23% | 0.04% | – | - |
| February 29 (87) | 56 | Virginia (primary) | 52.79% (56) | 43.89% | 3.07% | 0.12% | 0.13% | – | - |
| February 29 (87) | 12 | Washington (primary) | 48.26% (7) | 47.98% (5) | 2.53% | 0.62% | 0.34% | 0.27% | - |
| February 29 (87) | 19 | North Dakota (caucus) | 75.72% (14) | 18.94% (4) | 5.31% (1) | – | – | - | 0.03% |
| March 7 (605) (Super Tuesday) | 162 | California (primary) | 52.21% (162) | 42.87% | 4.10% | 0.35% | 0.25% | 0.22% | - |
| March 7 (605) (Super Tuesday) | 25 | Connecticut (primary) | 46.28% | 48.74% (25) | 3.30% | 0.69% | 0.21% | 0.10% | 0.67% |
| March 7 (605) (Super Tuesday) | 54 | Georgia (primary) | 66.93% (54) | 27.84% | 4.61% | 0.26% | 0.31% | 0.06% | - |
| March 7 (605) (Super Tuesday) | 14 | Maine (primary) | 51.03% (14) | 44.00% | 3.09% | 0.47% | 0.34% | - | – |
| March 7 (605) (Super Tuesday) | 31 | Maryland (primary) | 56.23% (31) | 36.16% | 6.65% | 0.45% | 0.35% | 0.16% | - |
| March 7 (605) (Super Tuesday) | 37 | Massachusetts (primary) | 31.78% | 64.81% (37) | 2.52% | 0.28% | 0.22% | 0.05% | 0.26% |
| March 7 (605) (Super Tuesday) | 34 | Minnesota (caucus) | 63% (34) | 17% | 20% | – | – | - | – |
| March 7 (605) (Super Tuesday) | 35 | Missouri (primary) | 57.93% (35) | 35.31% | 5.74% | 0.43% | 0.22% | 0.08% | 0.28% |
| March 7 (605) (Super Tuesday) | 93 | New York (primary) | 50.30% (67) | 43.50% (26) | 3.60% | 2.60% | – | - | - (8) |
| March 7 (605) (Super Tuesday) | 69 | Ohio (primary) | 57.99% (63) | 36.98% (6) | 3.95% | 0.64% | 0.44 | – | - |
| March 7 (605) (Super Tuesday) | 14 | Rhode Island (primary) | 36.43% | 60.18% (14) | 2.55% | 0.25% | 0.10% | 0.10% | 0.32% |
| March 7 (605) (Super Tuesday) | 12 | Vermont (primary) | 35.33% | 60.29% (12) | 2.66% | 0.76% | 0.36% | – | - |
| March 7 (605) (Super Tuesday) | 25 | Washington (caucus) | 82.15% (25) | 12.88% | 4.97% | – | – | - | – |
| March 10 (91) | 22 | Wyoming (caucus) | 77.62% (21) | 10.29% (1) | 11.66% | – | – | - | – |
| March 10 (91) | 40 | Colorado (primary) | 64.71% (28) | 27.12% (12) | 6.57% | 0.66% | 0.66% | 0.28% | - |
| March 10 (91) | 29 | Utah (primary) | 63.28% (29) | 14.04% | 21.27% | 0.94% | 0.47% | - | – |
| March 14 (341) | 80 | Florida (primary) | 73.80% (80) | 19.94% | 4.63% | 0.94% | 0.50% | 0.20% | - |
| March 14 (341) | 29 | Louisiana (primary) | 83.60% (29) | 8.91% | 5.73% | 1.01% | 0.75% | - | – |
| March 14 (341) | 33 | Mississippi (primary) | 88% (33) | 5.45% | 5.63% | 0.51% | 0.41% | 0.12% | - |
| March 14 (341) | 38 | Oklahoma (primary) | 79.15% (38) | 10.39% | 9.29% | 0.85% | 0.32% | – | - |
| March 14 (341) | 37 | Tennessee (primary) | 77.02% (37) | 14.53% | 6.75% | 0.41 | 0.52% | 0.10% | 0.63% |
| March 14 (341) | 124 | Texas (primary) | 87.54% (124) | 7.11% | 3.86% | 0.25% | 0.19% | 0.12% | 0.85% |
| March 21 | 64 | Illinois (primary) | 67.40% (64) | 21.54% | 8.97% | 1.40% | 0.69% | – | - (10) |
| April 4 (115) | 78 | Pennsylvania (primary) | 72.47% (78) | 22.36% | 1.09% | 2.48% | 1.35% | – | - |
| April 4 (115) | 37 | Wisconsin (primary) | 69.24% (37) | 18.09% | 9.87% | 1.11% | 0.37% | 0.35% | 0.70% |
| May 2 (107) | 30 | Indiana (primary) | 81.17% (30) | 18.83% | – | – | – | - | - (25) |
| May 2 (107) | 62 | North Carolina (primary) | 78.60% (49) | 10.86% (7) | 7.85% (5) | – | 1.03% (1) | - | 1.67% |
| May 2 (107) | 15 | Washington, D.C. (primary) | 72.79% (15) | 24.37% | – | – | – | | – |
| May 9 (48) | 30 | Nebraska (primary) | 78.15% (30) | 15.11% | 6.50% | – | – | - | – |
| May 9 (48) | 18 | West Virginia (primary) | 79.57% (18) | 12.91% | 4.76% | 1.58% | 1.18% | – | - |
| May 16 | 24 | Oregon (primary) | 83.62% (21) | – | 13.37% (3) | – | – | - | – |
| May 23 (112) | 24 | Arkansas (primary) | 80.23% (19) | – | 19.77% (5) | – | – | - | – |
| May 23 (112) | 22 | Idaho (primary) | 73.45% (16) | – | 19.10% (4) | – | – | - | 7.45% (8) |
| May 23 (112) | 31 | Kentucky (primary) | 82.98% (31) | 6.33% | 4.75% | 1.30% | 2.64% | – | 2.00% |
| May 23 (112) | 35 | Kansas (caucus) | ?% (35) | ?% | ?% | ?% | ?% | | – |
| June 6 (164) | 44 | Alabama (primary) | 84.24% (44) | – | 11.52% | – | – | - | 4.24% |
| June 6 (164) | 23 | Montana (primary) | 77.59% (23) | – | 18.32% | – | – | - | 4.10% |
| June 6 (164) | 54 | New Jersey (primary) | 83.56% (54) | 16.44% | – | – | – | - | – |
| June 6 (164) | 21 | New Mexico (primary) | 82.63% (21) | 10.13% | 6.45% | – | – | - | 0.80% |
| June 6 (164) | 22 | South Dakota (primary) | 78.22% (22) | 13.75% | 7.68% | – | – | | – |

### Nationwide

* Results by county, shaded according to winning candidate's percentage of the vote
Popular vote result:
* George W. Bush – 12,034,676 (62.00%)
* John McCain – 6,061,332 (31.23%)
* Alan Keyes – 985,819 (5.08%)
* Steve Forbes – 171,860 (0.89%)
* Unpledged delegates – 61,246 (0.32%)
* Gary Bauer – 60,709 (0.31%)
* Orrin Hatch – 15,958 (0.08%)

### Notable endorsements

Note: Some of the endorsers switched positions.
George W. Bush
* Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott from Mississippi
* Former HUD Secretary and 1996 Vice Presidential nominee Jack Kemp from New York
* Senator Bob Smith from New Hampshire
* Former Governor and White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu of New Hampshire
* Governor Jane Dee Hull of Arizona
* Governor John Engler of Michigan
* Senator John Warner from Virginia
* Governor Jim Gilmore of Virginia
* Senator John Ashcroft from Missouri
* Governor Paul Cellucci of Massachusetts
* Governor Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin
* Representative John Thune from South Dakota
John McCain
* Senator Jon Kyl from Arizona
* Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee
* Senator Mike DeWine from Ohio
* Senator Chuck Hagel from Nebraska
* Representative Lindsey Graham from South Carolina
* Representative Mark Sanford from South Carolina
* Representative Peter T. King from New York
* Staten Island Borough President Guy Molinari
Steve Forbes
* Governor Gary Johnson of New Mexico
* Representative Bob Barr from Georgia
* Representative Roscoe Bartlett from Maryland
* Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell
* Sarah Palin, mayor of Wasilla, Alaska
Alan Keyes
* Representative Tom Coburn from Oklahoma
* Filmmaker Michael Moore from Michigan (joke endorsement)
Orrin Hatch
* Senator Robert Foster Bennett from Utah
Lamar Alexander
* Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas
* Former Governor Terry Branstad of Iowa
Dan Quayle
* Former Governor Carroll A. Campbell of South Carolina
John Kasich
* Mike DeWine (initially)
* Senator George Voinovich from Ohio
* Representative John Boehner from Ohio