# 2000 United States Senate election in Michigan

Elections in Michigan :
Federal government
U.S. President
1836
1840
1844
1848
1852
1856
1860
1864
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
Dem
2008
Dem
GOP
2012
Dem
GOP
2016
Dem
2020
Dem
GOP
2024
Dem
GOP
U.S. Senate
1835
1840 (sp)
1841
1847
1849 (sp)
1853
1857
1858
1862 (sp)
1863
1865
1869
1871
1874
1877
1879 (sp)
1881
1881 (sp)
1887
1889
1893
1895
1895 (sp)
1899
1901
1903 (sp)
1905
1907
1907 (sp)
1911
1913
1916
1918
1922
1924
1924 (sp)
1928
1928 (sp)
1930
1934
1936
1940
1942
1946
1948
1952
1952 (sp)
1954
1958
1960
1964
1966
1970
1972
1976
1978
1982
1984
1988
1990
1994
1996
2000
2002
2006
2008
2012
2014
2018
2020
2024
2026
U.S. House
1835
1837
1838
1840
1843
1844
1846
1847
1st sp
1848
1850
1852
1854
1856
1858
1860
1862
1864
1866
1868
1870
1871
4th sp
1872
1873
5th sp
1874
1876
1878
1880
1881
7th sp
1882
1884
1886
1888
11th sp
1890
1891
5th sp
1892
1893
1st sp
1894
1895
3rd sp
1896
1898
1900
1901
10th sp
1902
1904
1906
1907
5th sp
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1917
2nd sp
1918
1920
13th sp
1921
3rd sp
1922
1923
3rd sp
1924
1925
3rd sp
1926
1928
1930
1931
8th sp
1932
1934
1935
3rd sp
1936
1938
1940
5th sp
1942
1944
1946
1947
11th sp
1948
1950
1952
1954
1955
15th sp
1956
1958
1960
1961
1st sp
1962
14th sp
1964
1968
1970
1972
1974
5th sp
8th sp
1976
1978
1980
13th sp
1981
4th sp
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1993
3rd sp
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
11th
11th sp
2014
2016
2018
13th sp
2020
2022
2024 :
State government
State elections
2010
2014
2016
2018
2020
2021
2022
2024
Gubernatorial elections
1835
1837
1839
1841
1843
1845
1847
1849
1851
1852
1854
1856
1858
1860
1862
1864
1866
1868
1870
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
Attorney General elections
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
Secretary of State elections
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
Auditor General elections
1962
State Senate elections
2002
2006
2010
2014
2016
4th sp
2018
2021 (sp)
2022
State House elections
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
Ballot proposals
1996Proposal E
2004Proposal 04-2
2006Proposal 06-2
2008Proposal 1
2012
Proposal 1
Proposal 2
Proposal 3
Proposal 4
Proposal 5
Proposal 6
2015
Proposal 1
2018
Proposal 1
Proposal 2
Proposal 3
2020
Proposal 1
Proposal 2
2022
Proposal 1
Proposal 2
Proposal 3 :
Detroit
Mayoral elections
1969
1973
1997
2001
2005
2009 (sp)
2009
2013
2017
2021
2025 :
Flint
Mayoral elections
2015
2017 (recall)
2019
2022 :
Grand Rapids
Mayoral elections
2015
2019 :
Lansing
Mayoral elections
2017
2021 :
vte :
The 2000 United States Senate election in Michigan was held on November 7, 2000. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Spencer Abraham ran for re-election to a second term, but he was narrowly defeated by his Democratic opponent, congresswoman Debbie Stabenow. Stabenow subsequently made history as the first woman to represent Michigan in the United States Senate. By a margin of 1.6%, this election was the second-closest race of the 2000 Senate election cycle, behind only the election in Washington.

## General election
### Candidates

* Matthew R. Abel (Green)
* Spencer Abraham, incumbent U.S. Senator (Republican)
* Michael Corliss (Libertarian)
* Mark Forton (Reform)
* John Mangopoulos (Constitution)
* William Quarton (Natural Law)
* Debbie Stabenow, U.S. Representative from East Lansing (Democratic)

### Campaign

Abraham, who was first elected in the 1994 Republican Revolution despite never running for public office before, was considered vulnerable by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Major issues in the campaign included prescription drugs for the elderly. By September 4, Abraham still had failed to reach 50% in polls despite having spent over $6 million on television ads. In mid-October, he came back and reached 50% and 49% in two polls respectively. Abraham's campaign established a negative web site with the URL LiberalDebbie.com which parodied the logo for Little Debbie snack cakes. McKee Foods, the maker of Little Debbie cakes objected to the trademark infringement and the Abraham campaign included a disclaimer stating that McKee Foods does not endorse Abraham.

### Debates

* Complete video of debate, October 22, 2000

### Results

The election was very close with Stabenow prevailing by just over 67,000 votes. Stabenow was also likely helped by the fact that Vice President Al Gore won Michigan in the concurrent presidential election. Ultimately, Stabenow pulled out huge numbers out of the Democratic stronghold of Wayne County, which covers the Detroit Metropolitan Area. Stabenow also performed well in other heavily populated areas such as Ingham County home to the state's capital of Lansing, and the college town of Ann Arbor. Abraham did not concede right after major news networks declared Stabenow the winner; he held out hope that the few outstanding precincts could push him over the edge. At 4:00 AM, Abraham conceded defeat. Senator Abraham called Stabenow and congratulated her on her victory. As a result of the historic election, Stabenow became the first woman to represent Michigan in the United States Senate.
General election results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Debbie Stabenow | 2,061,952 | 49.47 |
| | Republican | Spencer Abraham (incumbent) | 1,994,693 | 47.86 |
| | Green | Matthew Abel | 37,542 | 0.90 |
| | Libertarian | Michael Corliss | 29,966 | 0.72 |
| | Reform | Mark Forton | 26,274 | 0.63 |
| | Constitution | John Mangopoulos | 11,628 | 0.28 |
| | Natural Law | William Quarton | 5,630 | 0.14 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 4,165,685 | 100.00 |
| | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican |

#### Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

* Delta (largest city: Escanaba)

#### Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Lake (largest village: Baldwin)
* Monroe (largest city: Monroe)
* Macomb (largest city: Warren)
* Muskegon (largest city: Muskegon)