2000 Republican Party presidential primaries

2000 Republican Party presidential primaries

January 24 to June 6, 2000
2,066 delegates (1,861 pledged and 205 unpledged) to the Republican National Convention 1,034 (majority) votes needed to win
Candidate George W. Bush John McCain Alan Keyes Home state Texas Arizona Maryland Delegate count 1,496 244 22 Contests won 44 7 0 Popular vote 12,034,676 6,061,332 985,819 Percentage 62.0% 31.2% 5.1%
Republican primary results. Red denotes a Bush win. Yellow denotes a McCain win.
Previous Republican nominee Bob Dole Republican nominee George W. Bush

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

Bush in New Hampshire, after officially filing to run

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.^[1] 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.^[2][3][4] 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.^[5] 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.^[6] McCain also competed in the Virginia primary, counting on continued crossover support^[7] by giving a speech calling out Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, both leaders of the Christian right, for intolerance.^[8] 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			Most recent office	Home state	Campaign Withdrawal date	Popular vote	Contests won	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			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			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 E. Stassen, former Governor of Minnesota
• Donald J. Trump, businessman (ran for Reform Party nomination); later became the 45th President of the United States in 2016, and the 47th President in 2024; nominee in 2020.
• Fred Thompson, Senator from Tennessee
• Tommy Thompson, Governor of Wisconsin
• Christine Todd Whitman, Governor of New Jersey

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%[A]
Gallup	May 8–10, 1998	30%	4%	7%	14%	9%	3%	19%[B]
Gallup	Oct. 23–25, 1998	39%	–	7%	17%	12%	–	16%[C]
Gallup	Jan. 8–10, 1999	42%	8%	5%	22%	6%	–	9%[D]
Gallup	Mar. 12–14, 1999	52%	3%	1%	20%	9%	4%	7%[E]
Gallup	Apr. 13–14, 1999	53%	5%	6%	16%	7%	4%	4%[F]
Gallup	Apr. 30 – May 2, 1999	42%	4%	6%	24%	6%	5%	7%[G]
Gallup	May 23–24, 1999	46%	6%	5%	18%	7%	6%	7%[H]
Gallup	Jun. 4–5, 1999	46%	5%	5%	14%	9%	6%	6%[I]
Gallup	Jun. 25–27, 1999	59%	5%	6%	8%	6%	3%	10%[J]
Gallup	Aug. 16–18, 1999	61%	5%	4%	13%	6%	3%	4%[K]
Gallup	Sep. 10–14, 1999	62%	5%	5%	10%	5%	3%	5%[L]
Gallup	Oct. 8–10, 1999	60%	8%	4%	11%	–	3%	13%[M]
Gallup	Oct. 21–24, 1999	68%	11%	8%	–	–	–	6%[N]
Gallup	Nov. 4–7, 1999	68%	12%	6%	–	–	–	6%[O]
Gallup	Nov. 18–21, 1999	63%	16%	6%	–	–	–	9%[P]
Gallup	Dec. 9–12, 1999	64%	18%	7%	–	–	–	8%[Q]
Gallup	Dec. 20–21, 1999	60%	17%	9%	–	–	–	7%[R]
Gallup	Jan. 7–10, 2000	63%	18%	5%	–	–	–	5%[S]
Gallup	Jan. 13–16, 2000	61%	22%	5%	–	–	–	6%[T]
Gallup	Jan. 17–19, 2000	63%	19%	6%	–	–	–	4%[U]
Gallup	Jan. 25–26, 2000	65%	15%	7%	–	–	–	6%[V]
Gallup	Feb. 4–6, 2000	56%	34%	2%	–	–	–	3%[W]
Gallup	Feb. 14–15, 2000	58%	31%	–	–	–	–	3%[X]
Gallup	Feb. 20–21, 2000	58%	31%	–	–	–	–	3%[Y]
Gallup	Feb. 25–27, 2000	57%	33%	–	–	–	–	4%[Z]

1. 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.
2. 9% for Jack Kemp, 6% for Newt Gingrich, 2% for Lamar Alexander, and 1% each for Gary Bauer and John Kasich.
3. 4% each for John Ashcroft, Newt Gingrich, John Kasich, and Lamar Alexander.
4. 4% for Lamar Alexander, 2% each for Gary Bauer and John Kasich and 1% for Bob Smith.
5. 3% for John Kasich, 2% for Lamar Alexander, and 1% each for Gary Bauer and Bob Smith.
6. 2% each for Gary Bauer and John Kasich.
7. 3% each for Lamar Alexander and Gary Bauer and 1% for John Kasich.
8. 2% each for Gary Bauer, John Kasich, and Bob Smith, and 1% for Lamar Alexander.
9. 3% for Lamar Alexander and 1% each for Gary Bauer, John Kasich, and Bob Smith.
10. 3% for John Kasich, 2% each for Gary Bauer, Lamar Alexander, and Orrin Hatch, and 1% for Bob Smith.
11. 2% for Gary Bauer and 1% each for Orrin Hatch and Alan Keyes.
12. 2% each for Gary Bauer and Orrin Hatch and 1% for Alan Keyes.
13. 5% for John Ashcroft, 3% each for Gary Bauer and Alan Keyes, and 2% for Orrin Hatch.
14. 3% for Orrin Hatch, 2% for Alan Keyes, and 1% for Gary Bauer
15. 2% each for Gary Bauer, Orrin Hatch, and Alan Keyes.
16. 4% for Orrin Hatch, 3% for Gary Bauer, and 2% for Alan Keyes.
17. 4% for Alan Keyes and 2% each for Gary Bauer and Orrin Hatch.
18. 4% for Alan Keyes, 2% for Gary Bauer, and 1% for Orrin Hatch.
19. 2% each for Orrin Hatch and Alan Keyes and 1% for Gary Bauer.
20. 3% for Alan Keyes, 2% for Gary Bauer, and 1% for Orrin Hatch.
21. 2% for Gary Bauer and 1% each for Orrin Hatch and Alan Keyes.
22. 4% for Alan Keyes and 2% for Gary Bauer.
23. 3% for Alan Keyes.
24. 3% for Alan Keyes.
25. 3% for Alan Keyes.
26. 4% for Alan Keyes.

Results

Statewide

2000 Republican primary and caucus results^[9]

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%	-
	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%	-
	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)	-	-	-	-	-	-
	4	Guam (caucus)	?% (4)	-	-	-	-	-	-
	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%	–	-
	12	Washington (primary)	48.26% (7)	47.98% (5)	2.53%	0.62%	0.34%	0.27%	-
	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%	-
	25	Connecticut (primary)	46.28%	48.74% (25)	3.30%	0.69%	0.21%	0.10%	0.67%
	54	Georgia (primary)	66.93% (54)	27.84%	4.61%	0.26%	0.31%	0.06%	-
	14	Maine (primary)	51.03% (14)	44.00%	3.09%	0.47%	0.34%	-	–
	31	Maryland (primary)	56.23% (31)	36.16%	6.65%	0.45%	0.35%	0.16%	-
	37	Massachusetts (primary)	31.78%	64.81% (37)	2.52%	0.28%	0.22%	0.05%	0.26%
	34	Minnesota (caucus)	63% (34)	17%	20%	–	–	-	–
	35	Missouri (primary)	57.93% (35)	35.31%	5.74%	0.43%	0.22%	0.08%	0.28%
	93	New York (primary)	50.30% (67)	43.50% (26)	3.60%	2.60%	–	-	- (8)
	69	Ohio (primary)	57.99% (63)	36.98% (6)	3.95%	0.64%	0.44	–	-
	14	Rhode Island (primary)	36.43%	60.18% (14)	2.55%	0.25%	0.10%	0.10%	0.32%
	12	Vermont (primary)	35.33%	60.29% (12)	2.66%	0.76%	0.36%	–	-
	25	Washington (caucus)	82.15% (25)	12.88%	4.97%	–	–	-	–
March 10 (91)	22	Wyoming (caucus)	77.62% (21)	10.29% (1)	11.66%	–	–	-	–
	40	Colorado (primary)	64.71% (28)	27.12% (12)	6.57%	0.66%	0.66%	0.28%	-
	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%	-
	29	Louisiana (primary)	83.60% (29)	8.91%	5.73%	1.01%	0.75%	-	–
	33	Mississippi (primary)	88% (33)	5.45%	5.63%	0.51%	0.41%	0.12%	-
	38	Oklahoma (primary)	79.15% (38)	10.39%	9.29%	0.85%	0.32%	–	-
	37	Tennessee (primary)	77.02% (37)	14.53%	6.75%	0.41	0.52%	0.10%	0.63%
	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%	–	-
	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)
	62	North Carolina (primary)	78.60% (49)	10.86% (7)	7.85% (5)	–	1.03% (1)	-	1.67%
	15	Washington, D.C. (primary)	72.79% (15)	24.37%	–	–	–		–
May 9 (48)	30	Nebraska (primary)	78.15% (30)	15.11%	6.50%	–	–	-	–
	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)	–	–	-	–
	22	Idaho (primary)	73.45% (16)	–	19.10% (4)	–	–	-	7.45% (8)
	31	Kentucky (primary)	82.98% (31)	6.33%	4.75%	1.30%	2.64%	–	2.00%
	35	Kansas (caucus)	?% (35)	?%	?%	?%	?%		–
June 6 (164)	44	Alabama (primary)	84.24% (44)	–	11.52%	–	–	-	4.24%
	23	Montana (primary)	77.59% (23)	–	18.32%	–	–	-	4.10%
	54	New Jersey (primary)	83.56% (54)	16.44%	–	–	–	-	–
	21	New Mexico (primary)	82.63% (21)	10.13%	6.45%	–	–	-	0.80%
	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:^[10]

• 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^[11]
• Former HUD Secretary and 1996 Vice Presidential nominee Jack Kemp from New York^[12]
• Senator Bob Smith from New Hampshire^[13]
• Former Governor and White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu of New Hampshire^[13]
• Governor Jane Dee Hull of Arizona^[14][15]
• Governor John Engler of Michigan
• Senator John Warner from Virginia^[16]
• Governor Jim Gilmore of Virginia^[16]
• Senator John Ashcroft from Missouri^[17]
• Governor Paul Cellucci of Massachusetts^[18]
• Governor Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin^[19]
• Representative John Thune from South Dakota^[20]

John McCain

• Senator Jon Kyl from Arizona^[15]
• Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee^[21]
• Senator Mike DeWine from Ohio^[22]
• Senator Chuck Hagel from Nebraska^[23]
• Representative Lindsey Graham from South Carolina^[24]
• Representative Mark Sanford from South Carolina^[24]
• Representative Peter T. King from New York^[25]
• Staten Island Borough President Guy Molinari^[26]

Steve Forbes

• Governor Gary Johnson of New Mexico^[27]
• Representative Bob Barr from Georgia^[28]
• Representative Roscoe Bartlett from Maryland^[29]
• Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell^[30]
• Sarah Palin, mayor of Wasilla, Alaska^[31]

Alan Keyes

• Representative Tom Coburn from Oklahoma^[32]
• Filmmaker Michael Moore from Michigan (joke endorsement)^[33]

Orrin Hatch

• Senator Robert Foster Bennett from Utah^[12]

Lamar Alexander

• Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas^[12]
• Former Governor Terry Branstad of Iowa^[12]

Dan Quayle

• Former Governor Carroll A. Campbell of South Carolina^[12]

John Kasich

• Mike DeWine (initially)^[12]
• Senator George Voinovich from Ohio^[12]
• Representative John Boehner from Ohio^[12]

See also

• 2000 Democratic Party presidential primaries

References

1. "The Choice 2004". Frontline. Boston. October 12, 2004. PBS. WGBH-TV. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
2. THE 2000 CAMPAIGN: CROSSOVER VOTERS; Democrats Drawn to McCain Are Unsettling Republicans
3. Democrats helped McCain over finish line in 2000 Michigan GOP primary
4. Stuart Rothenberg: Can Democrats and independents nominate John McCain?
5. Cornell University Law School, "Bob Jones Uni v. v. United States", "Legal Information Institute". Retrieved February 9, 2017
6. THE 2000 CAMPAIGN: MICHIGAN; Loss by Bush Forces Debate on Open Primaries. The New York Times. 27 February 2000. Retrieved 2017-06-03.
7. Kwame Holman (February 25, 2000). "Showdown in Virginia". PBS. Retrieved July 24, 2022. It's an open primary, meaning Democrats and independents also may vote. McCain campaign officials say that gives their candidate the same advantage that earned McCain an upset victory in Michigan on Tuesday.
8. Craig Timberg; Justin Blum (February 29, 2000). "McCain Attacks Two Leaders of Christian Right". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
9. 2000 Republican Primary Election Events Timeline
10. "US President – R Primaries Race", Our Campaigns, February 1, 2000. Retrieved February 28, 2011
11. "Mississippi US President Republican Primary Race". March 14, 2000.
12. "US President—Republican Primaries Race". Our Campaigns. February 1, 2000. Retrieved November 16, 2008.
13. "New Hampshire US President—Republican Primary Race". Our Campaigns. February 1, 2000. Retrieved November 16, 2008.
14. Berke, Richard L. (October 25, 1999). "McCain Having to Prove Himself Even in Arizona". The New York Times. Retrieved April 21, 2009.
15. "Arizona US President—Republican Primary Race—Feb 22, 2000".
16. "Virginia US President—Republican Primary Race". Our Campaigns. February 29, 2000. Retrieved November 16, 2008.
17. "Missouri US President Republican Primary Race—Mar 7, 2000".
18. "Massachusetts US President Republican Primary Race—Mar 7, 2000".
19. "Wisconsin US President—Republican Primary Race—Apr 4, 2000".
20. "South Dakota US President—Republican Primary Race—Jun 6, 2000".
21. "Tennessee US President—Republican Primary Race—Mar 14, 2000".
22. "Ohio US President—Republican Primary Race—Mar 7, 2000".
23. "Nebraska US President Republican Primary Race—May 9, 2000".
24. "South Carolina US President—Republican Primary Race". Our Campaigns. February 19, 2000. Retrieved November 16, 2008.
25. "Candidate—Peter T. King".
26. "Candidate—Guy V. Molinari".
27. "Candidate—Gary Johnson".
28. "Candidate—Bob Barr".
29. "Candidate—Roscoe G. Bartlett".
30. "Candidate—J. Kenneth Blackwell".
31. Sliming Palin Archived February 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, FactCheck.org (September 8, 2008)
32. "OK US President—Republican Primary Race—Mar 14, 2000".
33. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "The Awful Truth - Election Mosh Pit". YouTube. September 3, 2008.