U.S. presidential primaries, 2000 |
This article discusses the primary elections to nominate
candidates for the 2000 U.S.
presidential election.
Democratic primary
There were two main candidates for the Democrat nomination: Former New Jersey
Senator Bill Bradley and US Vice President Al Gore.
Republican primary
The Republican Party primary came down to a race between Texas Governor George W. Bush and Arizona Senator John McCain. McCain's campaign, centered
on campaign finance reform, drew the most press
coverage and the greatest popular excitement. Many Republicans complained that Democrats and other non-Republicans enrolled in
the party for the express purpose of voting for McCain, thus skewing the results. Bush's campaign focused on "compassionate conservatism", including a greater role
for the federal government in funding education and large reductions in the income and capital gains tax rates.
McCain won 48% of the vote to Bush's 30% in the New Hampshire primary,
the first primary held, giving his campaign a great boost of energy, volunteers, and donations.
Other candidates included: political activist Gary Bauer, businessman Steve Forbes, Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, minister Alan Keyes, former Tennessee Governor
Lamar Alexander, former Red Cross director 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 U.S. taxes. Keyes had a far more conservative
platform, calling for the elimination of all federal taxes except tariffs. Steve Forbes campaigned on making the federal income
tax non-graduated, an idea he called the flat tax.
Reform Party primary
In the 1996 election, the
Reform party had nominated Ross Perot for president, and Pat
Buchanan had run for and lost the nomination of the Republican Party. In the year 2000, Buchanan ran for the Reform Party
nomination. A faction of Reform Party supporters therefore felt that Buchanan was hijacking their party, and countered by trying
to nominate John Hagelin, the candidate for the United States Natural Law Party. The Reform
Party convention ended with the Hagelin supporters walking out and conducting a parallel convention. Eventually, the results of a
lawsuit decided that Buchanan's faction was the true Reform Party and thus entitled to public financing due to Perot's showing in
the previous election.
See also:
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