United States presidential election in Minnesota, 2000

United States presidential election in Minnesota, 2000

November 7, 2000
Turnout	70.11%[1]
Nominee Al Gore George W. Bush Ralph Nader Party DFL Republican Green Home state Tennessee Texas Connecticut Running mate Joe Lieberman Dick Cheney Winona LaDuke Electoral vote 10 0 0 Popular vote 1,168,266 1,109,659 126,696 Percentage 47.91% 45.50% 5.20%
County Results Gore   40-50%   50-60% Bush   40-50%   50-60%   60-70%
President before election Bill Clinton Democratic Elected President George W. Bush Republican

Elections in Minnesota
General elections 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018
Federal elections Presidential elections 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 2008 2012 2016 2020 Senate elections Class 1 1916 1922 1928 1934 1940 1946 1952 1958 1964 1970 1976 1982 1988 1994 2000 2006 2012 2018 Class 2 1918 1924 1930 1936 1942 1948 1954 1960 1966 1972 1978 1984 1990 1996 2002 2008 2014 2020 House of Representatives elections 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 Special elections Senate 1923 1936 1942 1978 2018 House of Representatives 7th district, 1977
State executive elections Gubernatorial elections 1857 1859 1861 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1875 1877 1879 1881 1883 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 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 Lieutenant gubernatorial elections 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 1966 1970 Secretary of State elections 2010 2014 2018 State Auditor elections 2006 2010 2014 2018 Attorney General elections 2010 2014 2018
State legislative elections Senate elections 1976 1980 1982 1986 1990 1992 1996 2000 2002 2006 2010 2012 2016 2020 House of Representatives elections 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 Special elections Senate House of Representatives
Ballot questions 2012 Amendment 1 Amendment 2
Minneapolis General elections 2005 2009 2013 2017 Mayoral elections 2005 2009 2013 2017 City Council elections 2005 2009 2013 2017
Saint Paul Mayoral elections 2005 2009 2013 2017

The 2000 United States presidential election in Minnesota took place on November 7, 2000, as part of the 2000 United States presidential election, which was held throughout all 50 states and D.C. Voters chose 10 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Minnesota was won by Vice President Al Gore by a 2.4% margin of victory, a much weaker performance than President Bill Clinton had in 1996, when he carried the state with 51% of the vote and a 16% margin of victory. Despite winning the state, Gore lost most of the counties and congressional districts in the state. However Gore won highly populated counties such as Hennepin County, Ramsey County, and St. Louis County by safe margins. In terms of congressional districts, Gore won three districts including the urban 4th and 5th and won the 8th district with less than 50% of the vote. Bush overall dominated the rural areas, located in the western and southern parts of the state. No Republican has won the state since Richard Nixon in 1972, a Democratic streak longer than any other state. ^[2]

One reason the election was so close was that left-wing Green Party candidate Ralph Nader got over 5% of the vote.

Results

Despite Nader taking away a good deal of Gore voters, he was still able to win the state by a fairly close margin. Gore's win was partially due to his huge numbers out of Minneapolis, and St. Paul. Gore's win was able to keep Minnesota in Democrats hands once again. Minnesota has not gone for a Republican since 1972, when it went for then-president Richard M. Nixon. As of the 2016 presidential election, this is the last election in which Cook County voted for the Republican candidate.

Electors

Technically the voters of Minnesota cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Minnesota is allocated 10 electors because it has 8 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 10 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and his or her running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 10 electoral votes. Their chosen electors then vote for president and vice president. Although electors are pledged to their candidate and running mate, they are not obligated to vote for them. An elector who votes for someone other than his or her candidate is known as a faithless elector.

The electors of each state and the District of Columbia met on December 18, 2000^[3] to cast their votes for president and vice president. The Electoral College itself never meets as one body. Instead the electors from each state and the District of Columbia met in their respective capitols.

The following were the members of the Electoral College from the state. All were pledged to and voted for Gore and Lieberman:^[4]

1. Carol Bartels
2. Prudy Cameron
3. Joan Campbell
4. Elmer Deutschmann
5. Elizabeth Kalisch
6. Matthew Little
7. Glenda Meixell
8. John Meuers
9. Janis Ray
10. Georgiana Ruzich

References