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538 members of the Electoral College 270 electoral votes needed to win | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Presidential election results by state. States in blue voted for Gore, states in red voted for Bush, and states in purple voted for Trump. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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50 state delegations of the House of Representatives 26 state votes needed to win | |||||||||||||||||
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 House of Representatives votes by state. States in red voted for Bush, and states in blue voted for Gore. | |||||||||||||||||
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100 U.S. Senators 51 senate votes needed to win | ||||||||||||||
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 Senate votes by seat. Senate seats in purple voted for Nader, and seats in red voted for Cheney. | ||||||||||||||
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The 2000 United States presidential election was held on 7 November 2000. The Democrats nominated Al Gore, and the Republicans nominated George W. Bush. They were joined by famous media personality and billionaire Donald Trump, who ran a shockingly competitive third-party campaign, managing to win 13 states. Democratic nominee Al Gore won the popular vote and the most Electoral College votes, but was unable to cross the 270 EV threshold needed to become President. This meant a contingent election was necessary, which was won by Republican candidate George W. Bush. This was highly controversial, as Bush did not win a plurality of the popular vote or a plurality of the Electoral College votes.
Democratic incumbent Bill Clinton was not eligible for a third term, and Vice President Al Gore cruised to the Democratic nomination, ultimately choosing Senator Joe Lieberman as his running mate. Bush, the favorite, beat John McCain in the Republican primaries 1,496 delegates to 244, gaining the Republican nomination. Bush chose former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney as his running mate. Donald Trump won a contentious Reform Party primary against Pat Buchanan, after he gained the support of the old guard of the party against Buchanan's influx of far-right members, a move that highly influential figures such as Ross Perot and Jack Gargan saw as an infiltration. Donald Trump chose environmental activist Ralph Nader as his running mate, in an effort to unite the third party movement under one banner.
After the election, Donald Trump celebrated what he called a defeat to the duopoly. The result was a shock to many, with the result meaning the first contingent election since the 1837 Contingent election for Vice-President. The stock market took a hit, and instability wracked the nation, eventually becoming open riots after George W. Bush was elected president by the U.S. House.
In the contingent election, 28 state delegations were led by Republicans, 17 were led by Democrats, and 5 were disputed. Minnesota, one of the 5 disputed delegations, had 3 Democrats, 3 Reform, and 2 Republicans. The Reform Party congresspeople eventually voted for Gore. In Nevada and Maryland, 2 other disputed delegations, Republicans caved in and voted for Gore in order to end the process, and the reverse happened in Illinois and Connecticut, with the Democrats in the delegation voting for Bush. The final ballot had 30 state delegations vote for Bush, and 20 state delegations vote for Gore.
In the Vice-Presidential contingent election, the Senate chose between nominees Joe Lieberman, Dick Cheney, and Ralph Nader. With 49 Republicans, 49 Democrats, and 2 Reform members, the Reform Party was the kingmaker. Ultimately, after multiple ballots, the Reform Party threatened the Democrats to vote for Nader with them or else the 2 Senators would vote for Cheney. Nader was elected 51-49 against Cheney, becoming the Vice President.
Aftermath[]
This election was the beginning of the end of the Sixth Party System. The Reform Party greatly increased their stature, becoming a viable alternative and no longer simply a protest vote. tbc