From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2000 Democratic Primaries, pitted the establishment campaign Vice President Albert Gore Jr. of Tennessee against the insurgent campaign of Bill Bradley of New Jersey. During the course of the five-month primary season, Vice President Gore had managed to win every single primary contest over his rival, and was declared the party's nominee for the 2000 Election.
[edit] Candidates
- Vice President Albert Gore Jr.
- Home State: Tennessee
- Throughout the 2000 Primary Season, Vice President Gore ran the establishment campaign, receiving the endorsements of key part officials. The favored candidate of the Democratic party's base, Gore easily defeated Bradley in the Iowa Caucuses with 63% of the vote, to Bradley's 35% of the vote. Gore's closest victory was in New Hampshire in which he won 50%-46%. After receiving the nomination of the party, Gore accepted Joe Lieberman as his running mate. However, the Gore-Lieberman ticket eventually lost to the Bush-Cheney ticket in the 2000 Election.
- Former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley
- Home State: New Jersey
- Throughout the primary season, Senator Bradley ran an insurgency campaign, positioning himself as the alternative to Gore. Despite receiving endorsements such as that of Michael Jordan, Bradley was washed out of the Iowa Caucuses, losing to Gore by 28% of the vote. However, Bradley campaigned heavily in New Hampshire, and the large number of independents who made up 40% of the voting block and voted for Bradley 56-41 [1] gave him a close second place finish, losing to Gore 46%-50%. Despite the razor thin finish, Bradley failed to win the support Democrats in many states (such as the 41-59 loss amongst Democratic voters in New Hampshire} and eventually dropped out of the race.
[edit] Delegates
2000 Democratic Primaries and Caucuses Delegate Count
|
Bill Bradley |
Al Gore |
Uncommited |
| CNN Delegates Count [2] |
Total Delegates |
414 |
3432 |
3 |
Serious early speculation surrounded Bill Bradley, a U.S. Senator and former basketball player for the New York Knicks, who had long been considered a potential Democratic contender for the presidency. In December 1998, Bradley formed a presidential exploratory committee and began organizing a campaign. [3] Gore, however, had been considered the favorite for the Democratic nomination as early as 1997, with the commencement of President Bill Clinton’s second term. [4] Though numerous candidates for the Democratic nomination tested the waters, including Senator John Kerry, Representative Richard Gephardt, and Reverend Jesse Jackson, only Gore and Bradley ultimately entered the contest.
Bill Bradley campaigned as the liberal alternative to Gore, taking positions to the left of Gore on a number of issues, including universal health care, gun control, and campaign finance reform. On the issue of taxes, Bradley trumpeted his sponsorship of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which had significantly cut tax rates while abolishing dozens of loopholes.[5] He voiced his belief that the best possible tax code would be one with low rates and no loopholes, but he refused to rule out the idea of raising taxes to pay for his health care program.
On public education, Bradley pushed for increased federal funding for schools under Title I, as well as the expansion of the Head Start program.[6] He further promised to bring 60,000 new teachers into the education system annually by offering college scholarships to anyone who agreed to become a teacher after graduating.[7] Bradley also made child poverty a significant issue in his campaign. Having voted against the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, better known as the "Welfare Reform Act," which, he said, would result in even higher poverty levels[5], he promised to repeal it as president. He also promised to address the minimum wage, expand the Earned Income Tax Credit, allow single parents on welfare to keep their child support payments, make the Dependent Care Tax Credit refundable, build support homes for pregnant teenagers, enroll 400,000 more children in Head Start, and increase the availability of food stamps[7].
Although both Gore and Bradley showed comparable success in terms of fund-raising, Bradley lagged behind Gore in many polls from the start and never gained a competitive position. Despite the late endorsement of the Des Moines Register [8], Bradley went on to be defeated in the Iowa Caucus; Gore garnered 64% of the votes, while Bradley received only 35%[9]. Gore won the primary competition in New Hampshire as well, though by a significantly smaller margin, receiving 52% to Bradley’s 47%. After a resounding defeat on Super Tuesday, with Bradley failing to carry the majority of delegates in a single state, he withdrew from the race on March 9. [10]
[edit] Results
2000 Democratic primaries and caucuses
|
Bill Bradley |
Al Gore |
Others |
| January 24 |
Iowa (caucus) |
35% |
63% |
2% |
| February 1 |
New Hampshire (primary) |
46% |
50% |
4% |
| February 5 |
Delaware (primary) |
40% |
57% |
3% |
| February 29 |
Washington (primary) |
32% |
68% |
0% |
| March 7 |
California (primary) |
18% |
81% |
1% |
| March 7 |
Connecticut (primary) |
42% |
55% |
3% |
| March 7 |
Georgia (primary) |
16% |
84% |
0% |
| March 7 |
Missouri (primary) |
33% |
64% |
1.55% |
| March 7 |
Rhode Island (primary) |
40% |
56% |
2.72% |
| March 7 |
Massachusetts (primary) |
37% |
59% |
3.05% |
| March 7 |
Maryland (primary) |
28% |
67% |
4.23% |
| March 7 |
Maine (primary) |
41% |
54% |
4.72% |
| March 7 |
Ohio (primary) |
24% |
73% |
1.69% |
| March 7 |
New York (primary) |
33% |
65% |
0.92% |
| March 7 |
Vermont (primary) |
43% |
54% |
1.79% |
| March 10 |
Colorado (primary) |
23% |
71% |
5.29% |
| March 10 |
Utah (primary) |
20% |
79% |
0% |
| March 11 |
Arizona (primary) |
18% |
77% |
3.23% |
| March 14 |
Tennessee (primary) |
5% |
92% |
2.61% |
| March 14 |
Florida (primary) |
18% |
81% |
0% |
| March 14 |
Mississippi (primary) |
8% |
89% |
1.78% |
| March 14 |
Oklahoma (primary) |
25% |
68% |
5.85% |
| March 14 |
Louisiana (primary) |
19% |
72% |
7.13% |
| March 14 |
Texas (primary) |
16% |
80% |
3.42% |
| March 21 |
Illinois (primary) |
14% |
84% |
1.41% |
| April 4 |
Pennsylvania (primary) |
20% |
74% |
4.98% |
| April 4 |
Wisconsin (primary) |
8% |
88% |
2.69% |
| May 2 |
North Carolina (primary) |
18% |
70% |
11.28% |
| May 2 |
Indiana (primary) |
21% |
74% |
3.15% |
| May 9 |
West Virginia (primary) |
18% |
72% |
9.55% |
| May 9 |
Nebraska (primary) |
26% |
69% |
3.56% |
| May 23 |
Kentucky (primary) |
14% |
71% |
14.06% |
| June 6 |
New Mexico (primary) |
20% |
74% |
4.81% |
[edit] References
2004 ›
.jpg/128px-Senator_Bill_Bradley_(D-NJ).jpg)
.jpg/120px-Senator_Bill_Bradley_(D-NJ).jpg)
