George W. Bush 2000 presidential campaign
The 2000 presidential campaign of George W. Bush, then governor of Texas, was formally launched on June 14, 1999 as Governor Bush, the eldest son of former President George H. W. Bush, announced his intention to seek the Republican Party nomination for the presidency of the United States in the 2000 presidential election.
George W. Bush for President 2000
George W. Bush
46th Governor of Texas
(1995–2000)
Dick Cheney
17th U.S. Secretary of Defense
(1989–1993)
Announced: June 12, 1999
Presumptive nominee: March 14, 2000
Official nominee: August 3, 2000
Election day: November 7, 2000
Projected victory: December 12, 2000
Inaugurated: January 20, 2001
Austin, Texas
- Donald Evans
(Campaign chairman) - Joe Allbaugh
(Campaign manager) - Karl Rove
(Chief strategist) - Karen Hughes
(Press secretary) - Joshua Bolton
(Policy director) - Ken Mehlman
(National field director) - Matthew Dowd
(Director of polling and media planning)[1] - Dick Cheney
(VP Selection Committee Leader)
US$196,844,696.87[2] (2000-12-31)
Reformer with Results
Compassionate conservatism
A Fresh Start[3]
Real Plans for Real People[4]
Bush began the campaign as the front runner among Republicans due to his name recognition, high funds, and control of the governorship of Texas and polls starting in 1997 showed Bush leading every opponent by double digits. The main challenger to Bush was Senator John McCain, who appealed to moderate Republicans, independents and the press due to his reformist policies. After McCain's upset victory in New Hampshire, Bush won the South Carolina primary.
Bush won the majority of the primaries and after the March 2000 Super Tuesday contests he was well ahead in delegates of both McCain and Alan Keyes. On August 3, 2000, Bush won the Republican nomination at the Republican Convention with the support of 2,058 delegates.[5] Dick Cheney, the former U.S. Secretary of Defense, was nominated as vice president despite Cheney initially recommending former Missouri Senator John Danforth.[6]
Throughout the majority of the primary and general campaign seasons Bush was leading Gore in the polls. On November 7, 2000, it was projected that Bush had won in Florida and its 25 electoral votes.[7] Gore won the national popular vote but the Gore campaign lost the electoral college vote after a legal battle over disputed vote counts.[8] Bush won the election on the electoral college vote of 271 to 266.
Announcement[edit]
On March 7, 1999, Bush announced the creation of a presidential exploratory committee while surrounded by Governor John Engler, Senator Paul Coverdell, former Secretary of State George Shultz, former Republican National Committee chairman Haley Barbour, Jennifer Dunn, J. C. Watts, Henry Bonilla and Roy Blunt, all members of his newly formed committee, but chose not to disclose specific positions on national issues until he started formally campaigning in June. However, Bush did outline his philosophy of compassionate conservatism and his outreach plans to Hispanics.[13]
Blunt said that eighty Republican House members had already endorsed Bush and the Bush campaign was focused on gaining the endorsement from the majority of Republican members of Congress.[13] On May 26, one hundred fifteen Republican House members and several governors endorsed Bush seventeen days before his formal announcement.[14]
During this time multiple polls were showing that forty percent of Americans would vote against him and another fifteen percent would not likely vote for him. The polls also showed that Bush would defeat Gore with 54% to Gore's 40%.[15]
Campaign developments 2000[edit]
January[edit]
In early January Orrin Hatch attacked Bush's service as governor of Texas as it is a "constitutionally weak governorship".[52]
On January 24 Bush won both the Alaska and Iowa caucuses with 36.28% and 41.01% respectively[53] and two days later Hatch ended his campaign and endorsed Bush, saying that I believe Governor Bush is the one who can unite the party and bring the White House back to us, months after his criticism that "Bush doesn't have the experience to be president and was born in privilege".[54]
After this victory many pundits predicted that Bush would easily take the nomination as he had received 40% of the vote in Iowa to McCain's, his main opponent, 5%.[55] However, despite his success in Iowa, some pundits were speculating that Bush could lose the primaries and made reference to the fact that his father had won the Iowa caucus against Ronald Reagan, but had lost the nomination.[56]
February[edit]
As the New Hampshire primary results were reported Bush was very pleased when he won the first precinct counted in Dixville Notch.[57] However, when the primary ended McCain had an eighteen-point lead over Bush and he agreed that Tuesday's results were more of a beginning than an end.[58]
Despite this defeat Bush was still certain that South Carolina was Bush country.[59] As the South Carolinian primary approached McCain overtook Bush in the polls by five points. McCain was focusing his efforts on South Carolina while Bush was divided between Delaware and South Carolina.[60][61] Another poll taken from the fourth to fifth in South Carolina showed that McCain had a lead of four points with 44%, up from 32% in January, against Bush's 40%, down from 52% in January.[62]
Bush criticized McCain's campaign strategy stating that "if somebody runs for president of the United States, they need to run in all the states".[63]
On the eighth Bush won the Delaware primary with 50.73%, he hoped that this victory could be used to make him surge in the South Carolina polls which was to happen in eleven days.[64] Two days later Steve Forbes announced that he was ending his campaign, but refused to endorse any of the candidates at that moment.[65]
Shortly before the primary a debate was held where both Bush and McCain attacked each other for negative campaigning, giving a small victory to minor candidate Alan Keyes.[66] Since the New Hampshire primary Bush had been spending millions in South Carolina, with $2.8 million alone being used to buy television ads,[67] and it was working, Bush had risen in the polls to 58% against McCain's 31%.[68]
On the nineteenth Bush won the South Carolinaian primary with 53.39% against McCain's 41.87%, however McCain wasn't defeated yet as his campaign still looked forward to the Michigan primary.[69] On the 22nd McCain defeated Bush in both his home state of Arizona and Michigan with over 50%, allowing him to continue his campaign and gave him confidence while going into the March 7 primaries. Bush tried to salvage a victory from this defeat saying that "among Republicans and independents, there is no question who the winner is in Michigan tonight, and you're looking at him".[70] At the end of the month Bush defeated McCain in three primaries, in Puerto Rico he took 94.21% of the vote, in Virginia he took 52.79% of the vote, in Washington he took a narrow victory with 48.26% of the vote against McCain's 47.98% and in the North Dakota caucus he took 75.72% of the vote.[71]
March[edit]
Following his victory in Virginia TIME political correspondent John Dickerson stated that "This is a big win for Bush, if for no other reason than it helps him psychologically" however Jeff Greenfield stated that neither Bush nor McCain had the momentum to have a landslide victory.[72][73] At a rally in Georgia, Bush attacked McCain for his claims of Bush's anti-Catholic bigotry stating that "I try not to take things personally in politics, but calling somebody an anti-Catholic bigot is beyond the reach," and that he had "a record of being inclusive in the state of Texas."[74] On March 6 Bush said in a San Francisco Chronicle interview said that he welcomed support from gays and was willing to
meet with members of LCR. Previously, during a November Meet the Press interview, Bush said he would probably not meet with them. Later on the 24th Ari Fleischer said that Bush wouldn't meet with the Log Cabin Republicans as they had supported McCain, but would meet with gay Republicans that had supported Bush.[16]
Shortly before Super Tuesday the McCain campaign attacked Bush for a series of negative ads attacking McCain's environmental record with McCain stating "We've got 48 hours and the message is do not let the Bush campaign and their cronies hijack this election with negative ads and $2.5 million in dirty money" at a rally in Buffalo and filed a complaint to the FEC demanding that the ads be halted until a disclaimer was attached.[75][76] On Super Tuesday Bush won every primary and caucus except in Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts and following his victory stated "I understand politics, this campaign hasn't been any rougher than others I have seen. Now, we have to get ready to win the White House."[77] John Dickinson said that "It's just a matter of time now before he [John McCain] leaves the race" following as it was now mathematically impossible for John McCain to win the nomination, McCain would later suspend his campaign on the 9th.[78][79] A poll conducted from March 8–9 showed that Gore was leading Bush by two points with 48%, but another poll conducted from March 10–12 showed Bush leading with 49% against Gore's 43%.[80][81]
April[edit]
The controversy over Elián González was a major issue throughout 2000 that mobilized the sentiments of Cuban voters in Florida. Despite Gore giving his support to a congressional bill that would give the 6-year-old Cuban boy and his Cuban family permanent residency in the United States, it was Bill Clinton's refusal to support the bill that angered Cuban voters with both the president and Gore.[82] At the same time Bush visited the rust belt to describe his proposals to clean up the long-polluted industrial sites with Bush stating that "Brownfields are a great environmental challenge that face this nation,".[83] A poll conducted from March 30 to April 2 showed that despite the recent controversy that Gore was gaining on Bush. Bush was polling at 46 percent of likely voters with Gore behind him by one percent with 45 percent of likely voters.[84] Due to the close national polling between Gore and Bush there was speculation about who Bush should pick as his vice president to guarantee some swing states. Tom Ridge, the governor of Pennsylvania, was put forward as a possible vice presidential candidate due to his high approval rating and the influx of jobs into Pennsylvania.[85]
Bush easily took the Pennsylvania and Wisconsin primaries due to the lack of a major competitors following McCain ending his campaign.[86] Following his primary victories Bush campaigned in California, which despite polling showing that it would go to Gore, spending multiple days in Sacramento alone and stating that "We now have, in the case of the independents and crossovers, 1.2 million voters who voted for our combined Republican presidential candidates that are in play – many of which have not been in the past,".[87][88]
Bush once more flipped on the issue of meeting with the Log Cabin Republicans and stated that he would meet with gay Republicans and in California he attacked Pete Wilson, the former Republican governor, for his harsh stance on immigration and commented that we must be more inclusive.[89] At the same time Gore was campaigning in Florida, but refused to answer any questions relating to Elián González and instead chose to focus on Social Security reform.
A month after McCain had suspended his campaign McCain indicated on CNN's "Late Edition" that he would be meeting with Bush to discuss campaigning for him and the next week both announced that they would be meeting next month.[90][91] During this time Bush's stance in the polls improved as he increased his lead over Gore from one percent to nine percent at 50 percent to 41 percent due to negative reception over Gore's stance on Elián González.[92] However, in mid-April Bush was named as a defendant in a whistle-blowing lawsuit in which he was accused of impeding an investigation of a company that had given him campaign contributions.[93] While the whistle-blower lawsuit could jeopardize his campaign Bush was still doing well as by late April he had increased his campaign fundraising from February and March by $1.5 million and had gained $6 million in April.[94] In late April the meeting with McCain was jeopardize after Charles Wyly, the Texas entrepreneur who, with his brother Sam, paid for ads attacking McCain in the GOP primaries, was given a prominent role at a Republican fund-raising gala that Bush headlined Wednesday night in Washington.[95]
May[edit]
Both Bush and Gore had already received enough delegates to win their respective party's nomination, most of their opponents had already dropped out and on May 2 both easily won the Indiana, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C. primaries and caucus and would easily win the Nebraska and West Virginia primaries the following week.[96][97][98] As the May 9 meeting with McCain approached speculation rose about the possibility that McCain would endorse Bush and might become his vice president with some of McCain's advisers stating that an endorsement was likely and on May 9 McCain announced that he endorsed Bush.[99][100][101] On May 10 Bush unveiled his $7.4 billion health care proposal in which taxpayers would deduct the cost of insurance premiums for long-term care, as well as provide an additional exemption of $2,750 for those who care for an elderly spouse, parent, or relative at home.[102] By mid-May both Bush and Gore scored victories in their primaries and Bush received another prominent endorsement on May 17 from former First Lady Nancy Reagan and met with four-star general Colin Powell which sparked speculation that he could be given a cabinet position.[103][104]
Bush's original platform, before the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks and the War on Terrorism:
Because of the Bush Administration's close connections with numerous energy companies, many of Bush's Cabinet members have come under immense scrutiny from environmental groups, in particular J. Steven Griles, the deputy secretary of the Department of the Interior. National Environmental Strategies (NES), the oil and gas lobbying firm which Griles worked for, was paying him $284,000 a year as part of a $1.1 million payout for his client base. As deputy secretary of the Interior, Griles was charged with overseeing and revamping environmental regulations that affect the profits of his former clients and NES's current clients.