From January 24 to June 6, 2000, voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for president in the 2000 United States presidential election. Vice President Al Gore was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses, culminating in the 2000 Democratic National Convention held from August 14 to 17, 2000, in Los Angeles, California. Gore lost the general election against Texas governor George W. Bush held on November 7.
Primary race overview
The apparent front runner, incumbent Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee, only faced one major candidate in the primaries, former U.S. senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey. Both men campaigned to succeed term-limited incumbent Bill Clinton. During the course of the five-month primary season, Gore won every primary contest over his opponent, and easily won the party's nomination for the 2000 election.
Bradley, a former U.S. senator and NBA player, 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. Gore, however, was considered the favorite for the Democratic nomination as early as 1997, with the commencement of Clinton's second term as president. Though numerous other candidates tested the waters, including Massachusetts senator John Kerry, Vermont governor Howard Dean, Missouri congressman Richard Gephardt, and Jesse Jackson, only Gore and Bradley ultimately entered the contest.
Bradley campaigned as a more liberal alternative to Gore, arguing for universal health care, gun control, and campaign finance reform. Bradley also campaign on his sponsorship of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which had significantly cut income tax rates while abolishing dozens of loopholes. Bradley claimed that the best possible tax code would be one with low rates and no loopholes but refused to rule out the possibility of a tax increase to pay for his healthcare proposals.
On public education, Bradley pushed for increased federal funding for local schools under Title I, as well as the expansion of the Head Start program. He further promised to bring 60,000 new teachers into the education system annually by offering college scholarships to anyone who agreed to teach after their college graduation. Bradley also made child poverty a significant issue in his campaign, having opposed the Clinton administration's welfare reform agenda. He called for repeal the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, which he had voted against and claimed would result in even higher poverty levels. He also promised to increase the minimum wage, expand earned income tax credits, allow single parents to receive both welfare and child support payments, make dependent care tax credits refundable, build support homes for pregnant teenagers, and increase the availability of food stamps.
Although both Gore and Bradley showed comparable fundraising, 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, Bradley lost the Iowa caucuses in a landslide; Gore garnered 62.9 percent of state delegates elected, while Bradley received only 36.6 percent. Gore narrowly won the primary competition in New Hampshire as well, receiving 49.7 percent of the popular vote to Bradley's 46.6 percent. On March 7, Super Tuesday, Bradley attracted some support in various primaries, especially in northeastern states, but he failed to gain the majority of delegates in any of these competitions. He withdrew from the race two days later, on March 9.
Since the advent of the modern presidential primary system began in 1972, Gore remains the only non-incumbent (Republican or Democrat) to sweep all the nominating contests held in a given year.
Vice presidential selection
Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman was nominated for vice president by voice vote. Lieberman became the first Jewish American ever to be chosen for this position by a major party. Other potential running-mates included:
- Tom Harkin, U.S. senator from Iowa
- Evan Bayh, U.S. senator from Indiana
- Barbara Boxer, U.S. senator from California
- John Edwards, U.S. senator from North Carolina
- Dianne Feinstein, U.S. senator from California
- Barbara Mikulski, U.S. senator from Maryland
- Dick Gephardt, U.S. House Minority Leader from Missouri
- Bob Graham, U.S. senator from Florida
- Jim Hunt, Governor of North Carolina
- John Kerry, U.S. senator from Massachusetts
- Bob Kerrey, U.S. senator and former Governor from Nebraska
- Zell Miller, U.S. senator from Georgia
- George Mitchell, former Senate Majority Leader from Maine
- Sam Nunn, former U.S. senator from Georgia
- Jeanne Shaheen, Governor of New Hampshire