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 ten representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Minnesota was won by Vice President Al Gore by a 2.39% 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 fifty percent of the vote. Bush overall dominated the rural areas, located in the western and southern parts of the state, and became the first Republican presidential nominee to win Red Lake County since Warren G. Harding in 1920. Nonetheless, he became the first ever Republican to win the White House without carrying Fillmore County. No Republican has won the state since Richard Nixon in 1972, a Democratic streak longer than any other state.
Gore carried the state by a fairly close margin, largely on the strength of his performance in the Twin Cities metro. As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last election in which Cook County voted for a Republican presidential candidate.
General election
Results
Results by county
- Anoka (largest city: Blaine)
- Becker (largest city: Detroit Lakes)
- Beltrami (largest city: Bemidji)
- Benton (largest city: Sauk Rapids)
- Blue Earth (largest city: Mankato)
- Cass (largest city: Lake Shore)
- Chippewa (largest city: Montevideo)
- Chisago (largest city: North Branch)
- Clay (largest city: Moorhead)
- Clearwater (largest city: Bagley)
- Cook (largest city: Grand Marais)
- Cottonwood (largest city: Windom)
- Crow Wing (largest city: Brainerd)
- Dakota (largest city: Hastings)
- Dodge (largest city: Kasson)
- Faribault (largest city: Blue Earth)
- Goodhue (largest city: Red Wing)
- Grant (largest city: Elbow Lake)
- Houston (largest city: La Crescent)
- Hubbard (largest city: Park Rapids)
- Isanti (largest city: Cambridge)
- Jackson (largest city: Jackson)
- Kanabec (largest city: Mora)
- Kandiyohi (largest city: Willmar)
- Kittson (largest city: Hallock)
- Koochiching (largest city: International Falls)
- Lake of the Woods (largest city: Baudette)
- Le Sueur (largest city: Le Sueur)
- Lyon (largest city: Marshall)
- Mahnomen (largest city: Mahnomen)
- Marshall (largest city: Warren)
- Martin (largest city: Fairmont)
- McLeod (largest city: Hutchinson)
- Meeker (largest city: Litchfield)
- Mille Lacs (largest city: Princeton)
- Morrison (largest city: Little Falls)
- Murray (largest city: Slayton)
- Nicollet (largest city: North Mankato)
- Nobles (largest city: Worthington)
- Norman (largest city: Ada)
- Pennington (largest city: Thief River Falls)
- Polk (largest city: East Grand Forks)
- Pope (largest city: Glenwood)
- Red Lake (largest city: Red Lake Falls)
- Renville (largest city: Olivia)
- Scott (largest city: Shakopee)
- Sherburne (largest city: Elk River)
- Sibley (largest city: Gaylord)
- Stearns (largest city: St. Cloud)
- Steele (largest city: Owatonna)
- Stevens (largest city: Morris)
- Todd (largest city: Long Prairie)
- Traverse (largest city: Wheaton)
- Wabasha (largest city: Lake City)
- Waseca (largest city: Waseca)
- Washington (largest city: Stillwater)
- Watonwan (largest city: St. James)
- Wright (largest city: Otsego)
- Yellow Medicine (largest city: Granite Falls)
By congressional district
Despite losing the state, Bush won five of eight congressional districts, including two that elected Democrats.
Electors
Technically the voters of Minnesota cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Minnesota is allocated ten electors because it has eight congressional districts and two 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 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:
- Carol Bartels
- Prudy Cameron
- Joan Campbell
- Elmer Deutschmann
- Elizabeth Kalisch
- Matthew Little
- Glenda Meixell
- John Meuers
- Janis Ray
- Georgiana Ruzich