2000 Election (Reform Trump)

The 2000 United States presidential election was the 54th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 7, 2000. Reform candidate Donald Trump, media mogul and celebrity, won the election, defeating Republican candidate George W. Bush, the governor of Texas and eldest son of the 41st president, George H. W. Bush, and incumbent Vice President Al Gore. It was the first election in American history in which the winner was not a member of a major established political party, and is considered one of the closest U.S. presidential elections, with long-standing controversy about the result.

Incumbent President Bill Clinton was ineligible to run for a third term due to presidential term limits, and Gore—the most recent incumbent vice president to run for president—secured the Democratic nomination with relative ease, defeating former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley in the primaries. Bush was seen as the early favorite for the Republican nomination, and after a contentious primary battle with U.S. Senator John McCain and others, secured the nomination by Super Tuesday. After the Reform Party received federal matching funds in 1996, Donald Trump, supported by the Ross Perot aligned faction, ran a contentious primary fight against former presidential candidate and conservative Pat Buchanan. Trump secured the nomination in Chicago Illinois with little opposition after Buchanan left the party. Trump chose incumbent Governor Jesse Ventura as his running mate, Bush chose former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, while Gore chose U.S. Senator John Edwards.

All of the major candidates focused primarily on domestic issues, such as the budget, healthcare, and terrorist attacks, although social policy was not ignored. Despite President Bill Clinton's sex scandal with Monica Lewinsky and subsequent impeachment, Gore campaigned heavily with Clinton, hurting him with groups outside the pro-Clinton south. Bush repeatedly denounced Clinton's indiscretions, while Gore criticized both Bush and Trump’s lack of experience. Trump ran a heavily attacking campaign, labeling Bush as “Low IQ Bush”, portraying him as incompetent, and “FlipFlopper Gore”, exposing his long history of changing positions on policy. The presidential debates, which for the first time allowed a third party candidate, are attributed to Trumps success, and recovery from collapsing poll numbers. Many widely regard Trump as the winner of both debates, tactfully shutting down Gore and Bush’s attacks, while making both seem out-of-touch with the issues, and uncharismatic debaters. On election night, it was unclear who had won, with the electoral votes of the state of Connecticut still undecided. The final returns showed that Gore had won Connecticut by such a close margin that state law required a recount. A days-long recount declared Trump the winner in Connecticut by 1,621 votes.