2000 United States Presidential Election (Victor Putin)

The 2000 United States Presidential Election was the 54th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 7, 2000. The Republican ticket of CIA Director Victor Putin and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield defeated the Democratic ticket of Vice President Al Gore and Senator Joe Lieberman.

Incumbent President Bill Clinton was ineligible for a third term, and Gore secured the Democratic nomination with relative ease, defeating token challengers. Putin, Director of the CIA, was largely seen as a dark horse candidate, however, a contentious primary battle betwixt Senator John McCain and Texas Governor George W. Bush left the nomination split. Due to this, Putin rose to prominence, and quickly gained support from many in the GOP. Ultimately, Putin secured the nomination by the convention and chose former Reagan aide and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield as his running mate, while Gore chose Joe Lieberman, a Senator from Connecticut.

Both candidates were focused primarily on domestic issues, such as the budget, taxation, and reforms for social programs, although foreign policy was on the table. Due to incumbent Bill Clinton's sex scandal and subsequent impeachment, Gore distanced himself from the President. Putin denounced Clinton's affairs and attacked Gore's policies, while Gore's campaign accused Putin of lacking the necessary experience.

Pollsters predicted a Gore victory, however, on election night Putin shattered expectations and won a shocking victory of 307 electoral votes, and an outright majority in the popular vote, winning it by a thin margin. This rejection of the incumbent party was widely seen as Americans' reaction to Clinton's infidelity and charges of lying under oath.

Putin flipped 14 states, shattering Clinton's southern base and eating into the "Yellow Wall" of the north. He took office as the 43rd President and the first CIA director to be elected president. This election would also have a greater cultural effect, solidifying the notion of "blue states" as those solidly Republican and "yellow states" as those solidly Democratic. This was the first election in which both major party candidates lost their home states.

Republican Nomination
Originally, George W. Bush of Texas and John McCain of Arizona were the main frontrunners for the nomination.