United States Presidential Election, 2000 - Republican Party Nomination - Candidates Gallery

Candidates Gallery

• Governor George W. Bush of Texas (campaign)

• Senator John McCain of Arizona (campaign) (Withdrew on March 9, 2000)

• Former U.S. ECOSOC Ambassador Alan Keyes of Maryland (Withdrew on July 25, 2000)

• Businessman Steve Forbes of New Jersey (Withdrew on February 10, 2000)

• Former Undersecretary of Education Gary Bauer of Kentucky (Withdrew on February 4, 2000)

• Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah (Withdrew on January 26, 2000)

• Former Secretary of Labor Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina (Withdrew on October 20, 1999)

• Publisher and author Pat Buchanan of Virginia (Withdrew on October 25, 1999)

• Former Vice President Dan Quayle of Indiana (Withdrew on September 27, 1999)

• Former Governor Lamar Alexander of Tennessee (Withdrew on August 22, 1999)

• Senator Robert C. Smith of New Hampshire (Withdrew in October 1999)

• Representative John Kasich of Ohio (Withdrew in July 1999)

• Businessman Herman Cain of Nebraska (Withdrew early in campaign)

Several Republican candidates appeared on the national scene to challenge Gore's candidacy.

George W. Bush became the early front-runner, acquiring unprecedented funding and a broad base of leadership support based on his governorship of Texas and the name recognition and connections of the Bush family. Former cabinet member George Shultz played an important early role in securing establishment Republican support for Bush. In April 1998, he invited Bush to discuss policy issues with experts including Michael Boskin, John Taylor, and Condoleezza Rice. The group, which was "looking for a candidate for 2000 with good political instincts, someone they could work with", was impressed, and Shultz encouraged him to enter the race. Several aspirants withdrew before the Iowa Caucus because they were unable to secure funding and endorsements sufficient to remain competitive with Bush. These included Elizabeth Dole, Dan Quayle, Lamar Alexander, and Robert C. Smith. Pat Buchanan dropped out to run for the Reform Party nomination. That left Bush, John McCain, Alan Keyes, Steve Forbes, Gary Bauer, and Orrin Hatch as the only candidates still in the race.

On January 24, Bush won the Iowa caucus with 41% of the vote. Forbes came in second with 30% of the vote. Keyes received 14%, Bauer 9%, McCain 5%, and Hatch 1%. Hatch dropped out. On the national stage, Bush was portrayed in the media as the establishment candidate. McCain, with the support of many moderate Republicans and Independents, portrayed himself as a crusading insurgent who focused on campaign reform.

On February 1, McCain won a 49%–30% victory over Bush in the New Hampshire primary. Gary Bauer dropped out. After coming in third in Delaware Forbes dropped out, leaving three candidates. In the South Carolina primary, Bush soundly defeated McCain. Some McCain supporters blamed it on the Bush campaign, accusing them of mudslinging and dirty tricks, such as push polling that implied that McCain's adopted Bangladeshi-born daughter was an African-American child he fathered out of wedlock. While McCain's loss in South Carolina damaged his campaign, he won both Michigan and his home state of Arizona on February 22.

On February 24, McCain criticized Bush for accepting the endorsement of Bob Jones University despite its policy banning interracial dating. On February 28, McCain also referred to Rev. Jerry Falwell and televangelist Pat Robertson as "agents of intolerance", a term he would later distance himself from during his 2008 bid for the party's nomination. He lost the state of Virginia to Bush on February 29. On Super Tuesday, March 7, Bush won New York, Ohio, Georgia, Missouri, California, Maryland, and Maine. McCain won Rhode Island, Vermont, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, but dropped out of the race. On March 10, Alan Keyes got 21% of the vote in Utah. Bush took the majority of the remaining contests and won the Republican nomination on March 14, winning his home state of Texas and his brother Jeb's home state of Florida among others. At the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia George W. Bush accepted the nomination of the Republican party.

Delegate totals

• Governor George W. Bush 1526
• Senator John McCain 275
• Ambassador Dr. Alan Keyes 23
• Businessman Steve Forbes 10
• Gary Bauer 2
• None of the Names Shown 2
• Uncommitted 1

Bush asked former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney to head up a team to help select a running mate for him, but ultimately, Bush decided that Cheney should be the vice presidential nominee. While the U.S. Constitution does not specifically disallow a president and a vice president from the same state, it does prohibit electors from casting both of his or her votes for persons from his or her own state. Accordingly, Cheney—who had been a resident of Texas for nearly 10 years—changed his voting registration back to Wyoming. Had Cheney not done this, either he or Bush would have forfeited their electoral votes from the Texas electors.

Other mentioned candidates:

• Former Sen. John Danforth of Missouri
• Gov. John Engler of Michigan
• Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee
• Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska
• Gov. Frank Keating of Oklahoma
• Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona
• Sen. Connie Mack of Florida
• Gov. George Pataki of New York
• Gen. Colin Powell of New York
• Gov. Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania
• Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee