The 2000 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania took place on November 7, 2000, and was part of the 2000 United States presidential election. Voters chose 23 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Because President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, had won two elections, he could not run for a third term under the provision of the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Al Gore, won Pennsylvania by a 4.17% margin of victory over his Republican opponent, Texas Governor George W. Bush. However, voter enthusiasm for both candidates was generally low throughout the campaign. Gore failed to capture Clinton's appeal in strongly Democratic regions such as Pittsburgh and Scranton and thus carried these areas by a smaller number than his predecessor. However, opposition to Bush was particularly strong in the suburban counties of Philadelphia; although these areas at the time were typically Republican-leaning, they featured a strong culturally liberal bent, and thus Bush was unable to appeal to voters. Bush support was particularly strong in rural, central Pennsylvania, where he appealed to Evangelical voters and where Gore's connection to gun control policies was strongly rejected. Marginal wins in both of the state's metropolitan areas helped the Vice President to capture the state. This was the first election since 1968 that the candidate who won Pennsylvania did not win the general election, and only the fourth time that has happened since 1916. , this is the last election in which Greene County, Mercer County, and Lawrence County voted for the Democratic candidate.

Bush became the first Republican ever to win the White House without carrying Delaware County, the first to win the White House without carrying Montgomery County since Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876, the first to win the White House without carrying Bucks County – which he had lost by precisely the same margin he had lost the state as a whole – since Benjamin Harrison in 1888, and the first to win the White House without carrying Lehigh County since William McKinley in 1900.

Pennsylvania was one of ten states that backed George H. W. Bush for president in 1988 that did not back George W. Bush in either 2000 or 2004. In 2000, George W. Bush lost in eleven states his father won in 1988. In 2004, this was reduced to ten through George W. Bush's gains of New Mexico and Iowa, and his loss in New Hampshire.

Primaries Democratic primary The Democratic primary was held on April 4. There were 191 delegates at stake, with 160 pledged and 31 unpledged. Vice President Al Gore won 139 pledged and the support of 28 unpledged, while U.S. Senator Bill Bradley won 21 pledged.

Candidates Votes PercentAl Gore525,30674.60%Bill Bradley146,79720.85%Lyndon LaRouche32,0474.55%Totals704,150Turnout: 19.38%

Republican primary The Republican primary was held on April 4. There were 78 delegates at stake, with 68 district delegates being decided in the primary and 10 statewide delegates being decided at the state committee meeting in May. While all delegates were technically unbound, Texas Governor George W. Bush won the support of all 78 delegates. Candidates Votes PercentGeorge W. Bush472,00873.44%John McCain145,71922.67%Others24,9673.88%Totals642,694Turnout: 20.33%

Results 2000 United States presidential election in PennsylvaniaPartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Democratic Al Gore 2,485,967 50.60% 23 Republican George W. Bush 2,281,127 46.43% 0 Green Ralph Nader 103,392 2.10% 0 Reform Pat Buchanan 16,023 0.33% 0 Constitution Howard Phillips 14,428 0.29% 0 Libertarian Harry Browne 11,248 0.23% 0 Write-ins - 934 0.02% 0 Totals 4,913,119 100.00% 23 Voter turnout (Voting age/Registered) 53%/63%

By county CountyAl GoreDemocraticGeorge W. BushRepublicanRalph NaderGreenPat BuchananReformHoward PhillipsConstitutionHarry E. BrowneLibertarianMarginTotal votes cast#%#%#%#%#%#%#%Adams11,68234.93%20,84862.34%6962.08%1080.32%270.08%720.22%-9,166-27.41%33,444Allegheny329,96356.65%235,36140.41%10,5751.82%2,1120.36%3,5220.60%9450.16%94,60216.24%582,478Armstrong11,12740.58%15,50856.55%4851.77%2420.88%310.11%300.11%-4,381-15.97%27,423Beaver38,92552.85%32,49144.12%1,4501.97%4700.64%1040.14%1530.21%6,4348.73%73,649Bedford5,47428.17%13,59869.97%2651.36%710.37%80.04%190.10%-8,124-41.80%19,435Berks59,15043.72%71,27352.68%3,4942.58%4390.32%1250.09%6820.50%-12,123-8.96%135,297Blair15,77434.94%28,37662.86%6931.54%1470.33%760.17%740.16%-12,602-27.92%45,140Bradford7,91133.88%14,66062.78%6002.57%890.38%220.09%480.21%-6,749-28.90%23,352Bucks132,91450.46%121,92746.29%6,2942.39%6010.23%6690.25%1,0170.39%10,9874.17%263,422Butler25,03735.34%44,00962.12%1,2871.82%3160.45%500.07%1250.18%-18,972-26.78%70,849Cambria30,30850.27%28,00146.45%1,3692.27%3500.58%1700.28%880.15%2,3073.82%60,286Cameron77934.68%1,38361.58%502.23%261.16%50.22%30.13%-604-26.90%2,246Carbon10,66850.14%9,71745.67%5742.70%900.42%1870.88%410.19%9514.47%21,277Centre21,40943.19%26,17252.79%1,6233.27%1470.30%390.08%1480.30%-4,763-9.60%49,575Chester82,04743.72%100,08053.33%4,3022.29%3140.17%1030.05%7160.38%-18,033-9.61%187,676Clarion5,60535.37%9,79661.81%2931.85%1020.64%160.10%310.20%-4,191-26.44%15,849Clearfield11,71838.25%18,01958.82%5701.86%2330.76%260.08%430.14%-6,301-20.57%30,633Clinton5,52146.03%6,06450.56%3072.56%430.36%460.38%130.11%-543-4.53%11,994Columbia8,97540.96%12,09555.20%6633.03%910.42%210.10%490.22%-3,120-14.24%21,911Crawford13,25039.76%18,85856.58%8542.56%1300.39%1550.47%740.22%-5,608-16.82%33,328Cumberland31,05335.23%54,80262.17%1,7491.98%1890.21%470.05%2220.25%-23,749-26.94%88,144Dauphin44,39044.10%53,63153.28%2,0592.05%2550.25%1020.10%2210.22%-9,241-9.18%100,658Delaware134,86154.36%105,83642.66%5,3482.16%5870.24%7020.28%7430.30%29,02511.70%248,077Elk5,75442.37%7,34754.10%3522.59%900.66%180.13%170.13%-1,593-11.73%13,580Erie59,39952.88%49,02743.64%2,9802.65%2380.21%4490.40%2420.22%10,3729.24%112,335Fayette28,15256.84%20,01340.40%7981.61%2860.58%2250.45%580.12%8,13916.44%49,532Forest84336.93%1,37160.05%572.50%90.39%10.04%20.09%-528-23.12%2,283Franklin14,92230.44%33,04267.41%7611.55%1320.27%430.09%690.14%-18,120-36.97%49,019Fulton1,42526.96%3,75371.01%771.46%200.38%10.02%90.17%-2,328-44.05%5,285Greene7,23052.96%5,89043.14%3372.47%1200.88%180.13%390.29%1,3409.82%13,653Huntingdon5,07331.78%10,40865.21%3402.13%1030.65%120.08%210.13%-5,335-33.43%15,961Indiana13,66743.52%16,79953.50%7112.26%1610.51%170.05%460.15%-3,132-9.98%31,401Jefferson5,56631.65%11,47365.24%3391.93%1200.68%290.17%470.27%-5,907-33.59%17,586Juniata2,65630.64%5,79566.86%1581.82%280.32%90.10%210.24%-3,139-36.22%8,667Lackawanna57,47159.63%35,09636.41%2,1342.21%2640.27%1,3411.39%750.08%22,37523.22%96,381Lancaster54,96831.34%115,90066.09%3,3411.91%3890.22%3790.22%3400.19%-60,932-34.75%175,367Lawrence20,59351.95%18,06045.56%6531.65%2570.65%270.07%500.13%2,5336.39%39,640Lebanon16,09335.06%28,53462.17%8731.90%1350.29%1430.31%1020.22%-12,441-27.11%45,897Lehigh56,66748.72%55,49247.71%3,2782.82%3070.26%2140.18%3220.28%1,1751.01%116,307Luzerne62,19952.01%52,32843.76%3,4562.89%4740.40%9810.82%1480.12%9,8718.25%119,586Lycoming14,66333.95%27,13762.83%9652.23%1390.32%2170.50%620.14%-12,474-28.88%43,193McKean5,51034.86%9,66161.12%4032.55%640.40%1290.82%370.23%-4,151-26.26%15,806Mercer23,81748.87%23,13247.47%1,0732.20%2850.58%3480.71%700.14%6851.40%48,732Mifflin4,83533.08%9,40064.32%2641.81%410.28%490.34%250.17%-4,565-31.24%14,614Monroe21,93946.80%23,26549.63%1,3192.81%1230.26%1160.25%1160.25%-1,326-2.83%46,878Montgomery177,99053.54%145,62343.81%6,8162.05%5620.17%2000.06%1,2310.37%32,3679.73%332,422Montour2,35636.27%3,96060.97%1322.03%260.40%80.12%100.15%-1,604-24.70%6,495Northampton53,09750.72%47,39645.27%3,0122.88%3240.31%5920.57%2690.26%5,7015.45%104,690Northumberland13,67041.11%18,14254.56%9562.88%3290.99%1090.33%450.14%-4,472-13.45%33,254Perry4,45927.73%11,18469.56%3091.92%650.40%150.09%390.24%-6,725-41.83%16,079Philadelphia449,18280.04%100,95917.99%8,2061.46%8220.15%1,0320.18%9790.17%348,22362.05%561,180Pike7,33042.21%9,33953.78%4982.87%570.33%990.57%410.24%-2,009-11.57%17,364Potter2,03728.71%4,85868.48%1462.06%240.34%70.10%180.25%-2,821-39.77%7,094Schuylkill26,21544.97%29,84151.19%1,7132.94%3990.68%400.07%920.16%-3,626-6.22%58,300Snyder3,53627.54%8,96369.80%2712.11%460.36%100.08%150.12%-5,427-42.26%12,841Somerset12,02836.47%20,21861.29%4871.48%1810.55%240.07%470.14%-8,190-24.82%32,985Sullivan1,06634.33%1,92862.09%912.93%100.32%40.13%60.19%-862-27.76%3,105Susquehanna6,48137.53%10,22659.21%4592.66%610.35%120.07%320.19%-3,745-21.68%17,271Tioga4,61731.26%9,63565.22%4042.73%520.35%240.16%400.27%-5,018-33.96%14,772Union4,20931.95%8,52364.69%3732.83%330.25%170.13%200.15%-4,314-32.74%13,175Venango8,19639.90%11,64256.68%4672.28%1210.59%550.27%420.20%-3,446-16.78%20,541Warren7,53742.94%9,29052.93%4662.66%870.50%1290.74%320.18%-1,753-9.99%17,552Washington44,96153.25%37,33944.22%1,4421.71%5280.63%600.07%1110.13%7,6229.03%84,441Wayne6,90436.50%11,20159.21%6253.30%880.47%630.33%330.17%-4,297-22.71%18,916Westmoreland71,79245.81%80,85851.60%2,6011.66%9080.58%3230.21%2270.14%-9,066-5.79%156,709Wyoming4,36337.26%6,92259.12%3442.94%320.27%60.05%260.22%-2,559-21.86%11,709York51,95836.01%87,65260.75%3,3052.29%3310.23%5800.40%4180.29%-35,694-24.74%144,286Totals2,485,96750.60%2,281,12746.43%103,3922.10%16,0230.33%14,4280.29%11,2480.23%204,8404.17%4,913,119 Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Armstrong (largest city: Kittanning) Centre (largest city: State College) Clinton (largest city: Lock Haven) Columbia (largest city: Bloomsburg) Elk (largest city: St. Marys) Forest (largest city: Marienville) Indiana (largest city: Indiana) Schuylkill (largest city: Pottsville) Warren (largest city: Warren) Westmoreland (largest township: Hempfield Township)

By congressional district Gore won 11 of 21 congressional districts. Gore won three that elected Republicans while Bush won two that elected Democrats. District Gore Bush Representative 85% 13%Bob Brady 88% 10%Chaka Fattah 66% 31%Robert Borski47%50%Ron KlinkMelissa Hart 38% 58%John E. Peterson 44% 53%Tim Holden 50% 47%Curt Weldon 50% 46%James C. Greenwood 32% 65%Bud Shuster 47% 50%Don Sherwood 49% 47%Paul Kanjorski 45% 52%John Murtha 54% 43%Joe Hoeffel 62% 35%William J. Coyne 49% 47%Pat Toomey 39% 58%Joe Pitts 37% 60%George Gekas 57% 41%Mike Doyle36%61%William F. GoodlingTodd Platts 51% 47%Frank Mascara 48% 49%Phil English

Electors

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 Al Gore and Joe Lieberman: Kathy Black Richard W. Bloomingdale Robert P. Casey Jr. Nelson Diaz William M. George Ken Jarin James J. Johnston Edward Keller Robert Mellow Thomas J. Murphy Jr. Elsa Favila Robert O'Connor Lazar M. Palnick Stephen R. Reed T. J. Rooney Joyce Savocchio John F. Street Patsy J. Tallarico Christine M. Tartaglione Margaret M. Tartaglione Marian Tasco Sala Udin Anna Verna

See also United States presidential elections in Pennsylvania

References