2000 United States Senate election in Florida

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2000 United States Senate election in Florida
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  Bill Nelson.jpg McCollum bio photo (cropped).jpg
Nominee Bill Nelson Bill McCollum
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote2,989,4872,705,348
Percentage51.04%46.19%
2000 United States Senate election in Florida results map by county.svg
2000 United States Senate election in Florida by Congressional District.svg
FL Senate 2000.svg
Nelson:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90%
McCollum:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90%
Tie:     40–50%     50%     No votes
U.S. senator before election

Connie Mack III
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Bill Nelson
Democratic

The 2000 United States Senate election in Florida was held on November 7, 2000, on the same date as the U.S. House of Representatives and presidential election. Incumbent Republican Senator Connie Mack III decided to retire instead of seeking a third term. Democrat Bill Nelson won the open seat, even as Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush narrowly triumphed over Al Gore in the state by a mere 537 votes.

Contents

Bill McCollum's 46.19% popular vote percentage is the highest for a losing Republican United States Senate candidate in Florida.

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Bill McCollum 660,592 81.13%
Republican Hamilton A. S. Bartlett153,61318.87%
Total votes814,205 100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Bill Nelson 692,147 77.48%
Democratic Newall Jerome Daughtrey105,65011.83%
Democratic David B. Higginbottom95,49210.69%
Total votes893,289 100.00%

General election

Candidates

Campaign

This election was in conjunction to the presidential election, where Bush narrowly defeated Gore after an intense recount. The Senate election was evenly matched, with two U.S. Congressmen named Bill in their mid-50s. Both parties heavily targeted this senate seat. [2] The election became very nasty as Nelson called his opponent "an extremist who would sacrifice the elderly, the poor, and the working class to coddle the rich." McCollum called the Democrat "a liberal who would tax everything that moves, and some things that don't." The election advertisements were very negative, as both candidates talked more about each other than themselves. [3]

Nelson raised only soft money, [4] but had help from Gore and President Bill Clinton. Two days before the election, McCollum predicted he would win by a 6-point margin. [5] On election day, he lost by a five-point margin.

Debates

Results

Bill Nelson with a "thank you" sign after his victory. Bill Nelson with thank you sign after his election to United States Senate in 2000.jpg
Bill Nelson with a "thank you" sign after his victory.
General election results [6]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Bill Nelson 2,989,487 51.04%
Republican Bill McCollum 2,705,34846.19%
Independent Willie Logan 80,8301.38%
Natural Law Joe Simonetta26,0870.45%
Independent Darrell L. McCormick21,6640.37%
Reform Joel Deckard 17,3380.30%
Independent Andy Martin 15,8890.27%
Write-in Nikki Oldaker880.00%
Total votes5,856,731 100.00%
Democratic gain from Republican

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Two-party results

References

  1. 1 2 "September 5, 2000 Primary Election". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  2. ↑ Dunkelburger, Lloyd (August 1, 2000). "Rep. McCollum raises stakes at Nelson fights". Sarasota Herald-Tribune . p. 3A. Archived from the original on April 28, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  3. ↑ Bragg, Rick (October 18, 2000). "The 2000 Campaign: A Florida Race; 2 Senate Candidates Eagerly Woo Moderates". New York Times . Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Nelson Raises Million - and Heat". Miami Herald . July 31, 2000. p. 1B. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012.
  5. ↑ Zuckerman, Laura (November 2, 2000). "Rep. Mccollum Predicting 6-Point Victory Over Nelson". Nl.newsbank.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  6. ↑ Trandahl, Jeff (June 21, 2001). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 2000". clerk.house.gov. Archived from the original on January 5, 2007. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
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