2000 United States presidential election in New Jersey

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2000 United States presidential election in New Jersey
Flag of New Jersey.svg
  1996 November 7, 2000 2004  
  Al Gore, Vice President of the United States, official portrait 1994.jpg Official Portrait- President George Walker Bush, 43rd President of the United States, Republican - DPLA - 7482eac0e113bf03014d1686a3733f97.jpeg
Nominee Al Gore George W. Bush
Party Democratic Republican
Home state Tennessee Texas
Running mate Joe Lieberman Dick Cheney
Electoral vote150
Popular vote1,788,8501,284,173
Percentage56.13%40.29%

New Jersey Presidential Election Results 2000.svg
County Results

President before election

Bill Clinton
Democratic

Elected President

George W. Bush
Republican

In 2000, the United States presidential election in New Jersey, along with every U.S. state and Washington, D.C., took place on November 7, 2000, as part of the 2000 United States presidential election. The major party candidates were Democratic Vice President Al Gore of the incumbent administration and Republican Governor of Texas George W. Bush, son of the 41st U.S. president, George H. W. Bush. Owing to the indirect system of voting used in U.S. presidential elections, George W. Bush narrowly defeated Gore in Electoral College votes despite that Gore earned a higher percentage of the popular vote. Green Party candidate Ralph Nader, the only third-party candidate represented on most states' ballots, came in a distant third.

Contents

Although New Jersey had voted for Democrat Bill Clinton in the past two elections (1992 and 1996), [1] it was considered a potential swing state in 2000 because pre-election polling data showed it to be a close race. [2] [3] Al Gore won 56 percent of New Jersey's popular vote, beating out George W. Bush by about a sixteen-point margin, with Gore's biggest margins of victory in Essex County and Hudson County where he won over seventy percent of the vote. Bush won 7 counties with his biggest margins being just over 57 percent in Hunterdon County and Sussex County. Nader got over four percent of the vote in several counties in the northwest of the state, while taking just under three percent statewide. [4] This was also the first presidential election since 1976, in which New Jersey would back the losing candidate as well. As of the 2020 presidential election , this is the last election in which Monmouth County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate. [5]

Bush became the first Republican to win the White House without carrying Bergen County, Burlington County, or Monmouth County, as well as the state of New Jersey since Benjamin Harrison in 1888. Bush became the first Republican to win without Union County since James A. Garfield in 1880. Bush was the first Republican to ever win the Presidency without Passaic and Gloucester counties, and the only Republican to ever win without Salem County.

New Jersey was one of ten states that backed George H. W. Bush for president in 1988 that didn't back George W. Bush in either 2000 or 2004.

General Election

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Al
Gore (D)
George W.
Bush (R)
Ralph
Nader (G)
Patrick
Buchanan (Ref)
Undecided
The New York Times [6] October 12–15, 2000908 RV± 3%49%34%8%1%8%

Results

2000 United States presidential election in New Jersey [7]
PartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes
Democratic Al Gore 1,788,85056.13%15
Republican George W. Bush 1,284,17340.29%0
Green Ralph Nader 94,5542.97%0
Reform Pat Buchanan 6,9890.22%0
Libertarian Harry Browne 6,3120.20%0
Natural Law John Hagelin 2,2150.07%0
Socialist David McReynolds 1,8800.06%0
Constitution Howard Phillips 1,4090.04%0
Socialist Workers James Harris 8440.03%0
Totals3,187,226100.00%15
Voter Turnout (Voting age/Registered)50%/68%

Results by county

CountyAl Gore
Democratic
George W. Bush
Republican
Ralph Nader [8]
Green
Pat Buchanan [8]
Reform
Harry Browne [8]
Libertarian
Various candidates [8]
Other parties
MarginTotal votes cast
# %# %# %# %# %# %# %
Atlantic 52,88058.04%35,59339.07%2,1882.40%1710.19%1580.17%1120.12%17,28718.97%91,102
Bergen 202,68255.27%152,73141.65%9,6882.64%7550.21%4340.12%4310.12%49,95113.62%366,721
Burlington 99,50656.05%72,25440.70%4,8942.76%2780.16%4630.26%1460.08%27,25215.35%177,541
Camden 127,16664.60%62,46431.73%6,1243.11%3530.18%5500.28%2040.10%64,70232.87%196,861
Cape May 22,18946.62%23,79449.99%1,2912.71%1870.39%820.17%510.11%-1,605-3.37%47,594
Cumberland 28,18857.90%18,88238.78%1,0042.06%1110.23%1300.27%3690.76%9,30619.12%48,684
Essex 185,50571.47%66,84225.75%5,6412.17%3910.15%2860.11%9080.35%118,66345.72%259,573
Gloucester 61,09556.94%42,31539.44%3,1962.98%2360.22%3200.30%1360.13%18,78017.50%107,298
Hudson 118,20670.63%43,80426.17%4,4362.65%2740.16%2530.15%3880.23%74,40244.46%167,361
Hunterdon 21,38737.88%32,21057.05%2,4594.36%1540.27%1810.32%640.11%-10,823-19.17%56,455
Mercer 83,25661.42%46,67034.43%4,5613.36%2740.20%5810.43%2170.16%36,58626.99%135,559
Middlesex 154,99859.88%93,54536.14%8,9343.45%6220.24%4490.17%3010.12%61,45323.74%258,849
Monmouth 131,47650.15%119,29145.51%9,0593.46%6780.26%4880.19%1,1490.44%12,1854.64%262,141
Morris 88,03942.63%111,06653.78%6,3333.07%4730.23%4480.22%1490.07%-23,027-11.15%206,508
Ocean 102,10447.18%105,68448.84%7,3543.40%6040.28%3870.18%2600.12%-3,580-1.66%216,393
Passaic 90,32457.69%61,04338.99%3,7522.40%4020.26%1990.13%8530.54%29,28118.70%156,573
Salem 13,71850.86%12,25745.44%7142.65%750.28%1090.40%990.37%1,4615.42%26,972
Somerset 56,23246.71%59,72549.61%3,7763.14%2310.19%3060.25%1070.09%-3,493-2.90%120,377
Sussex 21,35337.14%33,27757.88%2,3994.17%1840.32%1510.26%1260.22%-11,924-20.74%57,490
Union 112,00360.10%68,55436.78%4,9452.65%3870.21%2520.14%2320.12%43,44923.32%186,373
Warren 16,54340.55%22,17254.34%1,8064.43%1490.37%850.21%460.11%-5,629-13.79%40,801
Totals1,788,85056.13%1,284,17340.29%94,5542.97%6,9890.22%6,3120.20%6,3480.20%504,67715.84%3,187,226

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

By congressional district

Gore won 11 of 13 congressional districts, including four that elected Republicans. [9]

DistrictGoreBushRepresentative
1st 63.90%32.89% Rob Andrews
2nd 54.78%42.55% Frank LoBiondo
3rd 53.45%43.41% Jim Saxton
4th 52.28%44.55% Chris Smith
5th 44.64%51.69% Marge Roukema
6th 57.72%38.37% Frank Pallone Jr.
7th 54.19%42.79% Bob Franks
Mike Ferguson
8th 61.05%36.25% Bill Pascrell
9th 63.32%33.64% Steve Rothman
10th 84.70%13.72% Donald Payne
11th 43.36%53.50% Rodney Frelinghuysen
12th 50.90%45.57% Rush Holt Jr.
13th 72.35%25.33% Bob Menendez

Electors

Technically the voters of NJ cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. NJ is allocated 15 electors because it has 13 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 15 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and his or her running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 15 electoral votes. Their chosen electors then vote for president and vice president. Although electors are pledged to their candidate and running mate, they are not obligated to vote for them. An elector who votes for someone other than his or her candidate is known as a faithless elector.

The electors of each state and the District of Columbia met on December 18, 2000 [10] 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 Gore and Lieberman: [11]

See also

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References

  1. "New Jersey Elected Officials Lookup". 270toWin.com. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  2. Jacobs, Andrew (August 19, 2000), "The 2000 Campaign: The Impressions — New Jersey; In a Swing State, Cheers and Doubts", The New York Times, retrieved December 1, 2016
  3. Marks, Peter (July 23, 2000), "July 16–22; Making Margin Calls in a Tightening Race", The New York Times, retrieved December 1, 2016
  4. Leip, Dave (n.d.), "2016 Presidential General Election Results", Atlas of the U.S. Presidential Elections, retrieved December 1, 2016
  5. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  6. The New York Times
  7. "How close were U.S. Presidential Elections?". Archived from the original on August 25, 2012. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "NJ US President, November 07, 2000". Our Campaigns.
  9. "2000 Presidential General Election Data — New Jersey". US Election Atlas.
  10. Leip, Dave (n.d.), "2000 Events Timeline — Post-Election", Atlas of the U.S. Presidential Elections, retrieved December 1, 2016
  11. Whitson, James R. (n.d.), "Overview of the 2000 Election", President Elect, archived from the original on February 12, 2012, retrieved December 1, 2016