George W. Bush 2000 presidential campaign

George W. Bush for President 2000
General election logo Primary campaign logo
Campaign	2000 Republican primaries 2000 U.S. presidential election
Candidate	George W. Bush 46th Governor of Texas (1995–2000) Dick Cheney 17th U.S. Secretary of Defense (1989–1993)
Affiliation	Republican Party
Status	Announced: June 12, 1999 Presumptive nominee: March 14, 2000 Official nominee: August 3, 2000 Election day: November 7, 2000 Projected victory: December 12, 2000 Certification: January 6, 2001 Inaugurated: January 20, 2001
Headquarters	Austin, Texas
Key people	Donald Evans (Campaign chairman) Joe Allbaugh (Campaign manager) Karl Rove (Chief strategist) Karen Hughes (Press secretary) Joshua Bolton (Policy director) Ken Mehlman (National field director) Matthew Dowd (Director of polling and media planning)[1] Dick Cheney (VP Selection Committee Leader)
Receipts	US$196,844,696.87[2] (2000-12-31)
Slogan	Reformer with Results Compassionate conservatism A Fresh Start[3] Real Plans for Real People[4]
Website
Bush-Cheney 2000 (archived – October 14, 2000)

This article is part of a series about George W. Bush
Business and personal Early life Professional life Eponyms Family Honors Public image Bibliography Non-profit organizaitons Clinton Bush Haiti Fund One America Appeal 46th Governor of Texas Governorship Elections 43rd President of the United States Presidency timeline Transition Inaugurations first second Efforts to impeach Presidential library Tenure September 11 attacks War on terror War in Afghanistan Patriot Act No Child Left Behind Act Invasion of Iraq Iraq and weapons of mass destruction Hurricane Katrina Iraq War 2007 Iraq surge Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy Email controversy Great Recession Economic Stimulus Act Policies Domestic Economy Foreign Bush Doctrine international trips Space Climate change Legislation and programs Pardons Appointments Federal judges Roberts Miers Alito George W. Bush Supreme Court candidates Presidential campaigns 2000 election primaries convention debates Florida recount Bush v. Gore 2004 election primaries convention debates
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The 2000 presidential campaign of George W. Bush, the then-governor of Texas, was formally launched on June 14, 1999, as Governor Bush, the eldest son of former President George H. W. Bush, announced his intention to seek the Republican Party nomination for the presidency of the United States in the 2000 presidential election.

Bush began the campaign as the front runner among Republicans due to his name recognition, high funds, and control of the governorship of Texas and polls starting in 1997 showed Bush leading every opponent by double digits. The main challenger to Bush was Senator John McCain, who appealed to moderate Republicans, independents, and the press due to his reformist policies. After McCain's upset victory in New Hampshire, Bush won the South Carolina primary.

Bush won the majority of the primaries and after the March 2000 Super Tuesday contests he was well ahead in delegates of both McCain and Alan Keyes. On August 3, 2000, Bush won the Republican nomination at the Republican Convention with the support of 2,058 delegates.^[5] Dick Cheney, the former U.S. Secretary of Defense, was nominated as vice president despite Cheney initially recommending former Missouri Senator John Danforth.^[6]

Throughout the majority of the primary and general campaign seasons Bush was leading Gore in the polls. On November 7, 2000, it was projected that Bush had won in Florida and its 25 electoral votes.^[7] Gore won the national popular vote but the Gore campaign lost the electoral college vote after a legal battle over disputed vote counts.^[8] Bush won the election on the electoral college vote of 271 to 266.