2000 United States presidential election in Arkansas explained

Election Name:	2000 United States presidential election in Arkansas
Country:	Arkansas
Flag Year:	1900
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1996 United States presidential election in Arkansas
Previous Year:	1996
Next Election:	2004 United States presidential election in Arkansas
Next Year:	2004
Election Date:	November 7, 2000
Image1:	GeorgeWBush.jpg
Nominee1:	George W. Bush
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Home State1:	Texas
Running Mate1:	Dick Cheney
Electoral Vote1:	6
Popular Vote1:	472,940
Percentage1:	51.31%
Nominee2:	Al Gore
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Home State2:	Tennessee
Running Mate2:	Joe Lieberman
Electoral Vote2:	0
Popular Vote2:	422,768
Percentage2:	45.86%
Map Size:	250px
President
Before Election:	Bill Clinton
Before Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:	George W. Bush
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)

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

In this election, Arkansas was seen as a swing state, as George W. Bush's opposition to abortion and support for the death penalty, issues that resonated with many Arkansans^{[1] [2]} combined with Gore distancing himself from the popularity of Arkansas native and sitting president Bill Clinton created a battleground environment in the state.^[3]

In the end, Bush won the state by 5.45%; this represents a hard swing to the right from the 16.94-point Democratic victory four years prior. He won a majority of the popular vote and the state's six electoral votes, marking the first time in history that a Democratic presidential nominee won the national popular vote without carrying Arkansas., this is the last election in which Ashley County, Craighead County, Cross County, Dallas County, Drew County, Greene County, Hot Spring County, Izard County, Lafayette County, Nevada County, and Ouachita County have voted for the Democratic candidate.

Results

2000 United States presidential election in Arkansas
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	George W. Bush	472,940	51.31%	6
	Democratic	Al Gore	422,768	45.86%	0
	Green Party	Ralph Nader	13,421	1.46%	0
	Reform	Patrick Buchanan	5,192	0.80%	0
	Libertarian	Harry Browne	2,781	0.30%	0
	Constitution Party	Howard Phillips	1,145	0.14%	0
	Natural Law	John Hagelin	1,098	0.13%	0
Totals			919,345	100.00%	6
Voter turnout					46%

By county

County	George W. Bush Republican		Al Gore Democratic		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total
		%		%		%		%
	Arkansas		3,353		52.62%		2,877		45.15%		142		2.23%		476		7.47%		6,372
	Ashley		3,876		46.86%		4,253		51.42%		142		1.72%		-377		-4.56%		8,271
	Baxter		9,538		57.09%		6,516		39.00%		654		3.91%		3,022		18.09%		16,708
	Benton		34,838		64.94%		17,277		32.21%		1,531		2.85%		17,561		32.73%		53,646
	Boone		8,569		62.85%		4,493		32.95%		573		4.20%		4,076		29.90%		13,635
	Bradley		1,793		45.06%		2,122		53.33%		64		1.61%		-329		-8.27%		3,979
	Calhoun		1,128		51.62%		1,017		46.54%		40		1.83%		111		5.08%		2,185
	Carroll		5,556		57.94%		3,595		37.49%		439		4.58%		1,961		20.45%		9,590
	Chicot		1,564		35.13%		2,820		63.34%		68		1.53%		-1,256		-28.21%		4,452
	Clark		3,376		43.77%		4,661		54.03%		189		2.19%		-1,285		-10.26%		8,626
	Clay		2,254		38.20%		3,527		59.78%		119		2.02%		-1,273		-21.58%		5,900
	Cleburne		5,730		56.14%		4,120		40.36%		357		3.50%		1,610		15.78%		10,207
	Cleveland		1,678		52.75%		1,414		44.45%		89		2.80%		264		8.30%		3,181
	Columbia		5,018		53.92%		4,003		43.01%		286		3.07%		1,015		10.91%		9,307
	Conway		3,545		49.00%		3,496		48.33%		193		2.67%		49		0.67%		7,234
	Craighead		12,158		48.33%		12,376		49.20%		623		2.48%		-218		-0.87%		25,157
	Crawford		10,804		61.30%		6,288		35.68%		533		3.02%		4,516		25.62%		17,625
	Crittenden		5,857		44.26%		7,224		54.59%		153		1.15%		-1,367		-10.33%		13,234
	Cross		3,033		48.80%		3,096		49.81%		86		1.38%		-63		-1.01%		6,215
	Dallas		1,571		47.25%		1,710		51.43%		44		1.32%		-139		-4.18%		3,325
	Desha		1,603		35.66%		2,776		61.76%		116		2.58%		-1,173		-26.10%		4,495
	Drew		2,756		46.54%		3,060		51.67%		106		1.79%		-304		-5.13%		5,922
	Faulkner		16,055		54.95%		11,950		40.90%		1,211		4.14%		4,105		14.05%		29,216
	Franklin		3,277		53.37%		2,674		43.55%		189		3.08%		603		9.82%		6,140
	Fulton		2,036		49.56%		1,976		48.10%		96		2.34%		60		1.46%		4,108
	Garland		19,098		53.15%		15,840		44.08%		997		2.77%		3,258		9.07%		35,935
	Grant		3,285		54.63%		2,535		42.16%		193		3.21%		750		12.47%		6,013
	Greene		5,831		46.71%		6,319		50.62%		334		2.68%		-488		-3.91%		12,484
	Hempstead		3,257		44.68%		3,937		54.01%		95		1.30%		-680		-9.33%		7,289
	Hot Spring		5,042		45.92%		5,527		50.33%		412		3.75%		-485		-4.41%		10,981
	Howard		2,326		52.16%		2,063		46.27%		70		1.57%		263		5.89%		4,459
	Independence		6,145		53.00%		5,146		44.39%		303		2.61%		999		8.61%		11,594
	Izard		2,301		45.73%		2,587		51.41%		144		2.86%		-286		-5.68%		5,032
	Jackson		2,280		37.55%		3,651		60.13%		141		2.32%		-1,371		-22.58%		6,072
	Jefferson		8,765		32.22%		17,716		65.13%		720		2.65%		-8,951		-32.91%		27,201
	Johnson		3,657		51.07%		3,270		45.66%		234		3.27%		387		5.41%		7,161
	Lafayette		1,538		45.46%		1,806		53.38%		39		1.15%		-268		-7.92%		3,383
	Lawrence		2,626		43.48%		3,255		53.89%		159		2.63%		-629		-10.41%		6,040
	Lee		1,351		32.78%		2,727		66.17%		43		1.04%		-1,376		-33.39%		4,121
	Lincoln		1,526		43.03%		1,957		55.19%		63		1.78%		-431		-12.16%		3,546
	Little River		2,283		43.38%		2,883		54.78%		97		1.84%		-600		-11.40%		5,263
	Logan		4,487		55.42%		3,283		40.55%		326		4.03%		1,204		14.87%		8,096
	Lonoke		10,606		59.11%		6,851		38.18%		486		2.71%		3,755		20.93%		17,943
	Madison		3,387		60.18%		2,055		36.51%		186		3.30%		1,332		23.67%		5,628
	Marion		3,402		56.56%		2,233		37.12%		380		6.32%		1,169		19.44%		6,015
	Miller		7,276		52.94%		6,278		45.67%		191		1.39%		998		7.27%		13,745
	Mississippi		5,199		41.31%		7,107		56.47%		280		2.22%		-1,908		-15.16%		12,586
	Monroe		1,329		40.36%		1,910		58.00%		54		1.64%		-581		-17.64%		3,293
	Montgomery		2,128		56.91%		1,438		38.46%		173		4.63%		690		18.45%		3,739
	Nevada		1,796		48.05%		1,867		49.95%		75		2.00%		-71		-1.90%		3,738
	Newton		2,529		64.40%		1,205		30.69%		193		4.91%		1,324		33.71%		3,927
	Ouachita		4,739		45.59%		5,464		52.56%		192		1.85%		-725		-6.97%		10,395
	Perry		2,114		52.76%		1,648		41.13%		245		6.11%		466		11.63%		4,007
	Phillips		3,154		33.87%		6,018		64.62%		141		1.51%		-2,864		-30.75%		9,313
	Pike		2,275		57.29%		1,604		40.39%		92		2.32%		671		16.90%		3,971
	Poinsett		2,988		41.30%		4,102		56.70%		145		2.00%		-1,114		-15.40%		7,235
	Polk		4,600		63.95%		2,315		32.18%		278		3.86%		2,285		31.77%		7,193
	Pope		11,244		61.04%		6,669		36.20%		509		2.76%		4,575		24.84%		18,422
	Prairie		1,862		53.09%		1,563		44.57%		82		2.34%		299		8.52%		3,507
	Pulaski		55,866		43.94%		68,320		53.73%		2,965		2.33%		-12,454		-9.79%		127,151
	Randolph		2,673		45.48%		3,019		51.37%		185		3.15%		-346		-5.89%		5,877
	St. Francis		3,414		40.18%		4,986		58.69%		96		1.13%		-1,572		-18.51%		8,496
	Saline		18,617		57.48%		12,700		39.21%		1,074		3.32%		5,917		18.27%		32,391
	Scott		2,399		60.26%		1,444		36.27%		138		3.47%		955		23.99%		3,981
	Searcy		2,610		64.32%		1,229		30.29%		219		5.40%		1,381		34.03%		4,058
	Sebastian		23,483		58.48%		15,555		38.73%		1,121		2.79%		7,928		19.75%		40,159
	Sevier		2,111		49.17%		2,095		48.80%		87		2.03%		16		0.37%		4,293
	Sharp		3,698		51.89%		3,236		45.41%		192		2.70%		462		6.48%		7,126
	Stone		2,623		53.97%		2,043		42.04%		194		3.99%		580		11.93%		4,860
	Union		8,647		55.40%		6,261		40.11%		701		4.49%		2,386		15.29%		15,609
	Van Buren		3,485		49.90%		3,202		45.85%		297		4.25%		283		4.05%		6,984
	Washington		28,231		54.86%		21,425		41.64%		1,803		3.50%		6,806		13.22%		51,459
	White		13,170		59.46%		8,342		37.66%		638		2.88%		4,828		21.80%		22,150
	Woodruff		898		33.87%		1,699		64.09%		54		2.04%		-801		-30.22%		2,651
	Yell		3,223		49.75%		3,062		47.26%		194		2.99%		161		2.49%		6,479
Totals	472,940	51.31%	422,768	45.86%	26,073	2.83%	50,172	5.45%	921,781

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Arkansas (Largest city: Stuttgart)
• Calhoun (Largest city: Hampton)
• Cleburne (Largest city: Heber Springs)
• Cleveland (Largest city: Rison)
• Columbia (Largest city: Magnolia)
• Conway (Largest city: Morrilton)
• Faulkner (Largest city: Conway)
• Franklin (Largest city: Ozark)
• Fulton (Largest city: Salem)
• Garland (Largest city: Hot Springs)
• Grant (Largest city: Sheridan)
• Howard (Largest city: Nashville)
• Independence (Largest city: Batesville)
• Johnson (Largest city: Clarksville)
• Logan (Largest city: Booneville)
• Lonoke (Largest city: Cabot)
• Madison (Largest city: Huntsville)
• Marion (Largest city: Bull Shoals)
• Miller (Largest city: Texarkana)
• Montgomery (Largest city: Mount Ida)
• Perry (Largest city: Perryville)
• Pike (Largest city: Glenwood)
• Pope (Largest city: Russellville)
• Prairie (Largest city: Des Arc)
• Saline (Largest city: Benton)
• Scott (Largest city: Waldron)
• Sevier (Largest city: De Queen)
• Sharp (Largest city: Cherokee Village)
• Stone (Largest city: Mountain View)
• Union (Largest city: El Dorado)
• Van Buren (Largest city: Clinton)
• Washington (Largest city: Fayetteville)
• White (Largest city: Searcy)
• Yell (Largest city: Dardanelle)

By congressional district

Bush won 2 of 4 congressional districts, including one held by a Democrat.^[4]

District	Bush	Gore	Representative
		47%	50%		Marion Berry
		49%	48%		Vic Snyder
	59%	37%		Asa Hutchinson
			John Boozman
	47%	50%		Jay Dickey
			Mike Ross

Electors

See main article: List of 2000 United States presidential electors.

Technically the voters of Arkansas cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Arkansas is allocated 6 electors because it has 4 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 6 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 6 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^[5] 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 George W. Bush and Dick Cheney:^[6]

1. Pat Dodge
2. Bud Cummins
3. Mildred Homan
4. Betsy Thompson
5. Kim Hendren
6. Sarah Agee

See also

• United States presidential elections in Arkansas
• Presidency of George W. Bush

Notes and References

1. News: George W. Bush on the Issues. On the Issues. January 30, 2021.
2. Web site: October 27, 2006. Executed Offenders. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20061108150222/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/executedoffenders.htm. November 8, 2006. January 30, 2021. Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Wayback Machine.
3. News: Neal. Pat. October 10, 2000. Clinton's Arkansas in play as presidential battleground state. CNN. January 30, 2021.
4. https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=2000&fips=5&off=0&elect=0&f=0 2000 Presidential General Election Results - Arkansas
5. Web site: 2000 Post-Election Timeline of Events.
6. Web site: President Elect - 2000 . 2009-10-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120212174238/http://presidentelect.org/e2000.html . 2012-02-12 . dead .