2000 United States presidential election in Kentucky explained

Election Name:	2000 United States presidential election in Kentucky
Country:	Kentucky
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1996 United States presidential election in Kentucky
Previous Year:	1996
Next Election:	2004 United States presidential election in Kentucky
Next Year:	2004
Election Date:	November 7, 2000
Image1:	Official Portrait- President George Walker Bush, 43rd President of the United States, Republican - DPLA - 7482eac0e113bf03014d1686a3733f97.jpeg
Nominee1:	George W. Bush
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Home State1:	Texas
Running Mate1:	Dick Cheney
Electoral Vote1:	8
Popular Vote1:	872,492
Percentage1:	56.50%
Nominee2:	Al Gore
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Home State2:	Tennessee
Running Mate2:	Joe Lieberman
Electoral Vote2:	0
Popular Vote2:	638,898
Percentage2:	41.37%
Map Size:	380px
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 Kentucky took place on November 7, 2000, as part of the 2000 United States presidential election, which included elections in all fifty states and the District of Columbia. Voters chose eight representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Governor of Texas George W. Bush won the state with 56.50% of the vote over Vice President Al Gore, who won 41.37% of the vote. Bush dominated in rural Kentucky, particularly the Pennyroyal Plateau, and won five of the state's six congressional districts. Gore only won the Louisville-based 3rd congressional district, though he also performed well in parts of the Eastern Coalfield.

, this is the last election in which Boyd County, Muhlenberg County, Harlan County, Perry County, Letcher County, Ballard County, and Fulton County have voted for the Democratic candidate. It also marked the first ever election in which Wolfe County and Morgan County in the Eastern Coalfield voted for a Republican.^[1] This election marked the state's shift from a swing state to a safely Republican state, which would be further cemented by its vote for John McCain in 2008.

Kentucky was one of nine states to vote for Bill Clinton in both 1992 and 1996 that Gore lost. It was also the only state to back Clinton in 1996 that Gore lost by a double digit margin.

Bush became the first Republican to win the White House without carrying Jefferson County since Theodore Roosevelt in 1904.

Results

United States presidential election in Kentucky, 2000^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	George W. Bush	872,492	56.50%	8
	Democratic	Al Gore	638,898	41.37%	0
	Green Party	Ralph Nader	23,192	1.50%	0
	Reform	Patrick Buchanan	4,173	0.27%	0
	Libertarian	Harry Browne	2,896	0.19%	0
	Natural Law	John Hagelin	1,533	0.10%	0
	Independent	Howard Phillips	1,145	0.07%	0
Totals			1,544,329	100.00%	6
Voter turnout (Voting age/registered)					51%/60%

By county

County	George W. Bush Republican		Al Gore Democratic		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total
		%		%		%		%
	Adair		5,460		74.51%		1,779		24.28%		89		1.21%		3,681		50.23%		7,328
	Allen		4,415		68.67%		1,950		30.33%		64		1.00%		2,465		38.34%		6,429
	Anderson		4,909		61.62%		2,902		36.43%		156		1.96%		2,007		25.19%		7,967
	Ballard		1,824		48.38%		1,880		49.87%		66		1.75%		-56		-1.49%		3,770
	Barren		8,741		63.14%		4,930		35.61%		173		1.25%		3,811		27.53%		13,844
	Bath		2,303		51.49%		2,087		46.66%		83		1.86%		216		4.83%		4,473
	Bell		5,585		52.63%		4,787		45.11%		239		2.25%		798		7.52%		10,611
	Boone		22,016		68.83%		9,248		28.91%		720		2.25%		12,768		39.92%		31,984
	Bourbon		3,881		54.65%		3,048		42.92%		173		2.44%		833		11.73%		7,102
	Boyd		9,247		48.21%		9,541		49.74%		394		2.05%		-294		-1.53%		19,182
	Boyle		6,126		59.33%		3,963		38.38%		237		2.30%		2,163		20.95%		10,326
	Bracken		2,065		68.40%		888		29.41%		66		2.19%		1,177		38.99%		3,019
	Breathitt		2,084		41.08%		2,902		57.20%		87		1.71%		-818		-16.12%		5,073
	Breckinridge		4,763		63.91%		2,595		34.82%		95		1.27%		2,168		29.09%		7,453
	Bullitt		14,054		61.91%		8,195		36.10%		452		1.99%		5,859		25.81%		22,701
	Butler		3,654		72.93%		1,299		25.93%		57		1.14%		2,355		47.00%		5,010
	Caldwell		3,161		57.66%		2,223		40.55%		98		1.79%		938		17.11%		5,482
	Calloway		7,705		56.35%		5,635		41.21%		333		2.44%		2,070		15.14%		13,673
	Campbell		20,789		61.45%		12,040		35.59%		1,000		2.96%		8,749		25.86%		33,829
	Carlisle		1,405		54.18%		1,149		44.31%		39		1.50%		256		9.87%		2,593
	Carroll		1,818		51.96%		1,601		45.76%		80		2.29%		217		6.20%		3,499
	Carter		4,617		51.53%		4,182		46.68%		160		1.79%		435		4.85%		8,959
	Casey		4,284		78.33%		1,122		20.52%		63		1.15%		3,162		57.81%		5,469
	Christian		10,787		60.69%		6,778		38.14%		208		1.17%		4,009		22.55%		17,773
	Clark		7,297		58.50%		4,918		39.43%		258		2.07%		2,379		19.07%		12,473
	Clay		4,926		73.31%		1,723		25.64%		70		1.04%		3,203		47.67%		6,719
	Clinton		3,224		74.89%		1,032		23.97%		49		1.14%		2,192		50.92%		4,305
	Crittenden		2,469		59.44%		1,610		38.76%		75		1.81%		859		20.68%		4,154
	Cumberland		2,220		73.85%		736		24.48%		50		1.66%		1,484		49.37%		3,006
	Daviess		21,361		58.94%		14,126		38.98%		753		2.08%		7,235		19.96%		36,240
	Edmonson		3,250		65.07%		1,710		34.23%		35		0.70%		1,540		30.84%		4,995
	Elliott		827		34.73%		1,525		64.05%		29		1.22%		-698		-29.32%		2,381
	Estill		3,033		64.39%		1,591		33.78%		86		1.83%		1,442		30.61%		4,710
	Fayette		54,495		51.67%		47,277		44.82%		3,705		3.51%		7,218		6.85%		105,477
	Fleming		3,282		63.37%		1,813		35.01%		84		1.62%		1,469		28.36%		5,179
	Floyd		5,068		32.92%		10,088		65.53%		238		1.55%		-5,020		-32.61%		15,394
	Franklin		10,209		47.15%		10,853		50.12%		592		2.73%		-644		-2.97%		21,654
	Fulton		1,293		46.38%		1,452		52.08%		43		1.54%		-159		-5.70%		2,788
	Gallatin		1,345		54.70%		1,049		42.66%		65		2.64%		296		12.04%		2,459
	Garrard		4,043		69.43%		1,713		29.42%		67		1.15%		2,330		40.01%		5,823
	Grant		4,405		62.02%		2,568		36.15%		130		1.83%		1,837		25.87%		7,103
	Graves		7,849		55.15%		6,097		42.84%		285		2.00%		1,752		12.31%		14,231
	Grayson		5,843		68.28%		2,604		30.43%		111		1.30%		3,239		37.85%		8,558
	Green		3,615		76.01%		1,085		22.81%		56		1.18%		2,530		53.20%		4,756
	Greenup		7,233		49.33%		7,164		48.86%		266		1.81%		69		0.47%		14,663
	Hancock		2,032		56.29%		1,508		41.77%		70		1.94%		524		14.52%		3,610
	Hardin		18,964		61.79%		11,095		36.15%		631		2.06%		7,869		25.64%		30,690
	Harlan		4,980		47.27%		5,365		50.93%		190		1.80%		-385		-3.66%		10,535
	Harrison		3,793		57.37%		2,658		40.21%		160		2.42%		1,135		17.16%		6,611
	Hart		3,725		61.89%		2,201		36.57%		93		1.55%		1,524		25.32%		6,019
	Henderson		7,698		48.00%		8,054		50.22%		287		1.79%		-356		-2.22%		16,039
	Henry		3,244		59.27%		2,117		38.68%		112		2.05%		1,127		20.59%		5,473
	Hickman		1,151		54.19%		940		44.26%		33		1.55%		211		9.93%		2,124
	Hopkins		9,490		57.55%		6,734		40.84%		265		1.61%		2,756		16.71%		16,489
	Jackson		4,079		84.02%		701		14.44%		75		1.54%		3,378		69.58%		4,855
	Jefferson		145,052		47.97%		149,901		49.58%		7,409		2.45%		-4,849		-1.61%		302,362
	Jessamine		10,074		66.89%		4,633		30.76%		354		2.35%		5,441		36.13%		15,061
	Johnson		4,783		58.47%		3,251		39.74%		146		1.78%		1,532		18.73%		8,180
	Kenton		35,363		62.87%		19,100		33.96%		1,786		3.18%		16,263		28.91%		56,249
	Knott		2,029		31.42%		4,349		67.34%		80		1.24%		-2,320		-35.92%		6,458
	Knox		6,058		61.13%		3,690		37.24%		162		1.63%		2,368		23.89%		9,910
	LaRue		3,384		65.34%		1,727		33.35%		68		1.31%		1,657		31.99%		5,179
	Laurel		13,029		71.90%		4,856		26.80%		235		1.30%		8,173		45.10%		18,120
	Lawrence		2,969		55.94%		2,258		42.55%		80		1.51%		711		13.39%		5,307
	Lee		1,893		68.49%		836		30.25%		35		1.27%		1,057		38.24%		2,764
	Leslie		3,159		71.24%		1,210		27.29%		65		1.47%		1,949		43.95%		4,434
	Letcher		4,092		45.54%		4,698		52.29%		195		2.17%		-606		-6.75%		8,985
	Lewis		3,217		70.42%		1,293		28.31%		58		1.27%		1,924		42.11%		4,568
	Lincoln		4,795		63.12%		2,678		35.25%		124		1.63%		2,117		27.87%		7,597
	Livingston		2,118		50.07%		2,022		47.80%		90		2.13%		96		2.27%		4,230
	Logan		5,344		57.27%		3,885		41.63%		103		1.10%		1,459		15.64%		9,332
	Lyon		1,688		49.36%		1,680		49.12%		52		1.52%		8		0.24%		3,420
	McCracken		14,745		55.25%		11,412		42.76%		532		1.99%		3,333		12.49%		26,689
	McCreary		3,321		69.20%		1,418		29.55%		60		1.25%		1,903		39.65%		4,799
	McLean		2,219		55.17%		1,747		43.44%		56		1.39%		472		11.73%		4,022
	Madison		13,682		57.81%		9,309		39.33%		675		2.85%		4,373		18.48%		23,666
	Magoffin		2,785		51.07%		2,603		47.74%		65		1.19%		182		3.33%		5,453
	Marion		3,259		52.77%		2,778		44.98%		139		2.25%		481		7.79%		6,176
	Marshall		7,294		53.00%		6,203		45.08%		264		1.92%		1,091		7.92%		13,761
	Martin		2,667		59.85%		1,714		38.46%		75		1.68%		953		21.39%		4,456
	Mason		3,572		60.82%		2,178		37.08%		123		2.09%		1,394		23.74%		5,873
	Meade		5,319		58.64%		3,596		39.64%		156		1.72%		1,723		19.00%		9,071
	Menifee		1,170		52.02%		1,038		46.15%		41		1.82%		132		5.87%		2,249
	Mercer		5,362		62.12%		3,092		35.82%		178		2.06%		2,270		26.30%		8,632
	Metcalfe		2,476		64.33%		1,318		34.24%		55		1.43%		1,158		30.09%		3,849
	Monroe		4,377		78.60%		1,158		20.79%		34		0.61%		3,219		57.81%		5,569
	Montgomery		4,534		53.22%		3,833		44.99%		152		1.78%		701		8.23%		8,519
	Morgan		2,295		54.13%		1,875		44.22%		70		1.65%		420		9.91%		4,240
	Muhlenberg		5,518		46.15%		6,295		52.65%		143		1.20%		-777		-6.50%		11,956
	Nelson		7,714		57.19%		5,481		40.64%		293		2.17%		2,233		16.55%		13,488
	Nicholas		1,613		60.34%		994		37.19%		66		2.47%		619		23.15%		2,673
	Ohio		5,413		60.94%		3,303		37.19%		166		1.87%		2,110		23.75%		8,882
	Oldham		13,580		67.00%		6,236		30.77%		452		2.23%		7,344		36.23%		20,268
	Owen		2,582		63.44%		1,394		34.25%		94		2.31%		1,188		29.19%		4,070
	Owsley		1,466		80.28%		339		18.57%		21		1.15%		1,127		61.71%		1,826
	Pendleton		3,044		63.38%		1,670		34.77%		89		1.85%		1,374		28.61%		4,803
	Perry		5,300		48.18%		5,514		50.13%		186		1.69%		-214		-1.95%		11,000
	Pike		11,005		44.13%		13,611		54.59%		319		1.28%		-2,606		-10.46%		24,935
	Powell		2,258		51.77%		2,008		46.03%		96		2.20%		250		5.74%		4,362
	Pulaski		15,845		73.56%		5,415		25.14%		281		1.30%		10,430		48.42%		21,541
	Robertson		630		63.13%		341		34.17%		27		2.71%		289		28.96%		998
	Rockcastle		3,992		76.08%		1,174		22.37%		81		1.54%		2,818		53.71%		5,247
	Rowan		3,546		49.07%		3,505		48.51%		175		2.42%		41		0.56%		7,226
	Russell		5,268		74.47%		1,710		24.17%		96		1.36%		3,558		50.30%		7,074
	Scott		7,952		57.68%		5,472		39.69%		362		2.63%		2,480		17.99%		13,786
	Shelby		8,068		63.34%		4,435		34.82%		235		1.84%		3,633		28.52%		12,738
	Simpson		3,169		54.41%		2,583		44.35%		72		1.24%		586		10.06%		5,824
	Spencer		3,150		66.01%		1,554		32.56%		68		1.42%		1,596		33.45%		4,772
	Taylor		6,151		67.96%		2,790		30.83%		110		1.23%		3,361		37.13%		9,051
	Todd		2,646		63.20%		1,496		35.73%		45		1.07%		1,150		27.47%		4,187
	Trigg		3,130		58.57%		2,110		39.48%		104		1.95%		1,020		19.09%		5,344
	Trimble		1,837		59.62%		1,181		38.33%		63		2.04%		656		21.29%		3,081
	Union		2,749		51.21%		2,547		47.45%		72		1.34%		202		3.76%		5,368
	Warren		20,235		61.36%		12,180		36.94%		560		1.70%		8,055		24.42%		32,975
	Washington		3,044		66.35%		1,458		31.78%		86		1.87%		1,586		34.57%		4,588
	Wayne		4,069		62.85%		2,312		35.71%		93		1.44%		1,757		27.14%		6,474
	Webster		2,599		51.24%		2,388		47.08%		85		1.68%		211		4.16%		5,072
	Whitley		7,502		63.72%		4,101		34.83%		171		1.45%		3,401		28.89%		11,774
	Wolfe		1,267		52.25%		1,136		46.85%		22		0.91%		131		5.40%		2,425
	Woodford		5,890		58.10%		3,995		39.41%		252		2.49%		1,895		18.69%		10,137
Totals	872,492	56.50%	638,898	41.37%	32,797	2.12%	233,594	15.13%	1,544,187

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Bath (Largest city: Owingsville)
• Bell (Largest city: Middlesboro)
• Bourbon (Largest city: Paris)
• Caldwell (Largest city: Princeton)
• Calloway (Largest city: Murray)
• Carlisle (Largest city: Bardwell)
• Carroll (Largest city: Carrollton)
• Carter (Largest city: Grayson)
• Clark (Largest city: Winchester)
• Fayette (Largest city: Lexington)
• Gallatin (Largest city: Warsaw)
• Graves (Largest city: Mayfield)
• Greenup (Largest city: Flatwoods)
• Hancock (Largest city: Hawesville)
• Harrison (Largest city: Cynthiana)
• Henry (Largest city: Eminence)
• Hickman (Largest city: Clinton)
• Hopkins (Largest city: Madisonville)
• Johnson (Largest city: Paintsville)
• Lawrence (Largest city: Louisa)
• Livingston (Largest city: Salem)
• Logan (Largest city: Russellville)
• Lyon (Largest city: Eddyville)
• Magoffin (Largest city: Salyersville)
• Marion (Largest city: Lebanon)
• Marshall (Largest city: Benton)
• Martin (Largest city: Inez)
• McCracken (Largest city: Paducah)
• McLean (Largest city: Livermore)
• Meade (Largest city: Brandenburg)
• Menifee (Largest city: Frenchburg)
• Montgomery (Largest city: Mount Sterling)
• Morgan (Largest city: West Liberty)
• Nelson (Largest city: Bardstown)
• Nicholas (Largest city: Carlisle)
• Ohio (Largest city: Beaver Dam)
• Powell (Largest city: Stanton)
• Rowan (Largest city: Morehead)
• Simpson (Largest city: Franklin)
• Trigg (Largest city: Cadiz)
• Trimble (Largest city: Bedford)
• Union (Largest city: Morganfield)
• Webster (Largest city: Providence)
• Wolfe (Largest city: Campton)

By congressional district

Bush won five of the state's six congressional districts. Each candidate won a district held by the other party.

District	Bush	Gore	Representative
		58%	41%		Ed Whitfield
		62%	36%		Ron Lewis
		46%	51%		Anne Northup
		61%	37%		Ken Lucas
		57%	42%		Hal Rogers
		56%	42%		Ernie Fletcher

Electors

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

Technically the voters of Kentucky cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Kentucky is allocated 8 electors because it has 6 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 8 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 8 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^[3] 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:^[4]

1. George S. Beard
2. William S. Farish Jr
3. Robert B. Fearing
4. Connie S. Hayes
5. G. Richard Noss Jr.
6. A. Douglas Reece
7. Michael A. Shea
8. Larry Joe Walden

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Political Graveyard: Wolfe County, Ky.. 2020-06-21. politicalgraveyard.com.
2. Web site: 2000 Presidential General Election Results - Kentucky.
3. Web site: 2000 Post-Election Timeline of Events.
4. Web site: President Elect - 2000 . 2009-10-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120212174238/http://presidentelect.org/e2000.html . 2012-02-12 . dead .