2000 United States Senate special election in Georgia explained

Election Name:2000 United States Senate special election in Georgia
Country:Georgia (U.S. state)
Flag Year:1956
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1998 United States Senate election in Georgia
Previous Year:1998
Next Election:2004 United States Senate election in Georgia
Next Year:2004
Election Date:November 7, 2000
Image1:Zell B Miller.jpg
Nominee1:Zell Miller
Party1:Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:1,413,224
Percentage1:58.19%
Nominee2:Mack Mattingly
Party2:Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:920,478
Percentage2:37.90%
Map Size:240px
U.S. Senator
Before Election:Zell Miller
Before Party:Democratic Party (US)
After Election:Zell Miller
After Party:Democratic Party (US)

The 2000 United States Senate special election in Georgia was held on November 7, 2000. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Zell Miller, who was appointed by Governor Roy Barnes to replace the deceased Paul Coverdell, overwhelmingly won election to serve the remainder of the term. Miller defeated Republican Mack Mattingly, a former U.S. Senator in a landslide of over 20 points, carrying 149 of the state's 159 counties.

This was the last time until 2020 that a Democrat would win a U.S. Senate seat in Georgia, when Raphael Warnock won a special election to fill the same seat and Jon Ossoff won the regular election for the Class 2 Senate seat. It also remains the last time that a Democrat would win a Senate race in the state by double-digits.

Candidates

Note: This election was a non-partisan election due to it being a special election. Each candidate ran without a party. The parties below reflect which party label each candidate would have run under if given the option.

Campaign

One of the biggest campaign issues was Social Security. Miller attacked Mattingly for supporting a raise in the retirement age.[1] The Republican fought back by connecting him to liberal Democrat Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, and on his vote to block legislation aimed at protecting Social Security. Mattingly said he would vote for Texas Governor George W. Bush for president, who was very popular in the state and led Vice President Al Gore in many Georgia polls. Mattingly then asked Miller who he was supporting in the presidential election. Miller conceded he would vote for Gore because he helped him when he was governor including drought relief, welfare reform, and the Atlanta Olympics. "That does not mean I agree with all of his policies," he concluded.[2] In early October, a poll showed Miller leading with 59% of the vote, despite the fact that Bush was leading Gore by a double-digit margin.[3]

Debates

Results

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Content no longer available. nl.newsbank.com.
  2. Web site: The Augusta Chronicle: Local & World News, Sports & Entertainment in Augusta, GA. The Augusta Chronicle.
  3. Web site: Content no longer available. nl.newsbank.com.