2000 United States presidential election in Arkansas

2000 United States presidential election in Arkansas
Bush 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%	Gore 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%
President before election; Bill Clinton; Democratic	Elected President ; George W. Bush; Republican

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. As of the 2024 presidential election^[update], 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. This is the last time Democrats won any congressional district in the state.

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
County	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	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
1st	47%	50%	Marion Berry
2nd	49%	48%	Vic Snyder
3rd	59%	37%	Asa Hutchinson
3rd	59%	37%	John Boozman
4th	47%	50%	Jay Dickey
4th	47%	50%	Mike Ross

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]

Pat Dodge
Bud Cummins
Mildred Homan
Betsy Thompson
Kim Hendren
Sarah Agee

References

^ "George W. Bush on the Issues". On the Issues. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
^ "Executed Offenders". Texas Department of Criminal Justice. October 27, 2006. Archived from the original on November 8, 2006. Retrieved January 30, 2021 – via Wayback Machine.
^ Neal, Pat (October 10, 2000). "Clinton's Arkansas in play as presidential battleground state". CNN. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
^ 2000 Presidential General Election Results - Arkansas US Election Atlas
^ "2000 Post-Election Timeline of Events".
^ "President Elect - 2000". Archived from the original on February 12, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2009.

[1] "George W. Bush on the Issues". On the Issues. Retrieved January 30, 2021.

[2] "Executed Offenders". Texas Department of Criminal Justice. October 27, 2006. Archived from the original on November 8, 2006. Retrieved January 30, 2021 – via Wayback Machine.

[3] Neal, Pat (October 10, 2000). "Clinton's Arkansas in play as presidential battleground state". CNN. Retrieved January 30, 2021.

[4] 2000 Presidential General Election Results - Arkansas US Election Atlas

[5] "2000 Post-Election Timeline of Events".

[6] "President Elect - 2000". Archived from the original on February 12, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2009.

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v t e Elections in Arkansas
General	1844 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1900 1902 1903 1904 1906 1907 1908 1910 1912 1913 1914 1916 1917 1918 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1926 1927 1928 1930 1932 1933 1934 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1942 1943 1944 1946 1949 1950 1952 1953 1954 1956 1958 1959 1960 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973 1974 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
Governor	1836 1840 1844 1848 1849 S 1852 1856 1860 1862 1864 U 1868 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1913 S 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
U.S. President	1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
U.S. Senate	Class 2: 1833 1839–40 1848 S 1853 1859 1868 S 1870 1876 1883 1885 S 1889 1895 1901 1907 1913 S 1913 1918 1924 1930 1936 1937 S 1942 1948 1954 1960 1966 1972 1978 1984 1990 1996 2002 2008 2014 2020 Class 3: 1837 1843 1845 S 1849 1855 1861 1867 1873 1879 1881 S 1885 1891 1897 1903 1909 1914 1916 S 1920 1926 1932 S 1932 1938 1944 1950 1956 1962 1968 1974 1980 1986 1992 1998 2004 2010 2016 2022
U.S. House	1837 1838 1840 1842 1844 1846 1848 1851 1853 1854 1856 1858 1860 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 (4th S) 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 (6th S) 1962 1964 1966 (4th S) 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
'S,' denotes special election; 'U,' denotes election under Federal (Union) military occupation See also: Political party strength in Arkansas