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| Turnout | 61.3%[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 County results Congressional district results
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The2000 United States presidential election in Kentucky took place on November 7, 2000, as part of the2000 United States presidential election, which included elections in all fifty states and the District of Columbia. Voters chose eight representatives, or electors to theElectoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Governor of TexasGeorge W. Bush won the state with 56.50% of the vote over Vice PresidentAl Gore, who won 41.37% of the vote. Bush dominated in rural Kentucky, particularly thePennyroyal Plateau, and won five of the state's six congressional districts. Gore only won theLouisville-based3rd congressional district, though he also performed well in parts of theEastern Coalfield.
As of the2024 presidential election[update], this is the last election in whichBoyd County,Muhlenberg County,Harlan County,Perry County,Letcher County,Ballard County, andFulton County have voted for the Democratic candidate. It also marked the first ever election in whichWolfe County andMorgan County in the Eastern Coalfield voted for a Republican.[2] This election marked the state's shift from aswing state to a safely Republican state, which would be further cemented by its vote forJohn McCain in2008.
Kentucky was one of nine states to vote forBill 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 carryingJefferson County sinceTheodore Roosevelt in1904.
| 2000 United States presidential election in Kentucky | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Running mate | Popular vote | Electoral vote | Swing | ||||
| Count | % | Count | % | ||||||
| Republican | George W. Bush ofTexas | Dick Cheney ofWyoming | 872,492 | 56.50% | 8 | 100.00% |  11.62% | ||
| Democratic | Al Gore ofTennessee | Joe Lieberman ofConnecticut | 638,898 | 41.37% | 0 | 0.00% |  4.47% | ||
| Green | Ralph Nader ofConnecticut | Winona LaDuke ofMinnesota | 23,192 | 1.50% | 0 | 0.00% | 1.50% | ||
| Reform | Pat Buchanan ofVirginia | Ezola B. Foster ofCalifornia | 4,173 | 0.27% | 0 | 0.00% | 8.40% | ||
| Libertarian | Harry Browne ofTennessee | Art Olivier ofCalifornia | 2,896 | 0.19% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.10% | ||
| Natural Law | John Hagelin ofTennessee | Nat Goldhaber ofCalifornia | 1,533 | 0.10% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.01% | ||
| Independent | Howard Phillips ofTennessee | Joseph Sobran of | 923 | 0.06% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.06% | ||
| Total | 1,544,187 | 100.00% | 8 | 100.00% | |||||
| 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 |
Bush won five of the state's six congressional districts. Each candidate won a district held by the other party.
| District | Bush | Gore | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 58% | 41% | Ed Whitfield |
| 2nd | 62% | 36% | Ron Lewis |
| 3rd | 46% | 51% | Anne Northup |
| 4th | 61% | 37% | Ken Lucas |
| 5th | 57% | 42% | Hal Rogers |
| 6th | 56% | 42% | Ernie Fletcher |
Technically the voters of Kentucky cast their ballots for electors: representatives to theElectoral College. Kentucky is allocated 8 electors because it has 6congressional districts and 2senators. 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 afaithless elector.
The electors of each state and theDistrict 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]
State and district results of the2000 United States presidential election | ||
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See also:Political party strength in Kentucky | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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