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 County results Precinct resultsMiller: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Mattingly: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Tie: 40–50% 50% No data | |||||||||||||||||
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The2000 United States Senate special election in Georgia was held on November 7, 2000. IncumbentDemocratic U.S. SenatorZell Miller, who was appointed by GovernorRoy Barnes to replace the deceasedPaul Coverdell, overwhelmingly won election to serve the remainder of the term. Miller defeated RepublicanMack 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, whenRaphael Warnock won aspecial election to fill the same seat andJon Ossoff won theregular 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.
Note: This election was a non-partisan election due to it being a special election. Each candidate ran without a party label. The parties below reflect which party label each candidate would have run under if given the option.
One of the biggest campaign issues wasSocial Security. Miller attacked Mattingly for supporting a raise in the retirement age.[1] The Republican fought back by connecting him to liberal DemocratTed Kennedy of Massachusetts, and on his vote to block legislation aimed at protecting Social Security. Mattingly said he would vote forTexas GovernorGeorge W. Bush for president, who was very popular in the state and led Vice PresidentAl 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 includingdrought relief,welfare reform, and theAtlanta 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]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Zell Miller (incumbent) | 1,413,224 | 58.19% | +13.04% | |
| Nonpartisan | Mack Mattingly | 920,478 | 37.90% | −14.47% | |
| Nonpartisan | Paul Robert MacGregor | 25,942 | 1.07% | −1.41% | |
| Nonpartisan | Ben Ballenger | 22,975 | 0.95% | +0.95% | |
| Nonpartisan | Jeff Gates | 21,249 | 0.88% | +0.88% | |
| Nonpartisan | Bobby Wood | 12,499 | 0.51% | +0.51% | |
| Nonpartisan | Winnie Walsh | 11,875 | 0.49% | +0.49% | |
| Majority | 492,746 | 20.29% | +13.07% | ||
| Total votes | 2,428,242 | 100.00% | 0.00% | ||
| Democratichold | |||||
Official campaign websites (archived)
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