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| Turnout | 61.94%[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The2000 United States presidential election in West Virginia took place on November 7, 2000, as part of the2000 United States presidential election. Voters chose 5 representatives, or electors to theElectoral College, who voted forpresident andvice president.
West Virginia gave its 5 electoral votes to theRepublican nominee,Governor of TexasGeorge W. Bush, marking the first time a Republican carried the state sinceRonald Reagan in1984, and only the fourth time since1928. While West Virginia was traditionally a Democratic stronghold, this election marked the beginning of a political realignment. West Virginia would become the only state to vote againstGeorge H. W. Bush twice and for George W. Bush twice. It is also the only state lost by George H. W. Bush in1988 to be carried by George W. Bush in 2000.
The state was also won byBill Clinton twice but voted against Gore who at the time of the 2000 presidential election was serving under Clinton as vice president. This was the last time West Virginia voted more left-leaning thanVirginia.
As of the2024 presidential election[update], this is the last election in which the Democratic candidate wonKanawha County,Harrison County,Lincoln County, andWyoming County. This was the first time since1928 that a non-incumbent Republican won West Virginia, and was only the fourth time since that election where a Democrat lost the state.
As of 2024, this is the last presidential election in which a Democrat won any congressional district in the state and the last time the state was won by single digits, as well as the last time a Democrat won at least 45% of vote in the state.
In this election, West Virginia voted 6.84% more Republican than the nation at-large.[2]
| 2000 United States presidential election in West Virginia | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Running mate | Popular vote | Electoral vote | Swing | ||||
| Count | % | Count | % | ||||||
| Republican | George W. Bush ofTexas | Dick Cheney ofWyoming | 336,475 | 51.92% | 5 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic | Al Gore ofTennessee | Joe Lieberman ofConnecticut | 295,497 | 45.59% | 0 | 0.00% | |||
| Green | Ralph Nader ofConnecticut | Winona LaDuke ofMinnesota | 10,680 | 1.65% | 0 | 0.00% | |||
| Reform | Pat Buchanan ofVirginia | Ezola B. Foster ofCalifornia | 3,169 | 0.49% | 0 | 0.00% | |||
| Libertarian | Harry Browne ofTennessee | Art Olivier ofCalifornia | 1,912 | 0.30% | 0 | 0.00% | |||
| Constitution | Howard Phillips ofVirginia | Darrell Castle ofTennessee | 23 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | |||
| Natural Law | John Hagelin ofIowa | Nat Goldhaber ofCalifornia | 367 | 0.06% | 0 | 0.00% | |||
| Write-in | Various of Various | Various of Various | 1 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | |||
| Total | 648,124 | 100.00% | 5 | 100.00% | |||||
| County | George W. Bush Republican | Al Gore Democratic | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Barbour | 3,411 | 56.37% | 2,503 | 41.37% | 137 | 2.26% | 908 | 15.00% | 6,051 |
| Berkeley | 13,619 | 59.19% | 8,797 | 38.23% | 594 | 2.58% | 4,822 | 20.96% | 23,010 |
| Boone | 3,353 | 36.68% | 5,656 | 61.88% | 132 | 1.44% | -2,303 | -25.20% | 9,141 |
| Braxton | 2,529 | 47.47% | 2,719 | 51.03% | 80 | 1.50% | -190 | -3.56% | 5,328 |
| Brooke | 4,195 | 44.60% | 4,678 | 49.74% | 532 | 5.66% | -483 | -5.14% | 9,405 |
| Cabell | 16,440 | 51.03% | 14,896 | 46.24% | 880 | 2.73% | 1,544 | 4.79% | 32,216 |
| Calhoun | 1,425 | 54.49% | 1,112 | 42.52% | 78 | 2.98% | 313 | 11.97% | 2,615 |
| Clay | 1,887 | 52.68% | 1,617 | 45.14% | 78 | 2.18% | 270 | 7.54% | 3,582 |
| Doddridge | 1,955 | 69.42% | 773 | 27.45% | 88 | 3.13% | 1,182 | 41.97% | 2,816 |
| Fayette | 5,897 | 40.34% | 8,371 | 57.26% | 351 | 2.40% | -2,474 | -16.92% | 14,619 |
| Gilmer | 1,560 | 56.93% | 1,092 | 39.85% | 88 | 3.21% | 468 | 17.08% | 2,740 |
| Grant | 3,571 | 78.76% | 891 | 19.65% | 72 | 1.59% | 2,680 | 59.11% | 4,534 |
| Greenbrier | 6,866 | 53.61% | 5,627 | 43.93% | 315 | 2.46% | 1,239 | 9.68% | 12,808 |
| Hampshire | 3,879 | 63.62% | 2,069 | 33.93% | 149 | 2.44% | 1,810 | 29.69% | 6,097 |
| Hancock | 6,458 | 47.94% | 6,249 | 46.39% | 765 | 5.68% | 209 | 1.55% | 13,472 |
| Hardy | 2,816 | 62.38% | 1,621 | 35.91% | 77 | 1.71% | 1,195 | 26.47% | 4,514 |
| Harrison | 12,948 | 48.72% | 13,009 | 48.95% | 621 | 2.34% | -61 | -0.23% | 26,578 |
| Jackson | 6,341 | 55.05% | 4,937 | 42.86% | 240 | 2.08% | 1,404 | 12.19% | 11,518 |
| Jefferson | 7,045 | 49.00% | 6,860 | 47.71% | 473 | 3.29% | 185 | 1.29% | 14,378 |
| Kanawha | 36,809 | 48.01% | 38,524 | 50.25% | 1,337 | 1.74% | -1,715 | -2.24% | 76,670 |
| Lewis | 3,606 | 58.79% | 2,355 | 38.39% | 173 | 2.82% | 1,251 | 20.40% | 6,134 |
| Lincoln | 3,389 | 45.40% | 3,939 | 52.77% | 136 | 1.82% | -550 | -7.37% | 7,464 |
| Logan | 5,334 | 36.94% | 8,927 | 61.83% | 178 | 1.23% | -3,593 | -24.89% | 14,439 |
| Marion | 9,972 | 43.60% | 12,315 | 53.84% | 586 | 2.56% | -2,343 | -10.24% | 22,873 |
| Marshall | 6,859 | 50.81% | 6,000 | 44.45% | 639 | 4.73% | 859 | 6.36% | 13,498 |
| Mason | 5,972 | 53.21% | 4,963 | 44.22% | 288 | 2.57% | 1,009 | 8.99% | 11,223 |
| McDowell | 2,348 | 32.15% | 4,845 | 66.34% | 110 | 1.51% | -2,497 | -34.19% | 7,303 |
| Mercer | 10,206 | 54.07% | 8,347 | 44.22% | 322 | 1.71% | 1,859 | 9.85% | 18,875 |
| Mineral | 6,180 | 63.18% | 3,341 | 34.15% | 261 | 2.67% | 2,839 | 29.03% | 9,782 |
| Mingo | 3,866 | 38.49% | 6,049 | 60.23% | 128 | 1.27% | -2,183 | -21.74% | 10,043 |
| Monongalia | 13,595 | 49.68% | 12,603 | 46.05% | 1,169 | 4.27% | 992 | 3.63% | 27,367 |
| Monroe | 2,940 | 57.21% | 2,094 | 40.75% | 105 | 2.04% | 846 | 16.46% | 5,139 |
| Morgan | 3,639 | 63.05% | 1,939 | 33.59% | 194 | 3.36% | 1,700 | 29.46% | 5,772 |
| Nicholas | 4,359 | 50.81% | 4,059 | 47.31% | 161 | 1.88% | 300 | 3.50% | 8,579 |
| Ohio | 9,607 | 53.48% | 7,653 | 42.60% | 704 | 3.92% | 1,954 | 10.88% | 17,964 |
| Pendleton | 1,996 | 61.97% | 1,172 | 36.39% | 53 | 1.65% | 824 | 25.58% | 3,221 |
| Pleasants | 1,884 | 58.73% | 1,267 | 39.50% | 57 | 1.78% | 617 | 19.23% | 3,208 |
| Pocahontas | 1,970 | 56.82% | 1,392 | 40.15% | 105 | 3.03% | 578 | 16.67% | 3,467 |
| Preston | 6,607 | 63.29% | 3,515 | 33.67% | 317 | 3.04% | 3,092 | 29.62% | 10,439 |
| Putnam | 12,173 | 59.60% | 7,891 | 38.63% | 362 | 1.77% | 4,282 | 20.97% | 20,426 |
| Raleigh | 12,587 | 52.31% | 11,047 | 45.91% | 427 | 1.77% | 1,540 | 6.40% | 24,061 |
| Randolph | 5,248 | 55.00% | 4,028 | 42.21% | 266 | 2.79% | 1,220 | 12.79% | 9,542 |
| Ritchie | 2,717 | 71.27% | 1,024 | 26.86% | 71 | 1.86% | 1,693 | 44.41% | 3,812 |
| Roane | 3,172 | 56.39% | 2,332 | 41.46% | 121 | 2.15% | 840 | 14.93% | 5,625 |
| Summers | 2,304 | 48.89% | 2,299 | 48.78% | 110 | 2.33% | 5 | 0.11% | 4,713 |
| Taylor | 3,124 | 54.69% | 2,473 | 43.29% | 115 | 2.01% | 651 | 11.40% | 5,712 |
| Tucker | 1,935 | 57.83% | 1,319 | 39.42% | 92 | 2.75% | 616 | 18.41% | 3,346 |
| Tyler | 2,582 | 65.73% | 1,214 | 30.91% | 132 | 3.36% | 1,368 | 34.82% | 3,928 |
| Upshur | 5,165 | 63.58% | 2,770 | 34.10% | 188 | 2.31% | 2,395 | 29.48% | 8,123 |
| Wayne | 7,993 | 49.21% | 7,940 | 48.89% | 308 | 1.90% | 53 | 0.32% | 16,241 |
| Webster | 1,484 | 44.86% | 1,764 | 53.33% | 60 | 1.81% | -280 | -8.47% | 3,308 |
| Wetzel | 3,239 | 51.51% | 2,849 | 45.31% | 200 | 3.18% | 390 | 6.20% | 6,288 |
| Wirt | 1,518 | 63.73% | 818 | 34.34% | 46 | 1.93% | 700 | 29.39% | 2,382 |
| Wood | 20,428 | 60.34% | 12,664 | 37.40% | 765 | 2.26% | 7,764 | 22.94% | 33,857 |
| Wyoming | 3,473 | 44.08% | 4,289 | 54.44% | 116 | 1.47% | -816 | -10.36% | 7,878 |
| Totals | 336,475 | 51.92% | 295,497 | 45.59% | 16,152 | 2.49% | 40,978 | 6.33% | 648,124 |
Bush won two of three congressional districts, including one that elected a Democrat.[3]
| District | Gore | Bush | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 43% | 54% | Alan Mollohan |
| 2nd | 44% | 54% | Bob Wise |
| Shelley Moore Capito | |||
| 3rd | 51% | 47% | Nick Rahall |