2000 Republican vice presidential nomination

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Nominee Dick Cheney Home state Wyoming

Previous Vice Presidential nominee Jack Kemp Vice Presidential nominee Dick Cheney

This article lists those who were potential candidates for theRepublican nomination forVice President of the United States in the2000 election. On March 7, 2000, Texas GovernorGeorge W. Bush won the2000 Republican nomination forPresident of the United States, and became thepresumptive nominee. On July 25, 2000, former Secretary of DefenseRichard B. Cheney was chosen as his running mate. Bush initially wanted Cheney to only find him a running mate. However, as they were running out of time, Bush changed his mind to make Cheney his running mate.^[1]

The Bush–Cheney ticket would go on to defeat the Democratic tickets ofGore–Lieberman in 2000 andKerry–Edwards in2004 in both close elections.

Bush had initially chosen Dick Cheney to lead the search for his vice presidential running mate. In 1992, Bush had supported Cheney as a replacement forDan Quayle onhis father's ultimately unsuccessful national ticket.^[2] After more than three months of extensive research, Cheney recommendedJohn Danforth to be the nominee,^[3] as the other choices' strengths were offset by liberal stances.^[4] Bush heavily considered Danforth. However, Danforth, who wanted to continue living mainly in Missouri, formally declined to run as vice president on July 11, 2000;^[5] nevertheless Danforth would eventually be appointed to the Bush Administration as a special envoy to Sudan on September 6, 2001.^[6] Bush ultimately asked Cheney himself to be the nominee. It was acknowledged in a July 28, 2000New York Times article that the decision to select Cheney as Bush's Vice Presidential nominee was in fact secretly made "weeks" before it was formally announced on July 25, 2000.^[7]

According to theTwelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the presidential electors from Texas (in theUnited States Electoral College) could not vote for candidates for president and vice president who were both from Texas. On July 21, 2000, Cheney changed his voter registration from Texas toTeton County, Wyoming, which, combined with other actions, ultimately allowed the Texas electors to vote for both Bush and Cheney.^[8][9][10]

By picking Cheney, Bush had a running mate who had years of experience as well as an extensive foreign policy expertise. After Cheney, who was serving as CEO ofHalliburton, reported his findings back to Bush, Bush surprised pundits by asking Cheney himself to be his running mate. Bush told supporters that regional considerations would have less bearing on his decision than the candidate's ability to take over the office of the presidency. At the selection announcement, Bush said that Cheney, who had worked under all five presidential administrations between 1969 and 1993, was qualified, respected and shared his vision for America.^[11]

There was a short-lived movement to draftElizabeth Dole, but that effort did not move forward.^[12]

• 
  FormerSecretary of Defense
  Dick Cheney
  fromWyoming
  (1989–1993)
• 
  FormerSenator
  John Danforth
  fromMissouri
  (1976–1995)
• 
  Senator and2000 presidential candidate
  John McCain
  fromArizona
  (1987–2018)
• 
  Governor
  George Pataki
  fromNew York
  (1995–2006)
• 
  Governor
  Tom Ridge
  fromPennsylvania
  (1995–2001)

• 
  FormerChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
  Colin Powell
  fromVirginia
  (1989–1993)^[13]
• 
  FormerUnited States Secretary of Labor
  Elizabeth Dole
  fromNorth Carolina
  (1989–1990)^[12]
• 
  Governor
  Christine Todd Whitman
  fromNew Jersey
  (1994–2001)^[13]
• 
  Representative
  John Kasich
  fromOhio
  (1983–2001)^[13]
• 
  Senator
  George Voinovich
  fromOhio
  (1999–2011)
• 
  Representative
  J. C. Watts
  fromOklahoma
  (1995–2003)^[13]
• 
  Representative
  Christopher Cox
  fromCalifornia
  (1989–2005)^[14]
• 
  Governor
  John Engler
  fromMichigan
  (1991–2003)^[14]
• 
  Governor
  Frank Keating
  fromOklahoma
  (1995–2003)^[14]
• 
  Senator
  Chuck Hagel
  fromNebraska
  (1997–2009)^[14]
• 
  Senator
  Fred Thompson
  fromTennessee
  (1994–2003)^[14]
• 
  Senator
  Pete Domenici
  fromNew Mexico
  (1973–2009)^[14]
• 
  Senator
  Richard Lugar
  fromIndiana
  (1977–2013)^[15]
• 
  Senator
  Bill Frist
  fromTennessee
  (1995–2007)^[15]
• 
  FormerSecretary of Education
  Lamar Alexander
  fromTennessee
  (1991–1993)^[16]

• George W. Bush 2000 presidential campaign
• 2000 Republican Party presidential primaries
• 2000 Republican National Convention
• 2000 United States presidential election
• List of United States major party presidential tickets

• George W. Bush 2000 presidential campaign
• Republican Party (United States) vice presidential nominees
• Dick Cheney

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