2000 United States Senate election in Florida
The 2000 United States Senate election in Florida was held on November 7, 2000, on the same date as the U.S. House of Representatives and presidential election. Incumbent Republican Senator Connie Mack III decided to retire instead of seeking a third term. Democrat Bill Nelson won the open seat, even as George W. Bush triumphed over Al Gore in the state by a mere 537 votes.
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 County results Nelson: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% McCollum: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Florida |
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 Government |
Republican primary
Candidates
- Hamilton A. S. Bartlett
- Bill McCollum, U.S. Representative
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bill McCollum | 660,592 | 81.13% | |
| Republican | Hamilton A. S. Bartlett | 153,613 | 18.87% | |
| Total votes | 814,205 | 100.00% | ||
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Newall Jerome Daughtrey, nominee for Florida State Comptroller in 1998
- David B. Higginbottom, nominee for FL-10 in 1986 and 1988
- Bill Nelson, State Treasurer and former U.S. Representative
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Bill Nelson | 692,147 | 77.48% | |
| Democratic | Newall Jerome Daughtrey | 105,650 | 11.83% | |
| Democratic | David B. Higginbottom | 95,492 | 10.69% | |
| Total votes | 893,289 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Major
- Bill McCollum (R), U.S. Representative
- Bill Nelson (D), State Treasurer and former U.S. Representative
Minor
- Joel Deckard (Re), former U.S. Representative from Indiana
- Willie Logan (I), State Representative
- Andy Martin (I), perennial candidate
- Darrell McCormick (I)
- Joe Simonetta (NL)
- Nikki Oldaker (WI)
Campaign
This election was in conjunction to the presidential election, where Bush narrowly defeated Gore after an intense recount. The Senate election was evenly matched, with two U.S. Congressmen named Bill in their mid-50s. Both parties heavily targeted this senate seat.[2] The election became very nasty as Nelson called his opponent "an extremist who would sacrifice the elderly, the poor, and the working class to coddle the rich." McCollum called the Democrat "a liberal who would tax everything that moves, and some things that don't." The election advertisements were very negative, as both candidates talked more about each other than themselves.[3]
Nelson raised only soft money,[4] but had help from Gore and President Bill Clinton. Two days before the election, McCollum predicted he would win by a 6-point margin.[5] On election day, he lost by a five-point margin.
Debates
- Complete video of debate, October 12, 2000
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Bill Nelson | 2,989,487 | 51.04% | ||
| Republican | Bill McCollum | 2,705,348 | 46.19% | ||
| Independent | Willie Logan | 80,830 | 1.38% | ||
| Natural Law | Joe Simonetta | 26,087 | 0.45% | ||
| Independent | Darrell L. McCormick | 21,664 | 0.37% | ||
| Reform | Joel Deckard | 17,338 | 0.30% | ||
| Independent | Andy Martin | 15,889 | 0.27% | ||
| Write-in | Nikki Oldaker | 88 | 0.00% | ||
| Total votes | 5,856,731 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | |||||
See also
References
- "September 5, 2000 Primary Election". Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
- Dunkelburger, Lloyd (1 August 2000). "Rep. McCollum raises stakes at Nelson fights". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. p. 3A. Archived from the original on 2016-04-28. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
- Bragg, Rick (18 October 2000). "The 2000 Campaign: A Florida Race; 2 Senate Candidates Eagerly Woo Moderates". New York Times. Archived from the original on 2012-07-14. Retrieved 2017-02-20.
- "Nelson Raises Million - and Heat". Miami Herald. 31 July 2000. p. 1B. Archived from the original on 2012-10-24.
- Zuckerman, Laura (2 November 2000). "Rep. Mccollum Predicting 6-Point Victory Over Nelson". Nl.newsbank.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-24. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
- Trandahl, Jeff (21 June 2001). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 2000". clerk.house.gov. Archived from the original on 2007-01-05. Retrieved 7 May 2021.