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2000 United States Senate election in Florida

For related races, see 2000 United States Senate elections.

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 Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush narrowly triumphed over Al Gore in the state by a mere 537 votes.

2000 United States Senate election in Florida
← 1994 November 7, 2000 2006 →
 
Nominee Bill Nelson Bill McCollum
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 2,989,487 2,705,348
Percentage 51.04% 46.19%
Nelson:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
McCollum:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tie:      40–50%      50%
     No votes
U.S. senator before election

Connie Mack III
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Bill Nelson
Democratic

Bill McCollum's 46.19% popular vote percentage is the highest for a losing Republican United States Senate candidate in Florida.

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Republican primary results[1]
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

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Candidates

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  • 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, former U.S. Representative and candidate for governor in 1990.

Results

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Democratic primary results[1]
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

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Candidates

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Campaign

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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

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Results

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Bill Nelson with a "thank you" sign after his victory.
General election results[6]
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

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Two-party results

References

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  1. ^ a b "September 5, 2000 Primary Election". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  2. ^ Dunkelburger, Lloyd (August 1, 2000). "Rep. McCollum raises stakes at Nelson fights". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. p. 3A. Archived from the original on April 28, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  3. ^ Bragg, Rick (October 18, 2000). "The 2000 Campaign: A Florida Race; 2 Senate Candidates Eagerly Woo Moderates". New York Times. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  4. ^ "Nelson Raises Million - and Heat". Miami Herald. July 31, 2000. p. 1B. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012.
  5. ^ Zuckerman, Laura (November 2, 2000). "Rep. Mccollum Predicting 6-Point Victory Over Nelson". Nl.newsbank.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  6. ^ Trandahl, Jeff (June 21, 2001). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 2000". clerk.house.gov. Archived from the original on January 5, 2007. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
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