2000 United States presidential election in Ohio explained

The 2000 United States presidential election in Ohio took place on November 7, 2000, and was part of the 2000 United States presidential election. Voters chose 21 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Ohio was won by Governor George W. Bush by a 3.51% margin of victory. Prior to the election, most news organizations considered Ohio a swing state. Bush performed strongly in most parts of rural Ohio. Gore kept the race close by running up big margins in Cuyahoga County, home of Cleveland. Gore also won the traditional working-class counties of Mahoning, Portage, and Trumbull counties. Gore only narrowly took Franklin County, home of Columbus, which at the time was a swing county but is now seen as reliably Democratic, having given Democratic nominees a majority of the vote in every election since., this was the last presidential election in Ohio where the Democrat won Clark County, home of Springfield.^[1] Ohio kept its streak of voting for the winner in every election since 1964, but this was the first election since 1960 that Ohio did not back the winner of the overall popular vote.Ohio was one of 9 states that voted for Bill Clinton twice that George W. Bush managed to flip. Had Gore won the state's electoral votes instead of Bush, the election would have gone his way.

Bush became the first Republican to win the White House without carrying Erie County and Franklin County since Benjamin Harrison in 1888.

Results

Official state results from the Ohio Secretary of State are as follows:

2000 United States presidential election in Ohio
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	George W. Bush	2,351,209	49.97%	21
	Democratic	Al Gore	2,186,190	46.46%	0
	Not Designated	Ralph Nader	117,857	2.51%	0
	Not Designated	Pat Buchanan	26,724	0.57%	0
	Libertarian	Harry Browne	13,475	0.29%	0
	Natural Law	John Hagelin	6,169	0.13%	0
	Not Designated	Howard Phillips	3,823	0.08%	0
	Write-ins	Write-ins	10	<0.01%	0
Totals			4,705,457	100.00%	21

Results by county

County	George W. Bush Republican		Al Gore Democratic		Ralph Nader Not Designated		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total votes cast[2]
		%		%		%		%		%
	Adams		6,380		62.34%		3,581		34.99%		162		1.58%		112		1.09%		2,799		27.35%		10,235
	Allen		28,647		65.41%		13,996		31.96%		760		1.74%		392		0.90%		14,651		33.45%		43,795
	Ashland		13,533		63.66%		6,685		31.45%		563		2.65%		477		2.24%		6,848		32.21%		21,258
	Ashtabula		17,940		45.45%		19,831		50.24%		1,109		2.81%		592		1.50%		-1,891		-4.79%		39,472
	Athens		9,703		38.13%		13,158		51.71%		1,663		6.54%		923		3.63%		-3,455		-13.58%		25,447
	Auglaize		13,770		69.22%		5,564		27.97%		372		1.87%		186		0.94%		8,206		41.25%		19,892
	Belmont		12,625		41.89%		15,980		53.02%		723		2.40%		813		2.70%		-3,355		-11.13%		30,141
	Brown		10,027		61.03%		5,972		36.35%		269		1.64%		161		0.98%		4,055		24.68%		16,429
	Butler		86,587		63.32%		46,390		33.93%		2,708		1.98%		1,052		0.77%		40,197		29.39%		136,737
	Carroll		6,732		54.91%		4,960		40.45%		271		2.21%		298		2.43%		1,772		14.46%		12,261
	Champaign		9,220		58.80%		5,955		37.98%		346		2.21%		159		1.01%		3,265		20.82%		15,680
	Clark		27,660		48.06%		27,984		48.62%		1,347		2.34%		568		0.99%		-324		-0.56%		57,559
	Clermont		47,129		67.45%		20,927		29.95%		1,303		1.86%		518		0.74%		26,202		37.50%		69,877
	Clinton		9,824		65.19%		4,791		31.79%		325		2.16%		130		0.86%		5,033		33.40%		15,070
	Columbiana		21,804		49.08%		20,657		46.50%		1,217		2.74%		749		1.69%		1,147		2.58%		44,427
	Coshocton		8,243		57.77%		5,594		39.21%		295		2.07%		136		0.95%		2,649		18.56%		14,268
	Crawford		11,666		60.84%		6,721		35.05%		536		2.80%		253		1.32%		4,945		25.79%		19,176
	Cuyahoga		192,099		33.42%		359,913		62.62%		16,956		2.95%		5,814		1.01%		-167,814		-29.20%		574,782
	Darke		14,817		63.68%		7,741		33.27%		452		1.94%		257		1.10%		7,076		30.41%		23,267
	Defiance		9,540		58.74%		6,175		38.02%		365		2.25%		162		1.00%		3,365		20.72%		16,242
	Delaware		36,639		66.13%		17,134		30.93%		1,212		2.19%		418		0.75%		19,505		35.20%		55,403
	Erie		16,105		45.99%		17,732		50.64%		872		2.49%		306		0.87%		-1,627		-4.65%		35,015
	Fairfield		33,523		61.97%		19,065		35.24%		1,115		2.06%		391		0.72%		14,458		26.73%		54,094
	Fayette		5,685		61.27%		3,363		36.25%		165		1.78%		65		0.70%		2,322		25.02%		9,278
	Franklin		197,862		47.78%		202,018		48.79%		10,702		2.58%		3,492		0.84%		-4,156		-1.01%		414,074
	Fulton		11,546		61.10%		6,805		36.01%		376		1.99%		169		0.89%		4,741		25.09%		18,896
	Gallia		7,511		58.79%		4,872		38.13%		215		1.68%		178		1.39%		2,639		20.66%		12,776
	Geauga		25,417		59.66%		15,327		35.98%		1,405		3.30%		451		1.06%		10,090		23.68%		42,600
	Greene		37,946		58.20%		25,059		38.43%		1,592		2.44%		607		0.93%		12,887		19.77%		65,204
	Guernsey		8,181		53.02%		6,643		43.05%		405		2.62%		201		1.30%		1,538		9.97%		15,430
	Hamilton		204,175		54.03%		161,578		42.76%		9,222		2.44%		2,924		0.77%		42,597		11.27%		377,899
	Hancock		20,985		68.54%		8,798		28.74%		592		1.93%		242		0.79%		12,187		39.80%		30,617
	Hardin		7,124		59.03%		4,557		37.76%		243		2.01%		144		1.19%		2,567		21.27%		12,068
	Harrison		3,417		47.72%		3,351		46.80%		192		2.68%		201		2.81%		66		0.92%		7,161
	Henry		8,530		64.37%		4,367		32.95%		258		1.95%		97		0.73%		4,163		31.42%		13,252
	Highland		9,728		62.98%		5,328		34.49%		245		1.59%		146		0.95%		4,400		28.49%		15,447
	Hocking		5,702		53.01%		4,474		41.60%		291		2.71%		289		2.69%		1,228		11.41%		10,756
	Holmes		6,754		73.85%		2,066		22.59%		172		1.88%		153		1.67%		4,688		51.26%		9,145
	Huron		12,286		57.52%		8,183		38.31%		560		2.62%		331		1.55%		4,103		19.21%		21,360
	Jackson		6,958		55.71%		5,131		41.08%		222		1.78%		179		1.43%		1,827		14.63%		12,490
	Jefferson		15,038		43.42%		17,488		50.49%		897		2.59%		1,213		3.50%		-2,450		-7.07%		34,636
	Knox		13,393		63.00%		7,133		33.55%		452		2.13%		282		1.33%		6,260		29.45%		21,260
	Lake		51,747		50.45%		46,497		45.33%		3,166		3.09%		1,154		1.13%		5,250		5.12%		102,564
	Lawrence		12,531		51.25%		11,307		46.24%		402		1.64%		212		0.87%		1,224		5.01%		24,452
	Licking		37,180		59.52%		23,196		37.13%		1,498		2.40%		592		0.95%		13,984		22.39%		62,466
	Logan		11,849		64.20%		5,945		32.21%		449		2.43%		212		1.15%		5,904		31.99%		18,455
	Lorain		47,957		42.75%		59,809		53.32%		3,183		2.84%		1,231		1.10%		-11,852		-10.57%		112,180
	Lucas		73,342		39.15%		108,344		57.83%		4,227		2.26%		1,437		0.77%		-35,002		-18.68%		187,350
	Madison		8,892		60.63%		5,287		36.05%		299		2.04%		189		1.29%		3,605		24.58%		14,667
	Mahoning		40,460		35.45%		69,212		60.65%		3,322		2.91%		1,125		0.99%		-28,752		-25.20%		114,119
	Marion		13,617		54.87%		10,370		41.79%		588		2.37%		240		0.97%		3,247		13.08%		24,815
	Medina		37,349		55.84%		26,635		39.82%		1,960		2.93%		939		1.40%		10,714		16.02%		66,883
	Meigs		5,750		58.70%		3,674		37.51%		226		2.31%		145		1.48%		2,076		21.19%		9,795
	Mercer		12,485		68.25%		5,212		28.49%		392		2.14%		205		1.12%		7,273		39.76%		18,294
	Miami		26,037		60.78%		15,584		36.38%		879		2.05%		341		0.80%		10,453		24.40%		42,841
	Monroe		3,145		44.20%		3,605		50.67%		149		2.09%		216		3.04%		-460		-6.47%		7,115
	Montgomery		109,792		47.53%		114,597		49.61%		4,690		2.03%		1,908		0.83%		-4,805		-2.08%		230,987
	Morgan		3,451		57.58%		2,261		37.73%		177		2.95%		104		1.74%		1,190		19.85%		5,993
	Morrow		7,842		61.08%		4,529		35.28%		305		2.38%		163		1.27%		3,313		25.80%		12,839
	Muskingum		17,995		55.16%		13,415		41.12%		882		2.70%		332		1.02%		4,580		14.04%		32,624
	Noble		3,435		57.36%		2,296		38.34%		154		2.57%		103		1.72%		1,139		19.02%		5,988
	Ottawa		9,917		49.66%		9,485		47.50%		432		2.16%		134		0.67%		432		2.16%		19,968
	Paulding		5,210		58.24%		3,384		37.83%		242		2.71%		110		1.23%		1,826		20.41%		8,946
	Perry		6,440		50.20%		5,895		45.95%		334		2.60%		159		1.24%		545		4.25%		12,828
	Pickaway		10,717		60.41%		6,598		37.19%		276		1.56%		149		0.83%		4,119		23.22%		17,740
	Pike		5,333		50.50%		4,923		46.62%		176		1.67%		128		1.21%		410		3.88%		10,560
	Portage		28,271		44.95%		31,446		49.99%		2,340		3.72%		842		1.34%		-3,175		-5.04%		62,899
	Preble		11,176		61.52%		6,375		35.09%		404		2.22%		211		1.16%		4,801		26.43%		18,166
	Putnam		12,837		74.01%		4,063		23.43%		254		1.46%		190		1.10%		8,774		50.58%		17,344
	Richland		30,138		57.10%		20,572		38.98%		1,306		2.47%		763		1.45%		9,566		18.12%		52,779
	Ross		13,706		52.68%		11,662		44.83%		421		1.62%		227		0.87%		2,044		7.85%		26,016
	Sandusky		13,699		53.21%		11,146		43.30%		587		2.28%		312		1.21%		2,553		9.91%		25,744
	Scioto		15,022		50.17%		13,997		46.74%		590		1.97%		336		1.12%		1,025		3.43%		29,945
	Seneca		13,863		56.93%		9,512		39.06%		666		2.74%		310		1.27%		4,351		17.87%		24,351
	Shelby		12,476		63.43%		6,593		33.52%		392		1.99%		209		1.06%		5,883		29.91%		19,670
	Stark		78,153		48.89%		75,308		47.11%		4,032		2.52%		2,351		1.47%		2,845		1.78%		159,844
	Summit		96,721		43.02%		119,759		53.26%		5,955		2.65%		2,404		1.07%		-23,038		-10.24%		224,839
	Trumbull		34,654		36.01%		57,643		59.90%		2,749		2.86%		1,193		1.24%		-22,989		-23.89%		96,239
	Tuscarawas		19,549		52.67%		15,879		42.78%		1,061		2.86%		629		1.69%		3,670		9.89%		37,118
	Union		11,502		67.56%		5,040		29.61%		336		1.97%		146		0.86%		6,462		37.95%		17,024
	Van Wert		8,679		65.66%		4,209		31.84%		216		1.63%		115		0.87%		4,470		33.82%		13,219
	Vinton		2,720		54.99%		2,037		41.18%		110		2.22%		79		1.60%		683		13.81%		4,946
	Warren		48,318		69.95%		19,142		27.71%		1,067		1.54%		551		0.80%		29,176		42.24%		69,078
	Washington		15,342		57.86%		10,383		39.16%		571		2.15%		219		0.83%		4,959		18.70%		26,515
	Wayne		25,901		61.04%		14,779		34.83%		1,171		2.76%		585		1.38%		11,122		26.21%		42,436
	Williams		9,941		62.45%		5,454		34.26%		347		2.18%		177		1.11%		4,487		28.19%		15,919
	Wood		27,504		52.70%		22,687		43.47%		1,536		2.94%		467		0.89%		4,817		9.23%		52,194
	Wyandot		6,113		62.21%		3,397		34.57%		191		1.94%		126		1.28%		2,716		27.64%		9,827
Totals	2,351,209	49.97%	2,186,190	46.46%	117,857	2.50%	50,201	1.07%	165,019	3.51%	4,705,457

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Carroll (Largest city: Carrollton)
• Columbiana (Largest city: Salem)
• Gallia (Largest city: Gallipolis)
• Guernsey (Largest city: Cambridge)
• Harrison (Largest city: Cadiz)
• Hocking (Largest city: Logan)
• Huron (Largest city: Norwalk)
• Jackson (Largest city: Jackson)
• Lake (Largest city: Mentor)
• Lawrence (Largest city: Ironton)
• Meigs (Largest city: Middleport)
• Noble (Largest city: Caldwell)
• Ottawa (Largest city: Port Clinton)
• Perry (Largest city: New Lexington)
• Pike (Largest city: Waverly)
• Ross (Largest city: Chillicothe)
• Sandusky (Largest city: Fremont)
• Scioto (Largest city: Portsmouth)
• Seneca (Largest city: Tiffin)
• Stark (Largest city: Canton)
• Tuscarawas (Largest city: New Philadelphia)
• Vinton (Largest city: McArthur)
• Wood (Largest city: Bowling Green)

By congressional district

Bush won 11 of 19 congressional districts. Both candidates won two districts held by the other party.^[3]

District	Bush	Gore	Representative
		47%	50%
		66%	32%		Rob Portman
		48%	50%		Tony P. Hall
		62%	35%		Mike Oxley
		57%	40%		Paul Gillmor
		56%	41%		Ted Strickland
		58%	39%
		63%	34%
		42%	55%		Marcy Kaptur
		43%	52%		Dennis Kucinich
		15%	82%
	52%	46%		John Kasich
			Pat Tiberi
		50%	46%		Sherrod Brown
		42%	54%		Thomas C. Sawyer
		52%	44%
		54%	42%		Ralph Regula
		38%	58%		James Traficant
		51%	45%		Bob Ney
		47%	50%		Steve LaTourette

See also

• United States presidential elections in Ohio
• Presidency of George W. Bush

Notes and References

1. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
2. Our Campaigns; OH US President 2000
3. Web site: 2000 Presidential General Election Data – Ohio by Congressional District. Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.