2000 Tennessee Democratic presidential primary
The 2000 Tennessee Democratic presidential primary took place on March 14, 2000, as one of 6 contests scheduled the following week after Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2000 presidential election, following the Nevada caucuses the weekend before. The Tennessee primary was an open primary, with the state awarding 81 delegates towards the 2000 Democratic National Convention, of which 68 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary.
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81 delegates to the Democratic National Convention (68 pledged, 13 unpledged) The number of pledged delegates received is determined by the popular vote | |||||||||||||||||||
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.svg.png.webp) Primary results by county Gore: 75–80% 80–85% 85–90% 90–95% 95–100% | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Tennessee |
|---|
 |
 Government |
| Pledged national convention delegates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Del. | Type | Del. |
| CD1 | 3 | CD6 | 5 |
| CD2 | 5 | CD7 | 4 |
| CD3 | 5 | CD8 | 5 |
| CD4 | 4 | CD9 | 7 |
| CD5 | 6 | ||
| PLEO | 9 | At-large | 15 |
| Total pledged delegates | 68 | ||
Vice president Al Gore easily decided the primary in his home state, winning almost 92% of the vote and all 68 delegates. Senator Bill Bradley took only 5% of the vote and earned 0 delegates, while Lyndon LaRouche Jr. only got 0.50% of the vote.
Procedure
Tennessee was one of six states which held primaries on March 14, 2000, alongside Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas after Super Tuesday the week before.[1]
Voting was expected to take place throughout the state from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. in the parts of the state in the Eastern Time Zone, and from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. in parts of the state in the Central Time Zone.
In the open primary, candidates had to meet a threshold of 15 percent at the congressional district or statewide level in order to be considered viable. The 68 pledged delegates to the 2000 Democratic National Convention were allocated proportionally on the basis of the results of the primary. Of these, between 3 and 7 were allocated to each of the state's 9 congressional districts and another 9 were allocated to party leaders and elected officials (PLEO delegates), in addition to 15 at-large delegates.[2]
Afterwards, the state executive committee convened to vote on the 15 at-large and 9 pledged PLEO delegates for the Democratic National Convention. The delegation also included 12 unpledged PLEO delegates: 7 members of the Democratic National Committee, 4 representatives from Congress (Bob Clement, Bart Gordon, John Tanner, and Harold Ford Jr.), 1 distinguished party leader, that being Vice president Al Gore himself, and 1 add-on.[2]
Candidates
The following candidates appeared on the ballot:
Withdrawn
There was also an Uncommitted option.
Results
| Candidate | Votes | % | Delegates[4] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Al Gore | 198,264 | 92.13 | 68 |
| Bill Bradley (withdrawn) | 11,323 | 5.26 | |
| Uncommitted | 4,407 | 2.05 | 13 |
| Lyndon LaRouche Jr. | 1,031 | 0.48 | |
| Write-in votes | 178 | 0.08 | |
| Total | 215,203 | 100% | 81 |
References
- "Presidential Primaries, Caucuses, and Conventions Chronologically - Key and Minor Dates". The Green Papers. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
- "Tennessee Democratic Delegation 2000". The Green Papers. December 23, 2000. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
- "March 14, 2000 Presidential Preference Primary" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
- "Election 2000: Tennessee Democrat". The Green Papers. Retrieved September 15, 2023.