The war for the White House went down to the wire last night after TV networks called Florida, Michigan and Pennsylvania for Democrat Al Gore – marking big early setbacks for George W. Bush.
That left Bush and Gore running neck-and-neck in a race with surging turnout, especially among blacks and union members.
Bush had counted on his brother Jeb, the Sunshine State’s governor, to deliver Florida.
In the swing state of Missouri, Democrats won a court order to keep polls open three hours late in Democratic St. Louis, claiming irregularities in a state that could decide the winner because the overall contest looked so close.
Gore scored from a late break – exit polls suggested undecided voters who made up their minds at the last minute went 3-1 for him.
It seemed that Bush was hurt by the 11th-hour revelation of his 1976 driving-while-intoxicated arrest, leaked by a Democrat who was a Gore convention delegate – one-quarter of all voters said it was a key factor in their decision.
The tension showed as Bush, who watched the early returns with the Bush clan and friends at a hotel, suddenly went back to the governor’s mansion to watch with his immediate family.
The Texas governor’s losses in Michigan and Florida also begged the question of whether his strategists over-reached by battling Gore in states like California – instead of concentrating on his own must-wins states.
The 2000 race ended, as it began, in a battle of the sexes, as women went for Gore and men backed Bush in a photo finish.
The Democratic base turned out in force as labor unions and blacks leaders pushed hard – Jesse Jackson headed into Philadelphia at the last minute to try to tilt Pennsylvania for Gore.
Overwhelming black support also appeared to be Gore’s margin of victory in both Michigan and Florida.
Black voters – men and women – went for Gore by even bigger margins than they did for Bill Clinton in 1996.
Analysts said Gore got a big boost from black voters in part because of a controversial NAACP TV ad that linked Bush to the lynching of black Texan James Byrd by three white racists by claiming the Texas governor was soft on hate crimes.
Gore, who carefully kept the scandal-haunted Clinton under wraps, did trot him out publicly to woo blacks in the final days.
Gore led among Hispanics while Bush led by a smaller margin among whites.
In many ways the race was a battle over whether it was about character or the economy.
Gore insisted only he could keep the good times coming while Bush promised “a fresh start after a season of cynicism” and vowed to restore “honor and integrity.”
Clinton proved a mixed blessing for Gore – he seemed to help with blacks, but overall 19 percent said they cast a ballot against Clinton while only 9 percent said their support for Clinton influenced their vote, exit polls found.
And a majority said the last president of the 20th century will be remembered more for his scandals than his leadership.
It was a roller-coaster race of surprises that seemed to swing wildly back and forth between the two candidates.
The three debates, once seen as Gore’s best hope for vanquishing Bush, instead boomeranged against him, who was seen as a condescending fibber while Bush came off as more likeable.
In one surprise, Bush’s push for revamping Social Security to allow some private investment got a split verdict rather than a thumbs-down from seniors, suggesting reform was a foregone conclusion.