In the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the 2000 Iowa Democratic caucuses (held January 24) were the first major test of the leading contenders for the Democratic Party's nomination as its candidate for the 2000 presidential election

United States presidential election, 2000

The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....

.

Candidates

• Bill Bradley
  Bill Bradley
  William Warren "Bill" Bradley is an American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, and former three-term Democratic U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in the 2000 election.Bradley was born and raised in a suburb of St....
  
  , former Senator from New Jersey
  New Jersey
  New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
  
  
• Al Gore
  Al Gore
  Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
  
  , incumbent Vice President of the United States
  Vice President of the United States
  The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
  
   from Tennessee
  Tennessee
  Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
  
  

Campaign

Vice President Al Gore was seen as the frontrunner for the nomination. Bill Bradley was seen as a non-threat. Al Gore campaigned in Des Moines, Iowa in May 1999. Bradley, knowing he was the outsider, campaigned tirelessly. Gore successfully painted Bradley as aloof and indifferent to the plight of farmers in rural America. The Vice President received the endorsement from the Governor of Iowa Tom Vilsack

Tom Vilsack

Thomas James "Tom" Vilsack is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and presently the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. He served as the 40th Governor of the state of Iowa. He was first elected in 1998 and re-elected to a second four-year term in 2002...

 and Senator Tom Harkin

Tom Harkin

Thomas Richard "Tom" Harkin is the junior United States Senator from Iowa and a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served in the United States House of Representatives ....

 and had a tremendous lead over Senator Bradley. But a devastating loss for the Gore camp was when Bradley got the endorsement of the Des Moines Register

Des Moines Register

The Des Moines Register is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa, in the United States. A separate edition of the Register is sold throughout much of Iowa.-History:...

. Bradley started to gain momentum and the race become closer. A week before the caucus polls had it 40% to 49% in Gore’s favor. On January 23, 2000, a day before the primary polls had Al Gore winning by 2 or 3 points.

2000 Results

Iowa Democratic caucuses, 2000
Candidate	State Delegates	Percentage	National Delegates
Al Gore Al Gore Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....	1,269	63.42%	29
Bill Bradley Bill Bradley William Warren "Bill" Bradley is an American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, and former three-term Democratic U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in the 2000 election.Bradley was born and raised in a suburb of St....	698	34.88%	18
Uncommitted	33	1.65%	0
Other	1	0.05%	0
Totals	2,001	—	47

Al Gore won 93 of Iowa's 99 counties he crushed Bradley in the Des Monies area and about everywhere else. This Caucus had low voter turnout. Bill Bradley lost the rest of the primaries by large margins and Al Gore would eventually lose the general election to Governor of Texas George W. Bush.

See also

• Iowa caucuses
• Iowa Republican caucuses, 2000
  Iowa Republican caucuses, 2000
  The 2000 Iowa Republican caucuses took place on January 24, 2000. The Iowa Republican caucuses are an unofficial primary, with the delegates to the state convention selected proportionally via a straw poll...
  
  
• Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2000
  Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2000
  The 2000 Democratic presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 2000 U.S. presidential election...