2000 United States Senate election in Virginia
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The 2000 United States Senate election in Virginia was held on November 7, 2000. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Chuck Robb sought re-election to a third term, but was defeated by the Republican nominee, former governor George Allen.[2][3] With Allen's victory, this marked the first time since 1989 that Republicans held both of Virginia's Senate seats. Allen is one of the two freshmen Republican senators alongside John Ensign in the 107th Congress, and the only first-time Republican senator to defeat an incumbent. As of 2026[update], this is the last time that Republicans won the Class 1 Senate seat in Virginia.
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November 7, 2000
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| Turnout | 54.0% (voting eligible)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
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Allen: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Robb: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 50% | |||||||||||||||||
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General election
Candidates
- George Allen, former governor of Virginia and former U.S. representative from Chesterfield County (Republican)
- Chuck Robb, incumbent U.S. senator and former governor of Virginia (Democratic)
Debates
- Complete video of debate, September 24, 2000
- Complete video of debate, September 25, 2000
- Complete video of debate, October 22, 2000
Polling
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | George Allen | 1,420,460 | 52.26% | +9.38% | ||
| Democratic | Chuck Robb (incumbent) | 1,296,093 | 47.68% | +2.07% | ||
| Write-in | 1,748 | 0.06% | -0.01% | |||
| Majority | 124,367 | 4.58% | +1.85% | |||
| Turnout | 2,718,301 | |||||
| Republican gain from Democratic | ||||||
Counties and independent cities that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Amelia (no municipalities)
- Amherst (largest city: Amherst)
- Chesapeake (independent city)
- Bedford (independent city)
- Buckingham (largest city: Dillwyn)
- Buena Vista (independent city)
- James City (no municipalities)
- King and Queen (largest CDP: King and Queen Courthouse)
- Lynchburg (independent city)
- Montgomery (largest city: Blacksburg)
- Russell (largest city: Lebanon)
- Nelson (largest city: Nellysford)
- Wise (largest city: Big Stone Gap)
Counties and independent cities that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Prince Edward (largest city: Farmville)