Electoral history of Al Gore

After four terms in the House of Representatives, Gore ran to replace retiring incumbent Republican Senate leader Howard Baker. He won the Democratic primary unopposed.^[23][24] Gore faced the Republican nominee, former State Senator Victor Ashe, in the general election. During the election, former President Gerald Ford campaigned for Ashe and stated that if elected Gore, would be a major problem for the Reagan administration.^[25] A debate between Ashe and Gore was held on October 8, 1984.^[26] Gore out-fundraised Ashe and on Election Day, he received almost twice as many votes in the general election.^[24][25] Gore became the first Senate candidate in Tennessee to receive over one million votes.^[27]

After winning his first term in a landslide victory, Gore decided to run for a second. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Writing for The Commercial Appeal, Terry Keeter credited the lack of competition to the margin of Gore's victory in the 1984 senate election.^[1] Gore received almost 480 thousand votes with 54 votes cast for write-in candidates.^[29]

The election was held on November 6, 1990.^[31][32] The staff of The Jackson Sun characterized Tennessee's election cycle as boring, noting the likelihood of Gore being reelected, writing that "the gubernatorial and senatorial races are a yawn".^[33] Republican Representative Don Sundquist felt that Hawkins was a weak candidate and that Republicans would likely have better results in future cycles.^[34] Gore, like most incumbents in the 1990 United States Senate elections,^[35] was reelected to another term. He won in a landslide,^[31][36] receiving over 67 percent of the vote,^[30] an improvement on his previous margin of victory.^[37]

After being elected Vice President in the 1992 presidential election, Gore was required to resign from the Senate.^[38] On December 29, 1992, Governor Ned McWherter revealed he would appoint Harlan Mathews to replace him.^[39] Gore left the Senate on January 2, 1993.^[38] In the 1994 special election for the seat, the remainder of Gore's term was won by Republican Fred Thompson, who defeated the Democratic nominee, Representative Jim Cooper of Tennessee's 4th congressional district.^[40]

In April 1987, Gore, then in his first Senate term, declared his intentions to run for president.^[41] He told his father, Albert Gore Sr., that he decided to run as he felt the Democratic party needed new leadership and that they had become too liberal.^[42] He heavily criticized fellow Southerner Jesse Jackson and Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, leading to backlash from his fellow Democrats.^[43] Jackson defeated Gore in the South Carolina primary, receiving over twice as many votes.^[44] Gote hoped to make up for his loss on Super Tuesday.^[42] On Super Tuesday, he and Jackson split the Southern vote, with Jackson winning five states and Gore winning six.^[45][46]

Gore ended his campaign following his defeat in the New York primary. Dukakis won the contest with 51% of the vote, followed by Jackson and Gore at 37% and 10% respectively.^[47] The New York Times attributed his defeat to his attacks against Jackson and Dukakis,^[48] as well as for accepting an endorsement from New York City mayor Ed Koch, harmed his support with black voters.^[49][50] The nomination was won by Dukakis, who lost the general election to Republican George H. W. Bush.^[51][52] In 1989, Gore stated he would not seek the presidency in 1992.^[53]

Following his victory in the 1992 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton considered around forty different politicians to be his running mate.^[54] His shortlist consisted of Gore, Senators Bob Graham of Florida, Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, and Harris Wofford of Pennsylvania, as well as Representative Lee Hamilton of Indiana's 4th congressional district.^[55] The two finalists were Gore and Hamilton; however Gore became the favorite after Hamilton made an appearance on Meet the Press, where he stated his opposition to abortion and parental leave. According to Clinton's advisors, he chose Gore as he saw his 1988 bid as proof that he could run a national campaign.^[54] On July 8, 1992, Clinton offered him the Democratic nomination for the vice presidency.^[53] Clinton announced his running mate at the Arkansas Governor's Mansion; during his speech, he emphasized Gore's work in protecting the environment and foreign policy.^[55] He accepted the nomination, and on July 16, and was formerly nominated at the 1992 Democratic National Convention by a voice vote.^[53]

In the general election, Clinton and Gore faced incumbent Republicans George H. W. Bush and Dan Quayle. Additionally, independent businessman Ross Perot ran a third party campaign. On Election Day, Clinton and Gore defeated both the Bush-Quayle and Perot-Stockdale tickets.^[57][58] The Clinton-Gore ticket was the youngest presidential ticket ever elected to the presidency.^[55]

Clinton and Gore were renominated at the 1996 Democratic National Convention.^[59] During his acceptance speech, Gore spoke about his sister, Nancy Gore Hunger, and her death from smoking. He also criticized Republican efforts to restrict abortion and cut education funding.^[60]

In the general election, Clinton and Gore faced Republican challengers Republican Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas and Jack Kemp of New York, former United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under George H. W. Bush.^[62][63] On Election Day, the Clinton-Gore ticket defeated the Dole-Kemp ticket by around eight million votes.^[61]

Following the 1996 Democratic National Convention, many felt Gore was likely to run for president in 2000.^[65][66] Jef McAllister of Time described a hypothetical Gore campaign as "inevitable".^[67] He formally announced his bid for the presidency on June 16, 1999.^[68] Gore's only opposition came from Bill Bradley, a former Senator from New Jersey.^[69] On February 22, 2000, Bradley and Gore participated in a debate at the Apollo Theater.^[70] Gore began the Democratic primary with a strong victory in the Iowa Caucus.^[71] Following Super Tuesday, Bradley conceded the primary and congratulated Gore on his victory.^[72] Gore swept every single state and territory.^[64]

In August 2000, Gore selected Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut as his running mate.^[73] Reportedly, Gore's shortlist also included Senators Evan Bayh of Indiana, John Edwards of North Carolina, and John Kerry of Massachusetts, alongside New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen and House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt of Missouri's 3rd congressional district. Additionally, Bradley was also considered with Gore describing him as a "wild card that I haven't completely eliminated."^[74] The selection of Lieberman, a harsh critic of the Clinton Administration. was seen as an attempt by Gore to distance himself from Clinton.^[75] On August 17, the two received the Democratic Party's nomination at the 2000 Democratic National Convention.^[76] Gore received 4,328 delegate votes with 9 delegates abstaining.^[77]

In the general election, Gore and Lieberman faced Texas Governor George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, United States Secretary of Defense under George H. W. Bush.^[80] Despite winning the popular vote,^[81][82] Gore narrowly lost the state of Florida, putting Bush just over the 270 electoral votes required to win the presidency. Gore initially gave a concession speech; he retracted it after a recount was ordered.^[83] However, the Supreme Court's 5–4 decision in Bush v. Gore ruled the recount unconstitutional, saying it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution.^[84][85] On December 13, Gore conceded a second time.^[86] Some Democrats attributed Gore's loss to the presence of third party candidate Ralph Nader of the Green Party causing a "spoiler effect" which detracted from Gore's vote count in Florida and New Hampshire.^[87][88] His loss has also been attributed to the potentially misleading design of the butterfly ballots used in Palm Beach County, Florida, which heavily leans toward the Democrats, causing Gore voters to accidentally vote for Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan.^[89][90]

Note: A faithless elector from Washington, D.C. abstained from voting in protest.^[91]