2000 United States Senate election in Tennessee
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November 7, 2000
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| Turnout | 63.03%  [1] 6.41 pp | ||||||||||||||||
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   Frist: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Clark: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Tie: 50% No data | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Tennessee |
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 Government |
The 2000 United States Senate election in Tennessee took place on November 7, 2000. Republican incumbent Bill Frist was re-elected to a second term in office by a landslide over Jeff Clark, despite Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush carrying the state by a much closer margin against Tennessee native Al Gore in the concurrent presidential election.
As of 2026[update], this was the last time a Republican won 60 percent of the vote in Davidson County in a statewide election.
Republican primary
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- Bill Frist, incumbent U.S. senator since 1995
Results
[edit]Bill Frist, incumbent U.S. Senator was unopposed in the Republican primary. He received 186,882 votes.[2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bill Frist (Incumbent) | 186,882 | 100.00% | |
| Total votes | 186,882 | 100.00% | ||
Democratic primary
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- Jeff Clark, Middle Tennessee State University professor
- John Jay Hooker, attorney and perennial candidate
- James Looney
- Mary Taylor-Shelby
- Shannon Wood
Results
[edit]The Democratic primary was held on August 3, 2000. In a field of five candidates, Jeff Clark, a professor at Middle Tennessee State University, edged out John Jay Hooker to win the nomination.[2][3]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jeff Clark | 64,851 | 34.23% | |
| Democratic | John Jay Hooker | 64,041 | 33.81% | |
| Democratic | Mary Taylor-Shelby | 28,604 | 15.10% | |
| Democratic | Shannon Wood | 25,372 | 13.39% | |
| Democratic | James Looney | 6,354 | 3.35% | |
| Democratic | Write-ins | 218 | 0.12% | |
| Total votes | 189,440 | 100.00% | ||
General election
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- Tom Burrell (Green)
- Jeff Clark, Middle Tennessee State University professor (Democratic)
- Bill Frist, incumbent U.S. senator since 1995 (Republican)
- Charles F. Johnson (Independent)
- Joel Kinstle (Independent)
- David Jarrod Ownby (Independent)
- Robert Watson (Independent)
Polling
[edit]| Poll source | Date(s) | Sample
size |
Margin
of error |
Bill Frist
(R) |
Jeff Clark
(D) |
Other / undecided[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zogby Analytics[4] | November 5, 2000 | 490 | — | 62% | 28% | 10% |
| Harris Insights & Analytics[4] | November 3, 2000 | 5,165 | — | 62% | 35% | 3% |
| Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy[4] | November 3, 2000 | 625 | — | 62% | 30% | 8% |
| Zogby Analytics[4] | November 2, 2000 | 500 | — | 53% | 34% | 13% |
| Zogby Analytics[4] | October 30, 2000 | 500 | — | 58% | 29% | 13% |
| Rasmussen Reports[4] | October 28, 2000 | 722 | — | 57% | 31% | 12% |
| Zogby Analytics[4] | October 27, 2000 | 500 | — | 61% | 27% | 12% |
| Rasmussen Reports[4] | October 21, 2000 | 839 | — | 59% | 30% | 11% |
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bill Frist (Incumbent) | 1,255,444 | 65.10% | +8.75% | |
| Democratic | Jeff Clark | 621,152 | 32.21% | −9.89% | |
| Green | Tom Burrell | 25,815 | 1.34% | N/A | |
| Independent | Charles F. Johnson | 10,004 | 0.52% | +0.07 | |
| Independent | Robert Watson | 8,416 | 0.44% | N/A | |
| Independent | David Jarrod Ownby | 4,388 | 0.23% | N/A | |
| Independent | Joel Kinstle | 3,135 | 0.16% | N/A | |
| Write-in | 259 | 0.00% | N/A | ||
| Majority | 634,292 | 32.89% | N/A | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
By county
[edit]| County[6] | Bill Frist Republican |
Jeff Clark Democratic |
Others
Independent/Green |
Margin | Total
votes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | # | % | # | % | # | |||
| Anderson | 68.24% | 18,188 | 28.86% | 7,692 | 2.90% | 773 | 10,496 | 26,653 |
| Bedford | 62.33% | 6,683 | 36.69% | 3,934 | 0.98% | 105 | 2,749 | 10,722 |
| Benton | 51.02% | 3,071 | 47.55% | 2,862 | 1.43% | 146 | 209 | 6,079 |
| Bledsoe | 65.33% | 2,636 | 32.52% | 1,312 | 2.16% | 87 | 1,324 | 4,035 |
| Blount | 75.16% | 28,536 | 20.74% | 7,876 | 4.10% | 1,557 | 20,660 | 37,969 |
| Bradley | 77.44% | 22,264 | 20.68% | 5,945 | 1.88% | 542 | 16,319 | 28,751 |
| Campbell | 61.49% | 6,480 | 36.67% | 3,864 | 1.84% | 194 | 2,616 | 10,538 |
| Cannon | 56.69% | 2,393 | 40.39% | 1,705 | 2.91% | 123 | 688 | 4,221 |
| Carroll | 64.68% | 6,513 | 33.67% | 3,391 | 1.65% | 166 | 3,122 | 10,070 |
| Carter | 75.00% | 13,497 | 22.86% | 4,115 | 2.14% | 385 | 9,382 | 17,997 |
| Cheatham | 67.59% | 7,967 | 28.50% | 3,359 | 3.92% | 462 | 4,608 | 11,788 |
| Chester | 71.08% | 3,702 | 26.56% | 1,383 | 2.36% | 123 | 2,319 | 5,208 |
| Claiborne | 68.51% | 5,530 | 29.04% | 2,344 | 2.45% | 198 | 3,186 | 8,072 |
| Clay | 57.44% | 1,514 | 41.27% | 1,088 | 1.29% | 34 | 426 | 2,636 |
| Cocke | 76.21% | 6,557 | 20.86% | 1,795 | 2.93% | 252 | 4,762 | 8,604 |
| Coffee | 62.56% | 10,188 | 36.35% | 5,920 | 1.08% | 176 | 4,268 | 16,284 |
| Crockett | 65.50% | 3,282 | 33.15% | 1,661 | 1.36% | 68 | 1,621 | 5,011 |
| Cumberland | 70.15% | 12,322 | 26.72% | 4,693 | 3.14% | 551 | 7,629 | 17,566 |
| Davidson | 60.44% | 117,611 | 35.16% | 68,424 | 4.40% | 8,563 | 49,187 | 194,598 |
| Decatur | 59.92% | 2,423 | 38.92% | 1,574 | 1.16% | 47 | 849 | 4,044 |
| DeKalb | 54.99% | 2,948 | 42.01% | 2,252 | 3.00% | 161 | 696 | 5,361 |
| Dickson | 60.95% | 8,463 | 38.22% | 5,307 | 0.84% | 116 | 3,156 | 13,886 |
| Dyer | 65.87% | 7,449 | 32.64% | 3,691 | 1.49% | 168 | 3,758 | 11,308 |
| Fayette | 64.86% | 6,959 | 33.32% | 3,575 | 1.82% | 195 | 3,384 | 10,729 |
| Fentress | 69.84% | 3,684 | 27.58% | 1,455 | 2.58% | 136 | 2,229 | 5,275 |
| Franklin | 56.15% | 7,670 | 41.40% | 5,655 | 2.46% | 336 | 2,015 | 13,661 |
| Gibson | 62.05% | 10,021 | 36.18% | 5,843 | 1.77% | 285 | 4,178 | 16,149 |
| Giles | 56.12% | 5,059 | 40.63% | 3,663 | 3.25% | 293 | 1,396 | 9,015 |
| Grainger | 70.21% | 4,019 | 27.06% | 1,549 | 2.72% | 156 | 2,470 | 5,724 |
| Greene | 75.10% | 13,867 | 22.91% | 4,230 | 1.99% | 367 | 9,637 | 18,464 |
| Grundy | 46.18% | 2,008 | 52.32% | 2,275 | 1.49% | 65 | -267 | 4,348 |
| Hamblen | 72.53% | 13,727 | 25.10% | 4,750 | 2.38% | 450 | 8,977 | 18,927 |
| Hamilton | 66.82% | 78,652 | 31.21% | 36,733 | 1.97% | 2,325 | 41,919 | 117,710 |
| Hancock | 76.52% | 1,320 | 20.41% | 352 | 3.07% | 53 | 968 | 1,725 |
| Hardeman | 57.34% | 4,076 | 38.83% | 2,760 | 3.83% | 272 | 1,316 | 7,108 |
| Hardin | 69.19% | 5,561 | 29.54% | 2,374 | 1.27% | 102 | 3,187 | 8,037 |
| Hawkins | 70.84% | 11,203 | 26.72% | 4,226 | 2.44% | 386 | 6,977 | 15,815 |
| Haywood | 51.65% | 3,063 | 47.08% | 2,792 | 1.27% | 75 | 271 | 5,930 |
| Henderson | 74.87% | 5,757 | 23.03% | 1,771 | 2.09% | 161 | 3,986 | 7,689 |
| Henry | 59.20% | 6,669 | 38.93% | 4,386 | 1.87% | 211 | 2,283 | 11,266 |
| Hickman | 55.39% | 3,772 | 42.88% | 2,920 | 1.73% | 118 | 852 | 6,810 |
| Houston | 43.40% | 1,168 | 56.19% | 1,512 | 0.41% | 11 | -344 | 2,691 |
| Humphreys | 47.24% | 2,997 | 50.84% | 3,225 | 1.92% | 122 | -228 | 6,344 |
| Jackson | 42.86% | 1,585 | 55.11% | 2,038 | 2.03% | 75 | -453 | 3,698 |
| Jefferson | 74.16% | 9,788 | 23.24% | 3,068 | 2.60% | 343 | 6,720 | 13,199 |
| Johnson | 76.60% | 4,014 | 20.21% | 1,059 | 3.19% | 167 | 2,955 | 5,240 |
| Knox | 72.11% | 101,551 | 24.98% | 35,185 | 2.91% | 4,099 | 66,366 | 140,835 |
| Lake | 51.21% | 738 | 47.33% | 682 | 1.46% | 21 | 56 | 1,441 |
| Lauderdale | 56.58% | 4,031 | 42.20% | 3,006 | 1.22% | 87 | 1,025 | 7,124 |
| Lawrence | 63.29% | 8,197 | 35.66% | 4,618 | 1.05% | 136 | 3,579 | 12,951 |
| Lewis | 54.89% | 2,334 | 41.42% | 1,761 | 3.69% | 157 | 573 | 4,252 |
| Lincoln | 59.70% | 5,756 | 38.07% | 3,670 | 2.23% | 215 | 2,086 | 9,641 |
| Loudon | 72.35% | 10,694 | 24.84% | 3,672 | 2.80% | 414 | 7,022 | 14,780 |
| Macon | 65.58% | 3,601 | 33.05% | 1,815 | 1.37% | 75 | 1,786 | 5,491 |
| Madison | 67.32% | 22,254 | 31.08% | 10,273 | 1.60% | 530 | 11,981 | 33,057 |
| Marion | 56.58% | 5,592 | 41.74% | 4,126 | 1.68% | 166 | 1,466 | 9,884 |
| Marshall | 59.88% | 5,246 | 37.69% | 3,302 | 2.43% | 213 | 1,944 | 8,761 |
| Maury | 61.99% | 13,997 | 36.55% | 8,252 | 1.46% | 329 | 5,745 | 22,578 |
| McMinn | 71.29% | 11,521 | 26.49% | 4,281 | 2.22% | 359 | 7,240 | 16,161 |
| McNairy | 67.79% | 5,764 | 31.35% | 2,666 | 0.86% | 73 | 3,098 | 8,503 |
| Meigs | 65.19% | 2,088 | 32.56% | 1,043 | 2.25% | 72 | 1,045 | 3,203 |
| Monroe | 67.33% | 8,520 | 30.27% | 3,831 | 2.40% | 304 | 4,689 | 12,655 |
| Montgomery | 66.36% | 24,382 | 31.46% | 11,560 | 2.17% | 798 | 12,822 | 36,740 |
| Moore | 63.03% | 1,267 | 33.98% | 683 | 2.99% | 60 | 584 | 2,010 |
| Morgan | 62.69% | 3,615 | 35.88% | 2,069 | 1.42% | 82 | 1,546 | 5,766 |
| Obion | 63.99% | 6,002 | 34.14% | 3,202 | 1.88% | 176 | 2,800 | 9,380 |
| Overton | 49.83% | 3,001 | 48.79% | 2,938 | 1.38% | 83 | 63 | 6,022 |
| Perry | 53.33% | 1,294 | 44.71% | 1,085 | 1.98% | 48 | 209 | 2,427 |
| Pickett | 67.54% | 1,346 | 31.31% | 624 | 1.15% | 23 | 722 | 1,993 |
| Polk | 58.61% | 3,211 | 39.72% | 2,176 | 1.68% | 92 | 1,035 | 5,479 |
| Putnam | 63.89% | 13,418 | 33.27% | 6,987 | 2.85% | 598 | 6,431 | 21,003 |
| Rhea | 72.26% | 6,136 | 26.19% | 2,224 | 1.54% | 131 | 3,912 | 8,491 |
| Roane | 67.69% | 13,646 | 29.70% | 5,988 | 2.60% | 525 | 7,658 | 20,159 |
| Robertson | 64.32% | 12,135 | 34.24% | 6,461 | 1.44% | 272 | 5,674 | 18,868 |
| Rutherford | 67.56% | 39,497 | 28.99% | 16,947 | 3.45% | 2,016 | 22,550 | 58,460 |
| Scott | 70.09% | 3,695 | 28.89% | 1,523 | 1.02% | 54 | 2,172 | 5,272 |
| Sequatchie | 68.07% | 2,560 | 30.50% | 1,147 | 1.44% | 54 | 1,413 | 3,761 |
| Sevier | 76.75% | 18,237 | 17.67% | 4,198 | 5.58% | 1,326 | 14,039 | 23,761 |
| Shelby | 55.56% | 171,249 | 41.12% | 126,721 | 3.32% | 10,232 | 44,528 | 308,202 |
| Smith | 48.52% | 2,927 | 50.17% | 3,027 | 1.31% | 79 | -100 | 6,033 |
| Stewart | 49.62% | 2,212 | 47.85% | 2,133 | 2.53% | 113 | 79 | 4,458 |
| Sullivan | 72.53% | 38,463 | 25.51% | 13,527 | 1.96% | 1,042 | 24,936 | 53,032 |
| Sumner | 68.81% | 32,919 | 29.15% | 13,943 | 2.04% | 978 | 18,976 | 47,840 |
| Tipton | 68.70% | 10,933 | 28.86% | 4,593 | 2.45% | 390 | 6,340 | 15,916 |
| Trousdale | 49.80% | 1,248 | 47.69% | 1,195 | 2.51% | 63 | 53 | 2,506 |
| Unicoi | 74.14% | 3,986 | 24.01% | 1,291 | 1.84% | 99 | 2,695 | 5,376 |
| Union | 69.38% | 3,454 | 29.55% | 1,471 | 1.06% | 53 | 1,983 | 4,978 |
| Van Buren | 57.33% | 986 | 41.40% | 712 | 1.28% | 22 | 274 | 1,720 |
| Warren | 57.76% | 7,096 | 39.74% | 4,882 | 2.51% | 308 | 2,214 | 12,286 |
| Washington | 72.35% | 25,481 | 25.14% | 8,856 | 2.51% | 883 | 16,625 | 35,220 |
| Wayne | 71.85% | 3,236 | 27.44% | 1,236 | 0.71% | 32 | 2,000 | 4,504 |
| Weakley | 61.16% | 6,936 | 37.39% | 4,240 | 1.45% | 164 | 2,696 | 11,340 |
| White | 58.24% | 4,505 | 39.68% | 3,069 | 2.08% | 161 | 1,436 | 7,735 |
| Williamson | 80.12% | 44,850 | 17.45% | 9,768 | 2.43% | 1,358 | 35,082 | 55,976 |
| Wilson | 67.75% | 22,781 | 30.02% | 10,095 | 2.23% | 751 | 12,686 | 33,627 |
| Total | 65.10% | 1,255,444 | 32.21% | 621,152 | 2.70% | 52,017 | 634,292 | 1,928,613 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
[edit]- White (Largest city: Sparta)
- Cannon (Largest city: Woodbury)
- DeKalb (Largest city: Smithville)
- Franklin (Largest city: Winchester)
- Grundy (largest municipality: Altamont)
- Van Buren (largest municipality: Spencer)
- Perry (largest municipality: Linden)
- Dickson (Largest city: Dickson)
- Haywood (largest city: Brownsville)
- Lake (largest municipality: Tiptonville)
- Stewart (largest municipality: Dover)
- Benton (largest municipality: Camden)
- Houston (largest city: Erin)
- Humphreys (largest municipality: Waverly)
- Hickman (Largest city: Centerville)
- Giles (Largest city: Pulaski)
- Marshall (Largest city: Lewisburg)
- Bedford (Largest city: Shelbyville)
- Smith (largest municipality: Carthage)
- Trousdale (largest municipality: Hartsville)
- Clay (largest municipality: Celina)
- Overton (largest municipality: Livingston)
- Jackson (largest town: Gainesboro)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Tennessee Voter Turnout in 2000". Tennessee Secretary of State. November 7, 2000. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 "On Politics: Tennessee U.S. Senate". www.washingtonpost.com.
- ↑ "The Tuscaloosa News - Google News Archive Search".
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "FiveThirtyEight's Pollster Ratings Raw Polls File". GitHub. FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved October 15, 2026.
- ↑ "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives".
- ↑ "United States Senate" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. November 7, 2000.
Notes
[edit]- ↑ Calculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined.
External links
[edit]Official campaign website links