2000 Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses

2000 Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses
NH →
57 Democratic National Convention delegates (47 pledged; 10 unpledged); The number of pledged delegates won is determined by the number of state delegate equivalents (SDEs) won
	Caucus results by county ; Gore: 50–55% 55–60% 60–65% 65–70% 70–75% 75–80% 80–85%; Bradley: 50–55%; Tie:

The 2000 Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses occurred on January 24, and was the state caucuses of the Iowa Democratic Party. It was the first election for the Democrats of the 2000 presidential election.

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 and Senator Tom Harkin 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. 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.

Results

Caucus results

Caucus date: January 24, 2000

National pledged delegates determined: 47 (of 57)

2000 Iowa Democratic presidential caucus results
Party		Candidate	Votes (State Delegate Equivalents)	Percentage	Pledged National Delegates (expected on January 24)
	Democratic	Al Gore	1,257	62.85%	29
	Democratic	Bill Bradley	732	36.60%	18
	Democratic	Uncommitted	11	0.55%	0
	Democratic	Unallocated	0	0.0%	10
Totals			2,000	100.00%	47
Voter turnout			%		—

Al Gore won 91 of Iowa's 99 counties. Gore even beat Bradley in the Des Moines area. 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.

References

Notes

^ The number of pledged national convention delegates is calculated through the number of SDEs won, however, a candidate must get both at least 15% of the total vote to get statewide delegates and at least 15% of the vote in a congressional district to get district delegates from that district. Each precinct has a certain number of SDEs and allocates them based on how many caucus goers there are for each candidate at that precinct.

[delegates-1] The number of pledged national convention delegates is calculated through the number of SDEs won, however, a candidate must get both at least 15% of the total vote to get statewide delegates and at least 15% of the vote in a congressional district to get district delegates from that district. Each precinct has a certain number of SDEs and allocates them based on how many caucus goers there are for each candidate at that precinct.

[a]