| Elections in West Virginia |
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The 2000 West Virginia gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2000. Incumbent Republican Governor Cecil Underwood ran for re-election to a second consecutive term in office, but was defeated by Democratic U.S. Representative Bob Wise. Concurrently, the state voted for the opposite party federally, choosing Republican nominee, George W. Bush over Democratic nominee Al Gore in the presidential election that year. To date, this was the last time in which an incumbent West Virginia Governor lost re-election.
Democratic primary
Candidates
- Jim Lees, attorney and candidate in 1996
- Bob Wise, U.S. Representative
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Bob Wise | 174,292 | 63.1 | |
| Democratic | Jim Lees | 101,774 | 36.9 | |
| Total votes | 275,976 | 100.0 | ||
Republican primary
Governor Cecil Underwood was easily re-nominated in the Republican primary, defeating three other candidates by a wide margin.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Cecil Underwood (incumbent) | 87,190 | 80.9 | |
| Republican | Joseph Oliverio | 11,590 | 10.8 | |
| Republican | Donna H. McCase | 5,902 | 4.5 | |
| Republican | Larry Eugene Butcher | 3,117 | 2.9 | |
| Total votes | 107,799 | 100.0 | ||
General election
Debates
- Complete video of debate, October 18, 2000
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Bob Wise | 324,822 | 50.12% | +4.32% | |
| Republican | Cecil Underwood (incumbent) | 305,926 | 47.21% | -4.42% | |
| Mountain | Denise Giardina | 10,416 | 1.61% | +1.61% | |
| Libertarian | Bob Myers | 5,548 | 0.86% | -1.71% | |
| Natural Law | Randall Ashelman | 1,301 | 0.20% | +0.20% | |
| Write-in | 34 | 0.01% | N/A | ||
| Total votes | 648,047 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Democratic gain from Republican | |||||
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Barbour (Largest city: Philippi)
- Boone (largest city: Madison)
- Calhoun (Largest city: Grantsville)
- Gilmer (Largest city: Glenville)
- Jackson (Largest city: Ravenswood)
- Lewis (Largest city: Weston)
- Mason (Largest city: Point Pleasant)
- Randolph (Largest city: Elkins)
- Roane (Largest city: Spencer)
- Taylor (Largest city: Grafton)
- Harrison (Largest city: Clarksburg)
- Marion (largest city: Fairmont)
- Putnam (largest municipality: Hurricane)
References
- ^ a b "2000 Primary Election: Governor" (PDF). West Virginia Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016.
- ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
