2000 United States Senate election in California

U.S. Senate
U.S. Senate
	1849; 1850; 1852 sp; 1856; 1857 sp; 1860; 1860 sp; 1868; 1872; 1873; 1873 sp; 1878; 1880; 1885; 1886 sp; 1887; 1891; 1891 sp; 1893; 1895 sp; 1897; 1900 sp; 1903; 1905; 1909; 1911; 1914; 1916; 1920; 1922; 1926; 1928; 1932; 1934; 1938; 1940; 1944; 1946; 1946 sp; 1950; 1952; 1954 sp; 1956; 1958; 1962; 1964; 1968; 1970; 1974; 1976; 1980; 1982; 1986; 1988; 1992; 1992 sp; 1994; 1998; 2000; 2004; 2006; 2010; 2012; 2016; 2018; 2022; 2022 sp; 2024; 2024 sp; 2028;

U.S. President
U.S. President
	1852; 1856; 1860; 1864; 1868; 1872; 1876; 1880; 1884; 1888; 1892; 1896; 1900; 1904; 1908; 1912; 1916; 1920; 1924; 1928; 1932; 1936; 1940; 1944; 1948; 1952; 1956; 1960; 1964; 1968; 1972; 1976; 1980; 1984; 1988; 1992; 1996 Dem; Rep; ; 2000 Dem; Rep; ; 2004 Dem; Rep; ; 2008 Dem; Rep; ; 2012 Dem; Rep; ; 2016 Dem; Rep; ; 2020 Dem; Rep; ; 2024 Dem; Rep; ;

2000 United States Senate election in California
	County results; Feinstein: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%; Campbell: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70%
U.S. senator before election; Dianne Feinstein; Democratic	Elected U.S. Senator ; Dianne Feinstein; Democratic

The 2000 U.S. Senate election in California was held on November 7, 2000. Incumbent Democrat Dianne Feinstein won her second full term.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Dianne Feinstein, incumbent Senator since 1992
Michael Schmier, Emeryville attorney and candidate for California Attorney General in 1998

Results

2000 U.S. Senate Democratic primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dianne Feinstein (incumbent)	3,759,560	95.50%
	Democratic	Michael Schmier	181,104	4.50%
Total votes			3,940,664	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

John M. Brown
Tom Campbell, U.S. Representative from Campbell
Linh Dao
James Peter Gough
Bill Horn, San Diego County Supervisor
Ray Haynes, State Senator from Murrieta

Results

2000 U.S. Senate Republican Party primary in California
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Campbell	1,697,208	56.17%
	Republican	Ray Haynes	679,034	22.47%
	Republican	Bill Horn	453,630	15.01%
	Republican	John M. Brown	68,415	2.26%
	Republican	Linh Dao	64,559	2.14%
	Republican	James Peter Gough	58,853	1.95%
Total votes			3,021,699	100.00%

Other nominations

Green

2000 U.S. Senate Green Party primary in California
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Green	Medea Benjamin	99,716	73.95%
	Green	Jan B. Tucker	35,124	26.05%
Total votes			134,840	100.00%

Reform

2000 U.S. Senate Reform Party primary in California
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Reform	Jose Luis Olivares Camahort	46,278	70.34%
	Reform	Valli "Sharp" Sharpe	19,516	29.66%
Total votes			65,794	100.00%

Libertarian

2000 Libertarian U.S. Senate primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Gail Lightfoot	120,622	100.00%
Total votes			120,622	100.00%

American Independent

2000 American Independent U.S. Senate primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	American Independent	Diane Beall Templin	38,836	100.00%
Total votes			38,836	100.00%

Natural Law

2000 Natural Law U.S. Senate primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Natural Law	Brian M. Rees	26,382	100.00%
Total votes			26,382	100.00%

General election

Campaign

Despite touting his service as a moderate Republican representing a strongly Democratic district, Campbell was underfunded and a decided underdog against the popular, heavily financed Feinstein. By February, he spent barely $1 million without any PAC money.^[2] Campbell has generally supported gay rights and abortion.^[3] He also opposes the War on Drugs and calls himself a "maverick", similar to U.S. Senator John McCain.^[4] Campbell was easily defeated, losing by over 19 points.

Debates

Complete video of debate, October 24, 2000
Complete video of debate, October 27, 2000

Results

2000 U.S. Senate election, California
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dianne Feinstein (incumbent)	5,932,522	55.84%
	Republican	Tom Campbell	3,886,853	36.59%
	Green	Medea Susan Benjamin	326,828	3.08%
	Libertarian	Gail Lightfoot	187,718	1.77%
	American Independent	Diane Beall Templin	134,598	1.27%
	Reform	Jose Luis Olivares Camahort	96,552	0.91%
	Natural Law	Brian M. Rees	58,537	0.55%
Invalid or blank votes			519,233	4.66%
Total votes			11,142,841	100.00%
Turnout				51.92
	Democratic hold

Results breakdown

Final results from the Secretary of State of California.^[5]

County	Feinstein		Campbell		Benjamin		Others
County	Share	Votes	Share	Votes	Share	Votes	Share	Votes
Alameda	67.66%	328,355	22.57%	109,517	6.74%	32,701	3.03%	14,726
Alpine	43.62%	253	41.72%	242	4.48%	26	10.17%	59
Amador	43.85%	6,671	49.32%	7,502	1.70%	259	5.13%	780
Butte	41.52%	34,117	47.41%	38,961	5.52%	4,540	5.54%	4,555
Calaveras	42.31%	7,852	48.42%	8,986	2.42%	449	6.85%	1,271
Colusa	41.16%	2,250	53.70%	2,936	0.91%	50	4.23%	231
Contra Costa	61.60%	232,109	33.23%	125,188	2.30%	8,670	2.87%	10,821
Del Norte	44.91%	3,670	44.93%	3,672	3.10%	253	7.06%	577
El Dorado	40.70%	28,873	51.72%	36,684	2.52%	1,785	5.06%	3,591
Fresno	52.87%	113,228	40.39%	86,502	1.50%	3,210	5.25%	11,235
Glenn	38.18%	3,282	54.26%	4,664	1.54%	132	6.03%	518
Humboldt	46.99%	25,788	36.23%	19,882	11.20%	6,145	5.59%	3,069
Imperial	56.17%	15,937	34.07%	9,666	1.62%	461	8.14%	2,311
Inyo	35.15%	2,711	57.02%	4,397	2.71%	209	5.12%	395
Kern	43.26%	77,676	50.44%	90,564	1.09%	1,949	5.21%	9,360
Kings	48.49%	13,402	44.31%	12,246	0.93%	256	6.28%	1,735
Lake	54.74%	11,410	37.55%	7,826	3.15%	656	4.56%	951
Lassen	35.56%	3,673	54.39%	5,618	1.60%	165	8.46%	874
Los Angeles	64.40%	1,677,668	28.55%	743,872	2.78%	72,312	4.28%	111,402
Madera	43.55%	14,123	48.75%	15,810	1.70%	550	6.01%	1,950
Marin	65.25%	79,421	26.35%	32,077	6.33%	7,699	2.07%	2,524
Mariposa	40.49%	3,195	48.63%	3,837	2.72%	215	8.15%	643
Mendocino	50.99%	16,981	31.54%	10,503	12.14%	4,044	5.32%	1,773
Merced	51.92%	25,426	40.04%	19,612	1.47%	721	6.57%	3,216
Modoc	30.81%	1,221	60.91%	2,414	1.56%	62	6.71%	266
Mono	42.56%	1,818	47.68%	2,037	4.12%	176	5.64%	241
Monterey	57.96%	67,401	35.36%	41,113	2.94%	3,420	3.74%	4,350
Napa	56.70%	28,884	36.20%	18,442	3.24%	1,652	3.85%	1,961
Nevada	41.41%	19,354	49.41%	23,095	4.78%	2,235	4.40%	2,057
Orange	42.72%	403,123	49.95%	471,410	1.85%	17,452	5.48%	51,743
Placer	40.95%	47,169	52.25%	60,182	1.97%	2,264	4.83%	5,569
Plumas	40.76%	4,075	51.23%	5,122	2.57%	257	5.44%	544
Riverside	48.28%	210,235	44.80%	195,085	1.52%	6,632	5.39%	23,484
Sacramento	54.27%	228,992	38.71%	163,343	2.61%	11,001	4.41%	18,623
San Benito	55.04%	9,170	39.29%	6,545	1.83%	305	3.84%	640
San Bernardino	49.13%	200,558	43.40%	177,158	1.81%	7,376	5.67%	23,145
San Diego	51.34%	466,461	40.76%	370,287	2.24%	20,340	5.66%	51,443
San Francisco	72.26%	222,787	15.27%	47,072	10.50%	32,377	1.97%	6,082
San Joaquin	52.65%	86,731	41.23%	67,907	1.29%	2,130	4.83%	7,954
San Luis Obispo	45.14%	47,976	46.15%	49,055	3.59%	3,814	5.13%	5,448
San Mateo	64.80%	165,216	29.92%	76,273	2.85%	7,278	2.43%	6,191
Santa Barbara	49.93%	75,357	40.03%	60,417	5.78%	8,718	4.26%	6,422
Santa Clara	59.62%	320,400	34.97%	187,953	2.29%	12,329	3.12%	16,747
Santa Cruz	56.78%	60,853	30.36%	32,537	9.63%	10,321	3.22%	3,453
Shasta	36.84%	24,027	55.01%	35,884	1.56%	1,016	6.59%	4,299
Sierra	36.63%	666	53.91%	980	2.59%	47	6.88%	125
Siskiyou	38.40%	7,476	51.61%	10,048	2.14%	417	7.85%	1,529
Solano	60.03%	74,414	33.43%	41,449	1.87%	2,316	4.67%	5,791
Sonoma	60.96%	118,455	29.46%	57,244	6.05%	11,765	3.52%	6,839
Stanislaus	48.24%	60,610	44.51%	55,919	1.54%	1,937	5.71%	7,171
Sutter	39.51%	10,326	55.08%	14,394	1.10%	288	4.30%	1,125
Tehama	38.27%	7,870	52.81%	10,859	1.42%	291	7.50%	1,543
Trinity	40.35%	2,307	48.47%	2,771	4.62%	264	6.56%	375
Tulare	45.52%	40,117	47.19%	41,587	1.02%	901	6.26%	5,519
Tuolumne	42.97%	10,028	48.78%	11,385	2.40%	560	5.85%	1,366
Ventura	50.22%	138,836	42.85%	118,463	2.20%	6,073	4.73%	13,067
Yolo	58.18%	35,193	32.28%	19,528	5.06%	3,060	4.48%	2,709
Yuba	40.18%	6,345	51.49%	8,131	1.88%	297	6.44%	1,017

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Fresno (largest town: Fresno)
Imperial (largest municipality: El Centro)
Kings (largest municipality: Avenal)
Lake (largest municipality: Clearlake)
Merced (largest community: Merced)
Riverside (largest city: Riverside)
San Bernardino (largest town: San Bernardino)
San Diego (largest community: San Diego)
San Joaquin (largest city: Stockton)
Stanislaus (largest community: Modesto)
Ventura (largest city: Ventura)

Green Party candidate Medea Susan Benjamin finished second (ahead of Republican Tom Campbell) in six Northern California municipalities, most of which are in the San Francisco Bay Area: Oakland (10.18%), Emeryville (13.35%), Albany (14.37%), Fairfax (15.99%), Berkeley (22.23%), and Arcata (26.77%). She tied with Jones for second place in Point Arena with 21.71% of the vote.^[6]

References

^ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.sos.ca.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 14, 2008. Retrieved January 15, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ Krikorian, Greg; Pyle, Amy (February 17, 2000). "CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS / U.S. SENATE; Republican Seeks to Enliven Race With Multimedia Ads; Rep. Campbell, seeking the GOP nomination for a chance to challenge Feinstein, will use TV commercials to direct viewers to more economical Internet campaign". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
^ "SENATE CANDIDATE PROMOTES MORE TOLERANT REPUBLICAN IMAGE TOM CAMPBELL WILL SPEAK PRO-CHOICE AT CONVENTION. ..." The Fresno Bee. July 27, 2000.
^ "CAMPBELL SPEAKS TO NATIONAL AUDIENCE". The Sacramento Bee. July 31, 2000.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 14, 2008. Retrieved August 11, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 14, 2008. Retrieved August 18, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links

JoinCalifornia 2000 General Election

[primaryresults-1] "Archived copy" (PDF). www.sos.ca.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 14, 2008. Retrieved January 15, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[2] Krikorian, Greg; Pyle, Amy (February 17, 2000). "CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS / U.S. SENATE; Republican Seeks to Enliven Race With Multimedia Ads; Rep. Campbell, seeking the GOP nomination for a chance to challenge Feinstein, will use TV commercials to direct viewers to more economical Internet campaign". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2017.

[3] "SENATE CANDIDATE PROMOTES MORE TOLERANT REPUBLICAN IMAGE TOM CAMPBELL WILL SPEAK PRO-CHOICE AT CONVENTION. ..." The Fresno Bee. July 27, 2000.

[4] "CAMPBELL SPEAKS TO NATIONAL AUDIENCE". The Sacramento Bee. July 31, 2000.

[5] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 14, 2008. Retrieved August 11, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[6] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 14, 2008. Retrieved August 18, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

v t e (1999 ←) 2000 United States elections (→ 2001)
President	2000 United States presidential election
U.S. Senate	Arizona California Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia (shadow) Florida Georgia (special) Hawaii Indiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Jersey New Mexico New York North Dakota Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
U.S. House	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia delegate shadow Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois 1st Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
State governors	Delaware Indiana Missouri Lt. Gov Montana New Hampshire North Carolina Lt. Gov North Dakota Utah Vermont Washington West Virginia
Attorneys General	North Carolina Pennsylvania Washington
State legislature	Arizona Senate California Assembly Senate Delaware House Senate Iowa Senate Minnesota House Senate Montana House New Mexico Senate North Carolina House Senate Pennsylvania House Senate Texas House West Virginia Senate
Mayors	Anchorage, AK Baton Rouge, LA Fort Lauderdale, FL Fresno, CA Irvine, CA Milwaukee, WI Orlando, FL Portland, OR Sacramento, CA San Diego, CA San Juan, PR Santa Ana, CA

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Other nominations

Green

Reform

Libertarian

American Independent

Natural Law

General election

Campaign

Debates

Results

Results breakdown

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

See also

References

External links