The urban/rural divide increased pretty notably in 2000. That's why densely populated states in the Northeast and California trended Democratic the most. (Maryland was the one state that swung Gore's way).
Guns had something to do with that, and up against Bush, Gore looked fine in the urban Northeast.
I disagree on this. If gun control was such an important factor into why all those states swung R, why wouldn't this have happened in 1996 when it was on the minds of more voters? And even in 2000, Bush was hardly the most pro-gun candidate to ever run.
The period when the attention of the news media and political debate was most focused on guns was following the Columbine High School shootings in 1999. So even if opinions didn't change much, 2000 was the election when people would be mostly likely to prioritize this issue when voting.
