A running mate that may have saved Al Gore

[President Johnson]

I always felt that Joe Lieberman was not the ideal running mate for Al Gore in 2000. Any suggestions for potential running mates that may have saved Al Gore from losing the electoral vote? I mean, he just needed one more state to win, and there plenty of close ones. First person that comes to my mind is Jeanne Shaheen. She may have delivered New Hampshire, where she was governor, and its four electoral votes. That would have given Gore a victory without Florida. Or maybe another one from a southern state that was within reach? Any thoughts on this?

[SingingAnalyst]

I always felt that Joe Lieberman was not the ideal running mate for Al Gore in 2000. Any suggestions for potential running mates that may have saved Al Gore from losing the electoral vote? I mean, he just needed one more state to win, and there plenty of close ones. First person that comes to my mind is Jeanne Shaheen. She may have delivered New Hampshire, where she was governor, and its four electoral votes. That would have given Gore a victory without Florida. Or maybe another one from a southern state that was within reach? Any thoughts on this?

I've heard Bob Graham (FL) mentioned a lot. Jeanne Shaheen maybe, too. I think the choice of Lieberman was made with outreach to Evangelicals in mind, but it neglected that Evangelicals were already planning to reflexively vote Republican, so it didn't work. Hindsight is 20-20.

[Lord Admirale]

Bob Graham. Carries Florida and possibly the Clinton '96 southern states.

[Del Tachi]

Gore/Kerry would have probably won NH.  Gore/Graham would have probably won FL.  Gore/Gephardt might have flipped MO.  A lot of possibilities.

2000 was a really boring year in terms of Veepstakes, both Cheney and Lieberman were very safe, unappealing choices.  I will have to go back and watch the VP debate from that year and try not to fall asleep.

[America's Sweetheart ❤/𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖙𝖞 𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖗]

Bob Graham obviously. He was very popular in Florida and would have ensured that Gore carried the state, thus winning the election.

[America Needs a 13-6 Progressive SCOTUS]

Joe Lieberman was the worst possible choice.

[Mr. Smith]

Jeanne Shaheen or Howard Dean

Florida wouldn't have mattered if New Hampshire hadn't flipped.

[America's Sweetheart ❤/𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖙𝖞 𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖗]

Jeanne Shaheen or Howard Dean

Florida wouldn't have mattered if New Hampshire hadn't flipped.

But New Hampshire is only worth 4 EV while Florida is worth 27. Graham was the all-around safest choice.

[President Johnson]

Gore/Kerry would have probably won NH.  Gore/Graham would have probably won FL.  Gore/Gephardt might have flipped MO.  A lot of possibilities.

2000 was a really boring year in terms of Veepstakes, both Cheney and Lieberman were very safe, unappealing choices.  I will have to go back and watch the VP debate from that year and try not to fall asleep.

Graham also sounds good in addition to Shaheen. I don't think Gephardt could have delivered Missouri. It was a little similar to Tennessee, another upper southern state, which Al Gore could not win although it was his homestate.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Jeanne Shaheen or Howard Dean

Florida wouldn't have mattered if New Hampshire hadn't flipped.

If Bush knew he was likely going to lose NH he would campaign more in New Mexico or Oregon either  which would counter losing NH.

On the other hand if he loses FL he needs to win WI , NM and OR or PA.

[South Dakota Democrat]

Jay Rockefeller

[Wolf]

I always felt that Joe Lieberman was not the ideal running mate for Al Gore in 2000. Any suggestions for potential running mates that may have saved Al Gore from losing the electoral vote? I mean, he just needed one more state to win, and there plenty of close ones. First person that comes to my mind is Jeanne Shaheen. She may have delivered New Hampshire, where she was governor, and its four electoral votes. That would have given Gore a victory without Florida. Or maybe another one from a southern state that was within reach? Any thoughts on this?

Bob Graham x 1,000!

Seriously--the guy won five statewide elections in Florida by 2000 in contrast to Lieberman's zero and thus would have almost guaranteed Florida for Al Gore. In turn, this would have allowed Al Gore to focus all of his energies on ensuring that Oregon and the Upper Midwest would remain in the Democratic column in 2000.

[Wolf]

Bob Graham. Carries Florida and possibly the Clinton '96 southern states.

I think that Gore's position on guns would have prevented him from carrying the other 1996 Clinton Southern states even with Graham on the ticket, though.

[Wolf]

Gore/Kerry would have probably won NH.  Gore/Graham would have probably won FL.  Gore/Gephardt might have flipped MO.  A lot of possibilities.

2000 was a really boring year in terms of Veepstakes, both Cheney and Lieberman were very safe, unappealing choices.  I will have to go back and watch the VP debate from that year and try not to fall asleep.

Kerry and Gephardt are both too risky since they secure less electoral votes for Gore than Graham does (and, in Kerry's case, he wouldn't even be guaranteed to secure New Hampshire since he's not actually from there). Graham would have secured Florida's 25 electoral votes for Gore and would have thus ensured that Gore could devote all of his energies to winning in Oregon and especially in the Upper Midwest (with its dozens of electoral votes).

[Wolf]

Jeanne Shaheen or Howard Dean

Florida wouldn't have mattered if New Hampshire hadn't flipped.

If Gore would have lost Oregon, Wisconsin, Iowa, or New Mexico, though, then having him win in New Hampshire wouldn't have saved his bacon.

[Wolf]

Jeanne Shaheen or Howard Dean

Florida wouldn't have mattered if New Hampshire hadn't flipped.

But New Hampshire is only worth 4 EV while Florida is worth 27. Graham was the all-around safest choice.

Completely agreed with this. Florida would provide a much larger "safety cushion" for Al Gore than New Hampshire would. Had Gore won NH but lost one of the states that he carried by less than 0.50%--specifically New Mexico, Oregon, Iowa, or Wisconsin--than Gore would have still lost (assuming that Gore still wouldn't have carried FL, that is).

[Wolf]

Jay Rockefeller

West Virginia, like New Hampshire, was small potatoes in the grand scheme of things.

[pbrower2a]

Senator Carl Levin, D-MI. Levin was a much more effective speaker than Lieberman, and he would have been enough to swing either Florida or New Hampshire, either of which would have decided the election for Gore. He has always been good with organized labor, which might have made a difference in states that still had strong unions (West Virginia? Ohio? Missouri?)

As it is, eleven states went from Clinton in 1996 to Dubya in 2000 (New Hampshire, Florida, West Virginia, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Nevada, and Arizona), and Dubya won them all. He needed every one of them. Any one of them would have been the difference in the 2000 election. Maybe the Gore-Lieberman team did a poor strategy.

If there was electoral hanky-panky in Florida, then a Democratic win of such a state as New Hampshire, Ohio, or Nevada would have made such futile.

[South Dakota Democrat]

Jay Rockefeller

West Virginia, like New Hampshire, was small potatoes in the grand scheme of things.

I take it you don't know how many electoral votes Gore won.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Vice Presidents usually don't matter that much, but in an election this close, Bob Graham could have made the difference in Florida and spared us from living in a truly bleak timeline.

[Obama-Biden Democrat]

Gore did extremely well in Broward and Palm Beach counties, which trended strongly Democratic. Both those area have lots of Jews and especially elderly Jews which loved Lieberman. Graham would have been the optimal choice for FL, but Lieberman was a good choice for FL as well.

[The Mikado]

The margin was close enough that a different VP nominee could have mattered, but only in terms of the butterfly effect.

It's arguable Lieberman wasn't the single best possible choice, but no one can say that he was an Eagleton.

The difference with any other credible selection would not have been substantial, and it's impossible to make a strong case that any particular choice would have flipped the election to Gore rather than shaving a few tenths of a percentage point off of his margin in a handful of consequential states.

What are you talking about? "A few tenths of a percentage points" in an election in which Bush won FL by less than 0.01% is gigantic. If Bob Graham means Gore gets 0.1% of the vote more in his state of FL, that's the game.

Only issue is that Graham's replacement in the Senate would've been chosen by Jeb!

[OSR stands with Israel]

Picking Shaheen may have delivered NH to Gore but would it have saved him in IA, WI, NM or OR because if he loses one of those 4 states which he barely won , then he still loses. If you are choosing a VP to deliver one state then it should be someone who can deliver a big state because one who just delivers a small state can at the same time cost you in a small state as well.

[Senator-elect Spark]

Bob Graham. Carries Florida and possibly the Clinton '96 southern states.

[South Dakota Democrat]

Gore did extremely well in Broward and Palm Beach counties, which trended strongly Democratic. Both those area have lots of Jews and especially elderly Jews which loved Lieberman. Graham would have been the optimal choice for FL, but Lieberman was a good choice for FL as well.

This (pains me to say, since I HATE Joe Lieberman).