2000 United States Senate election in Nevada

2000 United States Senate election in Nevada
November 7, 2000
 
Nominee John Ensign Ed Bernstein
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 330,687 238,260
Percentage 55.09% 39.69%
County results
Ensign:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
U.S. senator before election

Richard Bryan
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

John Ensign
Republican

The 2000 United States Senate election in Nevada was held on November 7, 2000. Incumbent Democrat Richard Bryan decided to retire instead of seeking a third term. Republican nominee John Ensign won the open seat, defeating Ed Bernstein in a landslide despite George W. Bush carrying the state by a very narrow margin in the concurrent presidential race. Ensign is one of the two freshmen Republican senators alongside George Allen in the 107th Congress.

Bryan had been re-elected in 1994, winning by a comfortable margin amidst a national Republican wave.

Background

Incumbent Senator Richard Bryan had first been elected in 1988, and re-elected comfortably in 1994 amidst a national Republican wave. When he announced his retirement on February 18, 1999, many saw this decision as creating a competitive race.[1][2] Immediately, both parties sought top recruits, with Democrats favoring former governor Bob Miller, and Republicans seeking former congressman, and 1998 Senate nominee John Ensign.[3]

Democratic primary

Candidates

  • Ed Bernstein, attorney and talk show host

Declined

Miller was interested, but on March 15, 1999 announced he would not run for Senate.[6] He chose not to run, as he liked living in Nevada and he and his family felt that 25 years in politics was enough.[6][7] With Miller out of the running, the next credible challenger was Nevada Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa. However, she would withdraw in September of that year, citing a lack of fundraising.[5] In the end, Democrats would nominate wealthy attorney and talk show host Ed Bernstein.[8]

Results

Bernstein was unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Republican primary

Candidates

  • John Ensign, former U.S. Representative and nominee for the United States Senate in 1998
  • Richard Hamzik
  • Fernando Platin, Jr.

Ensign, a former congressman, lost the 1998 Senate election to Harry Reid by a narrow margin of 401 votes. After this loss, Ensign contemplated leaving politics for good. Bryan's retirement shook up these plans and Ensign, a top recruit for the GOP, ran and became a top fundraiser.[7] Ensign faced only token opposition.

Results

Republican primary results[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John Ensign 95,904 88.03
Republican Richard Hamzik 6,202 5.69
Republican None of these candidates 5,290 4.86
Republican Fernando Platin, Jr. 1,543 1.42
Total votes 108,939 100.00

General election

Candidates

  • Ernie Berghof (IA)
  • Ed Bernstein (D)
  • John Ensign (R), former U.S. Representative and nominee for the United States Senate in 1998
  • Bill Grutzmacher (CF)
  • J.J. Johnson (L)
  • Kathryn Rusco (G)

Campaign

Ensign was the favorite leading in polls by double digits. and significantly outraising his opponent.[10][11] Bernstein would counter by loaning his campaign nearly $1 million of his own money.[12] The trajectory of the race would change in the late summer when Ensign would face attacks for his anti-abortion stance and for voting to slash Social Security benefits. Ensign also was hurt by his comments claiming tax payer funded abortion to be worse than rape.[13] Bernstein also drew attention for his campaign by taking a group of senior citizens to Mexico to get them prescription drugs and highlight the high prices of prescription drugs.[14] However, even with these developments, Ensign still maintained a comfortable lead in polling in the closing weeks of the race.[15]

Debates

Results

On election night, Ensign won comfortably, winning every county and ending a 12 year losing streak for Republicans in the states Senate races.[16]

General election results[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican John Ensign 330,687 55.09% +14.09%
Democratic Edward M. Bernstein 238,260 39.69% −11.24%
None of These Candidates 11,503 1.92% -1.40%
Green Kathryn Rusco 10,286 1.71%
Libertarian J.J. Johnson 5,395 0.90% −0.67%
Independent American Ernie Berghof 2,540 0.42% −1.01%
Citizens First Party Bill Grutzmacher 1,579 0.26%
Majority 92,427 15.40% +5.47%
Turnout 600,250
Republican gain from Democratic

By county

County John Ensign
Republican 		Ed Bernstein
Democratic 		Various candidates
Other parties 		Margin Total
# % # % # % # %
Carson City 11,973 60.9% 6,369 32.9% 1,194 6.2% 5,424 28.0% 19,356
Churchill 6,453 73.4% 1,941 22.1% 399 4.5% 4,512 51.3% 8,793
Clark 190,071 50.7% 168,039 44.8% 16,675 4.5% 22,032 5.9% 374,785
Douglas 12,027 67.1% 4,795 26.7% 1,106 6.1% 7,232 40.4% 17,928
Elko 11,303 80.2% 2,120 15.0% 674 5.7% 9,183 65.2% 14,097
Esmeralda 334 68.3% 109 22.3% 46 9.4% 225 46.0% 489
Eureka 630 75.2% 154 18.4% 54 6.4% 476 56.8% 838
Humboldt 3,723 74.0% 1,006 20.0% 303 6.1% 2,717 54.0% 5,032
Lander 1,609 76.5% 364 17.3% 131 6.2% 1,245 59.2% 2,104
Lincoln 1,402 72.9% 418 21.7% 102 5.2% 984 51.2% 1,922
Lyon 7,789 65.5% 3,343 28.1% 762 6.4% 4,446 37.4% 11,984
Mineral 1,272 55.9% 854 37.5% 151 6.7% 418 18.4% 2,277
Nye 7,362 60.6% 4,150 34.1% 641 5.3% 3,212 26.5% 12,153
Pershing 1,262 70.4% 410 22.9% 120 6.7% 852 47.5% 1,792
Storey 1,108 62.4% 543 30.6% 124 7.0% 565 31.8% 1,775
Washoe 70,161 57.8% 42,672 35.1% 8,646 7.2% 27,489 23.7% 121,479
White Pine 2,388 67.5% 973 27.5% 175 5.0% 1,415 40.0% 3,536
Totals 330,687 55.1% 238,260 39.7% 31,303 5.2% 92,427 15.4% 600,250

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Associated Press (February 19, 1999). Sen. Bryan, D-Nevada, bowing out. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. pp. 4A.
  2. ^ Dewar, Helen (February 19, 1999). "Bryan Announces Senate Retirement". Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 18, 2000. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  3. ^ Associated Press (February 19, 1999). Parties jump to fill void left by retiring senator. Kingman Daily Miner. pp. 5A.
  4. ^ Associated Press (March 6, 1999). Chafee to retire, boosting Dems' hopes for Senate. Bangor Daily News. pp. A10.
  5. ^ a b Las Vegas Sun (September 9, 1999). "In withdrawal, Del Papa cites lack of funds - Las Vegas Sun Newspaper". lasvegassun.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "2000 Senate races heating up - March 15, 1999". www.cnn.com. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Las Vegas Sun (November 8, 2000). "Little drama in Ensign win - Las Vegas Sun Newspaper". lasvegassun.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  8. ^ Assosciated Press (September 12, 1999). Political parties target seats for 2000 contest. The Southeast Missourian. p. 10.
  9. ^ "Results summary" (PDF). nvsos.gov. 2000. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  10. ^ ncs-import. "Democrat Bernstein claims he's gaining on GOP front-runner Ensign". www.nevadaappeal.com. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  11. ^ A 501tax-exempt; Street, charitable organization 1100 13th; NW; Washington, Suite 800; Dc 20005857-0044. "Nevada Senate 2000 Race". OpenSecrets. Retrieved July 8, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Dewar, Helen (October 4, 2000). "In Fight for Senate, Deep Pockets Aid Democrats". Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 8, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2003.
  13. ^ "Ensign, Bernstein seek rare open Senate seat - Las Vegas Sun Newspaper". July 8, 2023. Archived from the original on July 8, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  14. ^ Cross, Joe (June 29, 2000). Senate candidate brings 'RX RV Road Tour to Town'. Pahrump Valley Gazette. p. 16.
  15. ^ Sonner, Scott (October 6, 2000). Surprising challenger tightens Nevada senate race. Kingman Daily Miner. pp. 4B.
  16. ^ "CNN.com - GOP ends 12 year losing streak in Nevada Senate race - November 7, 2000". www.cnn.com. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  17. ^ "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives". Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved May 7, 2021.

Official campaign websites (archived)

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