Bill Bradley 2000 presidential campaign

The 2000 presidential campaign of Bill Bradley, former Senator of New Jersey began when he formed an exploratory committee in December 1998, with a formal announcement in January 1999. He ran in the 2000 presidential primaries, opposing incumbent Vice President Al Gore for his party's nomination.^[2] Bradley campaigned as a progressive alternative to Gore, taking positions to the left of Gore on a number of issues, including police brutality, racial profiling, universal health care, gun control, and campaign finance reform.^[7][8]

Bradley entered the race as Gore's only serious Democratic challenger and attempted to cast the campaign as both an ideological and stylistic alternative to the vice president: a contest between cautious incrementalism and what Bradley called a politics of larger national purpose.^[9][10] Although his candidacy at times generated real momentum—especially in New Hampshire—he failed to win a single primary or caucus and withdrew after Super Tuesday, endorsing Gore and calling for party unity.^[11][12]

Bradley had spent much of the 1990s out of elective office after retiring from the Senate in 1997, but by late 1998 he was increasingly viewed as the most plausible Democrat to challenge Gore for the nomination.^[1] On December 4, 1998, Bradley announced the formation of an exploratory committee, a move widely treated by the press as the practical beginning of his campaign.^[1] Federal Election Commission records list his principal campaign committee, Bill Bradley for President Inc., as organized on that date.^[5]

The campaign's early appeal rested on Bradley's unusual public profile. Before entering politics he had been a star at Princeton University, a Rhodes Scholar, an Olympic gold medalist, and a member of two NBA championship teams with the New York Knicks.^[13] That celebrity, combined with his reputation as a reflective policy-oriented senator, allowed him to pitch himself as a candidate of seriousness and independence at a time when many Democrats were uneasy with the political style, and centrism of the Clinton years.^[14]

Bradley officially entered the race in January 1999, then held a more traditional formal campaign kickoff on September 8, 1999, in his birthplace of Crystal City, Missouri.^[2][3][4] At that formal launch, Bradley presented himself as a candidate willing to challenge establishment power, saying, "I wouldn't have gotten into this if I couldn't see my way through 270, which is the number of Electoral votes you need to win. I think I can win the election. I'm up against establishment power. I'm up against all of the power that can be brought to bear by that establishment. But I have faith in people."^[4]

From the beginning, Bradley's strategy depended on proving that Gore's institutional advantages could be neutralized by superior fundraising, strong performances in the early states, and an appeal to Democratic voters looking for what Bradley repeatedly described as a "new politics".^[15][16] By mid-1999, The Washington Post described Bradley as a "real threat" to Gore and noted that he had "raised more than enough money to be competitive".^[17] FEC records later showed that Bradley's campaign ultimately raised more than $51 million and also received over $12 million in presidential public funds.^[6]

Bradley's message was frequently described as one of "big ideas" and moral urgency. Time wrote in late 1999 that he had placed "a big idea on the table" by insisting that a prosperous America should again be willing to undertake ambitious public action, especially on health care and child poverty.^[18] His challenge to Gore therefore involved both policy and tone: Bradley tried to portray himself as bolder, less calculating, and more willing to use government power to address structural social problems.^[19][20]

The campaign also benefited from Bradley's unusual network in the basketball world. Contemporary coverage noted that he used his athletic connections to raise money and attract publicity, with prominent sports figures appearing at fundraisers and campaign events.^[21] Phil Jackson publicly appeared with Bradley in California in June 1999, with Jackson declaring, "Bill's campaign is something I'm dropping, now that I've got a real job."^[22]

Bradley increasingly emphasized race relations as well. In coverage of his formal launch, Reuters quoted him saying, "Racial unity is not a project. It is not an issue for me. It's part of me."^[23] During the February 2000 Democratic debate at the Apollo Theater, Bradley made the Amadou Diallo shooting and racial profiling central topics, calling attention to Diallo as "an unarmed man who was fired at 41 times by the police".^[24]

On the issue of taxes, Bradley trumpeted his sponsorship of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which had significantly cut tax rates while abolishing dozens of loopholes. He voiced his belief that the best possible tax code would be one with low rates and no loopholes, but he refused to rule out the idea of raising taxes to pay for his health care program.^[25][26]

On public education, Bradley reversed his previous support of school vouchers, declaring them a failure. He proposed to make over $2 billion in block grants available to each state every year for education. He further promised to bring 60,000 new teachers into the education system annually by offering college scholarships to anyone who agreed to become a teacher after graduating.^[27][28]

Bradley also made child poverty a significant issue in his campaign. Having voted against the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, better known as the "Welfare Reform Act," which, he said, would result in even higher poverty levels, he promised to repeal it as president. He also promised to address the minimum wage, expand the Earned Income Tax Credit, allow single parents on welfare to keep their child support payments, make the Dependent Care Tax Credit refundable, build support homes for pregnant teenagers, enroll 400,000 more children in Head Start, and increase the availability of food stamps.^[29] Bradley described child poverty as a "slow-motion national disaster" and made its reduction a centerpiece of his general campaign message.^[29][30] Contemporaneous coverage more commonly described Bradley as seeking major changes to the 1996 welfare law rather than straightforward repeal of its time limits and work requirements.^[29][31]

Health care was one of Bradley's signature issues. In a November 1999 speech to the American Public Health Association, he declared, "In my plan all children will be enrolled in a health care plan at birth. All adults will have additional choices of affordable, portable, and quality health care plans that are part of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program".^[32] His campaign repeatedly used the issue to draw a contrast with Gore, whose plan Bradley derided as too cautious.^[33][34]

Bradley also turned campaign finance reform into a defining issue. Speaking at the National Press Club in July 1999, he proposed public financing of congressional elections, a ban on soft money, free broadcast time for federal candidates, and same-day voter registration, saying: "Our goal should be to make money much less important, and make ideas, character and experience count for much more."^[35] Near the end of the year he joined Republican presidential candidate John McCain in condemning the soft-money system and pledging not to use it in the general election if nominated.^[36]

Gun control was another issue on which Bradley deliberately positioned himself to Gore's left. He called for licensing and registration of handguns and used the issue aggressively during the final weeks before the March 2000 primaries.^[37][38]

Although Gore was considered the party favorite, Bradley did receive some high-profile endorsements. His first endorsement from a sitting member of Congress came from Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone, who had considered a presidential run himself.^[39]

Outgoing New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan endorsed Bradley's campaign, opining that Gore would be unable to win the election.^[40] Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo criticized Moynihan's endorsement, calling it “surprisingly tepid” and claiming that the endorsement was motivated by the senator's conflicts with the Clinton administration (Cuomo had endorsed Gore).^[41]

Bradley also attracted support from prominent figures in sports and entertainment, a reflection of his celebrity status as a former New York Knicks star. Contemporary campaign coverage singled out backing and fundraising help from basketball-world allies, while Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan became closely associated with Bradley's bid in press coverage.^[42][43]

Bradley's campaign initially had strong prospects, due to high-profile endorsements and as his fundraising efforts gave him a deep war chest. Bradley was initially expected to fare well in the New Hampshire primary: some polls from within two weeks of that election showed him leading Gore by ten percentage points.^[44] However, Bradley's prospects in New Hampshire experienced a decline in the week leading up to that contest. Boston Globe political columnist Bob Hohler regarded Gore's sizable victory in the Iowa caucuses, seven days before New Hampshire's primary, as a transformative moment in the campaign.^[44] In addition, in the days leading up to the New Hampshire primary, questions were raised about his physical health.^[44][45]

Bradley had first disclosed in December 1999 that he suffered from atrial fibrillation after canceling campaign appearances in California and Washington state. He said at the time that the condition was "just a nuisance" and would not slow his campaign.^[46] But renewed disclosure in Iowa in January 2000 that he had experienced four more episodes of irregular heartbeat ensured that health would remain a campaign issue. Bradley acknowledged that he had not volunteered the information until reporters asked.^[47][48]

In the New Hampshire primary, Bradley lost to Gore by six percentage points.^[44] Bradley stayed in the race until after Super Tuesday, but he never won a contest, and ultimately endorsed Gore.^[40][44] In his withdrawal speech on March 9, 2000, Bradley announced, "Following the results on Tuesday night, I've decided to withdraw from the Democratic race for president," while also declaring, "Now it is time for unity."^[49]

Bradley's defeat underscored both Gore's strength within the Democratic Party establishment and the difficulty of sustaining an insurgent challenge in a two-candidate primary when the frontrunner controlled far more party infrastructure. Retrospective coverage has frequently pointed to the Iowa caucuses as the moment when Gore reestablished command of the race and Bradley's candidacy began to unravel.^[44][50]

Even in defeat, however, Bradley's campaign was credited with pushing Gore on several domestic issues, especially health care, child poverty, campaign finance reform, race, and guns. On the day Bradley withdrew, The Washington Post argued that he had reminded the country "of the plight of people without health insurance", promised to cut child poverty by half, called for gun control and campaign finance reform, and "spoke passionately about race".^[51]

Bradley himself used his withdrawal speech to frame the campaign as part of a larger moral and political project. He said he would continue to work for "a new politics"—"a politics that's not polluted by money; a politics in which leaders speak from their core convictions and not from polls or focus groups"—and insisted that the issues at the center of his run "are and always have been my convictions".^[52]

• Archived campaign website
• Bill Bradley campaign video archive results on YouTube
• Text of Bradley's withdrawal speech