2000 United States Senate special election in Georgia

The 2000 Georgia United States Senate special election was held on November 7, 2000. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Zell Miller, who was appointed by Governor Roy Barnes to replace the deceased Paul Coverdell, overwhelmingly won re-election to serve the remainder of the term. Miller defeated Republican Mack Mattingly, a former U.S. Senator, by over 20 percentage points, carrying 110 of the state's 120 counties. This was the last time a Georgia Democrat was elected to the U.S. Senate until 2021, when Raphael Warnock won a special election to fill the same seat and Jon Ossoff won the regular election for the Class 2 seat.

2000 United States Senate special election in Georgia

November 7, 2000

Nominee Zell Miller Mack Mattingly Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,413,224 920,478 Percentage 58.1% 37.9%

County Results Miller:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Mattingly:      40-50%      50-60%

U.S. senator before election Zell Miller Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Zell Miller Democratic

Candidates

Note: This election was a non-partisan election due to it being a special election. Each candidate ran without a party. The parties below reflect which party label each candidate would have run under if given the option.

Democratic Party

• Zell Miller, incumbent U.S. Senator and former Governor

Republican Party

• Ben Ballenger
• Mack Mattingly, former Ambassador to Seychelles and former U.S. Senator
• Bobby Wood

Libertarian Party

• Paul Robert MacGregor

Green Party

• Jeff Gates

Independents

• Winnie Walsh

Campaign

One of the biggest campaign issues was Social Security. Miller attacked Mattingly for supporting a raise in the retirement age.[1] The Republican fought back by connecting him to liberal Democrat Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, and on his vote to block legislation aimed at protecting Social Security. Mattingly said he would vote for Texas Governor George W. Bush for president, who was very popular in the state and led Vice President Al Gore in many Georgia polls. Mattingly then asked Miller who he was supporting in the presidential election. Miller conceded he would vote for Gore because he helped him when he was governor including drought relief, welfare reform, and the Atlanta Olympics. "That does not mean I agree with all of his policies," he concluded.[2] In early October, a poll showed Miller leading with 59% of the vote, despite the fact that Bush was leading Gore by a double-digit margin.[3]

Debates

• Complete video of debate, October 15, 2000

Results

General election results[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nonpartisan	Zell Miller (incumbent)	1,413,224	58.19%	+13.04%
	Nonpartisan	Mack Mattingly	920,478	37.90%	-14.47%
	Nonpartisan	Paul Robert MacGregor	25,942	1.07%	-1.41%
	Nonpartisan	Ben Ballenger	22,975	0.95%	+0.95%
	Nonpartisan	Jeff Gates	21,249	0.88%	+0.88%
	Nonpartisan	Bobby Wood	12,499	0.51%	+0.51%
	Nonpartisan	Winnie Walsh	11,875	0.49%	+0.49%
Majority			492,746	20.29%	+13.07%
Total votes			2,428,242	100.00%	0.00%
	Democratic hold

See also

• 2000 United States Senate elections

References

1. "Content no longer available". nl.newsbank.com.
2. "The Augusta Chronicle: Local & World News, Sports & Entertainment in Augusta, GA". The Augusta Chronicle.
3. "Content no longer available". nl.newsbank.com.
4. "General Election Results, Georgia Secretary of State" (PDF).