Why did Gore lose the South in 2000?

[Spark]

Much of the South was won by Clinton in 1996.

[Frozen Sky Ever Why]

Gore might have held on to a few states like WV, TN, AR and maybe LA if McCain had been the nominee. Bush was simply a perfect fit for the south, not to mention the gun control issue was pretty hot in 2000 which helped him even more in the region. Would have been very interesting to see how Gore did in the south against Bush Sr if he had been nominated in 1988.

[darklordoftech]

Gore might have held on to a few states like WV, TN, AR and maybe LA if McCain had been the nominee. Bush was simply a perfect fit for the south, not to mention the gun control issue was pretty hot in 2000 which helped him even more in the region. Would have been very interesting to see how Gore did in the south against Bush Sr if he had been nominated in 1988.

I don’t think Bush’s views on immigration or education were good fits for the South or Appalachia, and he supported renewing the Assault Weapons Ban.

[President Johnson]

I'd say mostly due to cultural issues. Al Gore was more liberal than Bill Clinton and his environmental activism cost him support in coal states. Furthermore, Bush's message of "restoring honor" to the presidency after Clinton's scandals resonated with these conservative voters. Al Gore was tied to Clinton, even though not involved in the scandals. Another factor may have been that the Democratic friendly silent generation was starting to die off and be replaced by Baby Boomers, who mostly supported Republican candidates for president.

Noteworthy is that Al Gore still did better in many southern states than subsequent Democratic nominees, including Barack Obama.

[Podgy the Bear]

Gore in 2000 was similar to Richard Nixon in 1960--a Vice President who had to defend 8 years of the administration he served.   All of the above played a role.  And the Monica Lewinsky scandal played a significant role in much of the South--to turn conservative voters against the national Democratic Party once and for all.

[TDAS04]

Bush is a Southerner too (yes, Texas is part of the South).

[Some of My Best Friends Are Gay]

Gore might have held on to a few states like WV, TN, AR and maybe LA if McCain had been the nominee. Bush was simply a perfect fit for the south, not to mention the gun control issue was pretty hot in 2000 which helped him even more in the region. Would have been very interesting to see how Gore did in the south against Bush Sr if he had been nominated in 1988.

He probably would have done about as well as Clinton did.

[Frozen Sky Ever Why]

Gore might have held on to a few states like WV, TN, AR and maybe LA if McCain had been the nominee. Bush was simply a perfect fit for the south, not to mention the gun control issue was pretty hot in 2000 which helped him even more in the region. Would have been very interesting to see how Gore did in the south against Bush Sr if he had been nominated in 1988.

He probably would have done about as well as Clinton did.

Wasn't Gore still pro-life in 1988? I think an anti-choice Dem could have done very well in the south in 1988.

[brucejoel99]

First & foremost, it was the continuing shift of the South from the Democrats to the Republicans, a shift that'd been steadily happening for decades.

Second, though Gore had been a Senator from Tennessee prior to becoming Vice President, being Vice President means you represent the whole country, rather than just your slice of it, so his ties to Tennessee had weakened.

Third, he lacked Clinton's charm & charisma that helped him immensely in 1992 & 1996. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Gore was an uncharismatic, horrible campaigner. Rather than acknowledge his links with Clinton & run on continuing his successes, he completely distanced himself from Clinton & then ran as some kind of bizarre "3rd option" between the then-status quo & the "compassionate conservatism" of Bush; given those 2 options, people in those states easily went for Bush.

And last but certainly not least, his opponent in the election was another Southerner (& a more charming, more charismatic one at that).

[OSR stands with Israel]

Adjust for 2000 popular vote margin , Clinton only wins two southern states in 96(3 if you count WV) : Arkansas and  Louisiana .

[America Needs a 13-6 Progressive SCOTUS]

Adjust for 2000 popular vote margin , Clinton only wins two southern states in 96(3 if you count WV) : Arkansas and  Louisiana .

Adjust for 1996 popular vote margin, Gore wins the same Southern states Clinton won except Kentucky.

[Mr. Smith]

Adjust for 2000 popular vote margin , Clinton only wins two southern states in 96(3 if you count WV) : Arkansas and  Louisiana .

Adjust for 1996 popular vote margin, Gore wins the same Southern states Clinton won except Kentucky.

Either way, Republicans still win the lion's share of The South.

[UWS]

I guess it is because of Bush’s compassionate conservatism.

[TheElectoralBoobyPrize]

In 1996, a charismatic incumbent Democrat from the South lost much of the region to a lackluster Republican with no ties to the region...and you're surprised what happened in 2000?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Gore might have held on to a few states like WV, TN, AR and maybe LA if McCain had been the nominee. Bush was simply a perfect fit for the south, not to mention the gun control issue was pretty hot in 2000 which helped him even more in the region. Would have been very interesting to see how Gore did in the south against Bush Sr if he had been nominated in 1988.

I don’t think Bush’s views on immigration or education were good fits for the South or Appalachia, and he supported renewing the Assault Weapons Ban.

Abortion was also in the mix though and more important than the gun issue.

[Canis]

it wasn't so much that Gore lost the south it was more like bush won it

[One Term Floridian]

it wasn't so much that Gore lost the south it was more like bush won it

Other than a swing or two thru the Mississippi River I think just after the DNC, Gore pretty much neglected much of the South (especially his home state and WV).

I think we all know the only southern state Gore really seemed to care about winning, (Flori)duh. That was the only state he did a good job campaigning in that region

[Suburbia]

Cultural issues, his climate change issues, etc.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

It's not news that Bill CLINTON was unpopular in the South due to Impeachment, just like the South is very much against the Impeachment of Trump, 86-9 Rs are against Impeachment