2000 Indiana gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2000 United States gubernatorial elections.

2000 Indiana gubernatorial election

November 7, 2000 (2000-11-07)

Nominee Frank O'Bannon David McIntosh Party Democratic Republican Running mate Joe Kernan J. Murray Clark Popular vote 1,232,525 908,285 Percentage 56.6% 41.7%

County results O'Bannon:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% McIntosh:      40–50%      50–60%

Governor before election Frank O'Bannon Democratic Elected Governor Frank O'Bannon Democratic

The 2000 Indiana gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2000. Incumbent Governor Frank O'Bannon, a Democrat, was re-elected over Republican David M. McIntosh with 57% of the vote. Libertarian Andrew Horning also ran and received 2% of the vote. O'Bannon's victory was the fourth consecutive election in which a Democrat was elected Governor of Indiana, the longest winning streak for that party in the state since 1856. As of 2024, this was the last time a Democrat was elected Governor of Indiana.

Primaries

Republican

Congressman David M. McIntosh faced John Price in the May 2 Primary Election. Former gubernatorial candidate George Witwer had previously declined to run and instead endorsed McIntosh. McIntosh's central campaign theme was a 25% cut in property taxes, which drew ire from many of his opponents.[1] McIntosh also called for replacing the ISTEP Plus standardized test and merit-based evaluations of teachers in his "Kids First" education plan, released on March 3, 2000.

Price's campaign was based largely on his "Price Plan", a 70-page booklet outlining a 27-step program for running the state government. In the Primary election, Price was defeated soundly by McIntosh, who won 71% of the vote.

McIntosh

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%

Price

•   50–60%

Republican primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David M. McIntosh	279,920	70.96
	Republican	John Price	114,580	29.04
Total votes			394,500	100.00

Democratic

Incumbent Governor Frank O'Bannon ran unopposed for his party's nomination. He won 272,213 votes statewide and 100% of the vote.

Democratic primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Frank O'Bannon (incumbent)	272,213	100.00
Total votes			272,213	100.00

Other Candidates

Libertarian Andrew Horning entered the gubernatorial race on March 23, pledging to eliminate state property taxes. Horning had run for Mayor of Indianapolis in 1999 and received four percent of the vote.[1] Horning pitched himself as an alternative to the two major parties, both of which he blamed for "the embarrassing state of education in Indiana".

Horning's running mate was Mark Schreiber.[2]

General election

Campaign

Throughout the campaign, McIntosh made his proposed 25% tax cut his signature issue. O'Bannon attacked the plan as potentially harmful to education, which was his top talking point during the fall campaign. O'Bannon unveiled a $310 million education plan on July 19 which drew scorn from both sides because of the inclusion of lottery money in the proposed funding. Despite this, O'Bannon maintained a steady lead over his opponent, with a September 1 poll showing him leading McIntosh by 21 points. This was partially credited to public distrust of McIntosh's tax policies, with polls showing "deep skepticism" of the proposed 25% cut, according to the Indianapolis Star.[1]

Results

O'Bannon won the election with 57% of the vote. McIntosh trailed far behind at 42%, with Horning carrying just 2% of the vote.

Indiana gubernatorial election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Frank O'Bannon (incumbent)/Joe Kernan (incumbent)	1,232,525	56.56
	Republican	David M. McIntosh/J. Murray Clark	908,285	41.68
	Libertarian	Andrew Horning/Mark Schreiber	38,458	1.76
Total votes			2,179,268	100.0
	Democratic hold

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Tippecanoe (largest city: Lafayette)
• Adams (Largest city: Decatur)
• Allen (Largest city: Fort Wayne)
• Bartholomew (Largest city: Columbus)
• Benton (Largest city: Fowler)
• Warrick (Largest city: Logansport)
• Decatur (Largest city: Greensburg)
• DeKalb (Largest city: Auburn)
• Fountain (Largest city: Attica)
• Franklin (Largest city: Brookville)
• Grant (Largest city: Marion)
• Hancock (Largest city: Greenfield)
• Henry (Largest city: New Castle)
• Howard (Largest city: Kokomo)
• LaGrange (Largest city: LaGrange)
• Montgomery (Largest city: Crawfordsville)
• Noble (Largest city: Kendallville)
• Pulaski (Largest city: Winamac)
• Putnam (Largest city: Greencastle)
• Rush (Largest city: Rushville)
• Shelby (Largest city: Shelbyville)
• Steuben (Largest city: Angola)
• Tipton (Largest city: Tipton)
• Union (Largest city: Liberty)
• Warren (Largest city: Williamsport)
• Wayne (Largest city: Richmond)
• White (Largest city: Monticello)
• Whitley (Largest city: Columbia City)
• Dearborn (largest city: Lawrenceburg)
• Jasper (largest city: Rennselaer)
• Carroll (Largest city: Delphi)

References

1. "Governor's Race". Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on December 20, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
2. Stedman, Lesley (October 29, 2000). "Libertarian Horning dreams of win, will settle for 5 percent". Newspapers.com. The Courier–Journal (Louisville, Kentucky). Retrieved March 7, 2021.