2000 North Carolina gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2000 United States gubernatorial elections.

2000 North Carolina gubernatorial election

November 7, 2000

Nominee Mike Easley Richard Vinroot Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,530,324 1,360,960 Percentage 52.02% 46.26%

County results Easley:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Vinroot:      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election Jim Hunt Democratic Elected Governor Mike Easley Democratic

The 2000 North Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2000. The general election was between the Republican nominee, former mayor of Charlotte Richard Vinroot and the Democratic nominee, state Attorney General Mike Easley. Easley won by 52% to 46%, and succeeded fellow Democrat Jim Hunt as governor.

Primaries

Democratic

Candidates

• Bob Ayers
• Mike Easley, attorney general
• Ken Rogers
• Dennis Wicker, lieutenant governor

Results

Primary results by county:

Easley

•   Easley—81-90%
•   Easley—71-80%
•   Easley—61-70%
•   Easley—51-60%
•   Easley—41-50%

Wicker

•   Wicker—71-80%
•   Wicker—51-60%
•   Wicker—41-50%

2000 North Carolina gubernatorial Democratic primary election[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Mike Easley	330,764	58.86
	Democratic	Dennis A. Wicker	203,723	36.25
	Democratic	Bob Ayers	9,224	1.64
	Democratic	Ken Rogers	7,998	1.42
Turnout			561,940	100

Republican

Candidates

• Leo Daughtry, state representative
• Art Manning, candidate for governor in 1996
• Charles Neely, attorney and former state representative[2]
• Richard Vinroot, former mayor of Charlotte and candidate for governor in 1996

Results

Primary results by county:

Vinroot

•   Vinroot—71-80%
•   Vinroot—61-70%
•   Vinroot—51-60%
•   Vinroot—41-50%
•   Vinroot—31-40%

Daughtry

•   Daughtry—81-90%
•   Daughtry—71-80%
•   Daughtry—61-70%
•   Daughtry—51-60%
•   Daughtry—41-50%
•   Daughtry—31-40%

Neely

•   Neely—31-40%

  Tie between Daughtry and Neely—31-40%

2000 North Carolina gubernatorial Republican primary election[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Richard Vinroot	142,820	45.48
	Republican	Leo Daughtry	116,115	36.97
	Republican	Charles Neely	48,101	15.32
	Republican	Art Manning	7,019	2.23
Turnout			314,055	100

General election

Debates

• Complete video of debate, September 13, 2000
• Complete video of debate, October 27, 2000

Results

2000 North Carolina gubernatorial election[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Mike Easley	1,530,324	52.02%	−3.96
	Republican	Richard Vinroot	1,360,960	46.26%	+3.51
	Libertarian	Barbara Howe	42,674	1.45%	+0.77
	Reform	Douglas Schell	8,104	0.28%	N/A
Turnout			2,942,062
	Democratic hold		Swing

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Alamance (largest municipality: Burlington)
• Onslow (largest town: Jacksonville)
• Polk (Largest city: Tryon)
• Rutherford (Largest city: Forest City)
• Surry (Largest city: Mount Airy)
• Carteret (Largest city: Morehead City)
• Mecklenburg (largest municipality: Charlotte)

Footnotes

1. "North Carolina DataNet #46" (PDF). University of North Carolina. April 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2008. Retrieved June 12, 2009.
2. Saulsby, Pam (April 27, 2000). "Neely Enjoys Gubernatorial Campaign Run on Message Not Money". WRAL.com. Retrieved January 17, 2021.