The 2000 presidential campaign of

Bill Bradley William Warren Bradley (born July 28, 1943) is an American politician and former professional basketball player. He served three terms as a Democratic U.S. senator from New Jersey (1979–1997). He ran for the Democratic Party's nomination f ...

, 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 Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...

for his party's nomination. Bradley campaigned as a

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

alternative to Gore, taking positions to the left of Gore on a number of issues, including universal health care,

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...

, and

campaign finance reform Campaign finance reform may refer to: * Reform of campaign finance Campaign finance, also known as election finance or political donations, refers to the funds raised to promote candidates, political parties, or policy initiatives and referen ...

Political positions

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. On

public education State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

, Bradley reversed his previous support of school vouchers, declaring them a failure. He proposed to make over $2 billion in

block grant A block grant is a grant-in-aid of a specified amount from a larger government to a smaller regional government body. Block grants have less oversight from the larger government and provide flexibility to each subsidiary government body in terms ...

s 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. 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 A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...

, 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 In the United States, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a federal program that provides food-purchasing assistance for low- and no-income people. It is a federal aid program, ad ...

Endorsements

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. Outgoing New York Senator

Daniel Patrick Moynihan Daniel Patrick Moynihan (March 16, 1927 – March 26, 2003) was an American politician, diplomat and sociologist. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented New York in the United States Senate from 1977 until 2001 and served as an ...

endorsed Bradley's campaign, opining that Gore would be unable to win the election. 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).

Decline

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. 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. In addition, in the days leading up to the New Hampshire primary, questions were raised about his physical health. In the

New Hampshire primary The New Hampshire presidential primary is the first in a series of nationwide party primary elections and the second party contest (the first being the Iowa caucuses) held in the United States every four years as part of the process of choosi ...

, Bradley lost to Gore by six percentage points. Bradley stayed in the race until after Super Tuesday, but he never won a contest, and ultimately endorsed Gore.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, Bill Democratic Party (United States) presidential campaigns 2000 United States presidential campaigns