Remembering Nashville’s role on election night 2000

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — On this election night, we reflect on a year in which Nashville mattered most. We hear from people who have experienced this.

November 2000 – Al Gore arrives in Middle Tennessee. The state was believed to be in the running for the presidential election because it was Gore’s home state. George W. Bush’s team also worked hard to win in Tennessee.

Reporters from all over the world flocked to Nashville. War Memorial Square was designated as the location where Gore hoped to make his victory speech that night.

Ben Hall reported from there. Phil Williams was on the editorial team. Pat Nolan was on set.

“Everything was evolving in Nashville like Nashville had never seen before,” Ben recalled. “This was a Tennessean running for president. I remember it was a cold and rainy night. Everyone watched our television on our platform and followed the voting results. Back then, everyone expected that we would have a winner on election night. if anyone gives in. That evening we gave a victory speech. It’s something we saw over and over again growing up.”

“One of the interesting things was that Al Gore didn’t take Tennessee,” Phil said. “The experts looked at the fact that he failed to retain his home state.”

“Some Republican leaders in the state believed that Gore was vulnerable here,” Pat added. “It turned out they were right. Tennessee in those days had either 10 or 11 electoral votes, so Gore’s vote total would have been above 270 and Bush’s would have been below that level. CBS and other networks called Florida pretty early, and they named it after Gore. In the end, they all turned around and gave the state to Bush.”

“That meant Bush would win,” Ben said.

However, Phil kept an eye on the Florida numbers on the Secretary of State’s website.

“I walked into the news director’s office and said, ‘I don’t think it’s over,'” Phil said.

“Phil kept bringing new news and put it in my hand and I passed it to Chris (Clack),” Pat said.

“We’ve been informed that Gore’s team is boarding a motorcade and heading to the War Memorial Hall,” Phil said.

“We were ready for a concession speech,” Ben continued. “It was cold, wet, and suddenly the motorcade stopped. I remember thinking, “This is taking a really long time.” He doesn’t come out. No talk of concessions. There was a huge discussion on the topic: “What should we do?”

“By the time Gore’s motorcade reached 7th and Charlotte, Bush’s lead in Florida had dwindled to hundreds of votes,” Pat added.

This is the long story of everything that followed George W. Bush becoming the 43rd president. But Middle Tennessee was a key part of the election that night, one of the focal points of the nation’s attention.

“This was the biggest political story Tennessee has faced in many, many years,” Phil said.

“Without a doubt, I felt like I was living in history,” Ben added. “Even then, even as a young guy, I knew that this would live in history. It was an incredible spectacle, an incredible event to cover.”