ABSTRACT
In the summer of 2000, it looked like House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-MO-3) could start measuring for curtains in the Speaker’s office. The Democrats needed to pick up only a handful of seats to take over the House, and they had to do so in a year in which almost three times as many Republicans as Democrats had announced they would not seek reelection. Democrats also had good issues on which to run. Survey after survey showed that voters favored Democrats on key issues such as education, health care, Social Security, and gun control. On top of that, Democrats expected a boost from the presidential ticket, led by an experienced politician who had presided over a booming economy.
