At the time, California had a blanket primary, meaning all candidates of all parties were on the same ballot, but the state parties, exploiting a loophole in the election law, used color-coded ballots so that only votes from party members would count. Thus, many votes for McCain—nearly 800,000—were discounted. It was thought by pundits that McCain could demonstrate his viability in a large Democratic state if he won the general primary; however, Bush still won a solid majority with all the non-Republican votes factored in.
Results
Key:
Withdrew prior to contest
2000 California Republican presidential primary[1][2]
^Map reflects all votes cast. Bush carried all counties when only Republican votes were counted.
References
^"Summary Statement of Votes Cast for Offices and Measures" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 8, 2008. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
^"Federal Elections 2000: Presidential Primary Election Results by State" (PDF). Federal Election Commission.
^2000 Republican Presidential Primary Results - California