The United States presidential election of 2000 was held on Tuesday, November 7, 2000, to elect the President of the United States. It was the 54th consecutive quadrennial election for President and Vice President. Independent candidate Charles Malcolm Edwards, two term mayor of Seattle, Washington, defeated Democratic Party candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President, and Republican Governor of Texas, George W. Bush. Bill Clinton, the incumbent President, was vacating the position after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the Twenty-second Amendment.