This conservative switch led Texas Gov. George W. Bush to make multiple visits to the state, campaigning hard and trying to embarrass Gore in his own backyard. Both candidates aired a deluge of television ads and made campaign appearances in the state during the final hours before the election.
"Clinton-fatigue" also played a role in the election, locals say.
Gore supporter Beverly L. Barnes says many of the state's conservative voters united after Clinton won Tennessee in 1996 and turned out in massive numbers in last week's election.
"They wanted to make sure it didn't go Democratic again," Barnes says.
"Tennessee lost out tonight by not electing Gore," supporter Joyce McDaniel said on election night. "We had our chance and we blew it."
Tennessee has long held a love-hate relationship with its biggest political family.
Al Gore Sr., Gore's father, lost his reelection bid to the U.S. Senate in 1970 largely because the state's residents considered him too liberal.
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