[4] Bush was unopposed for the GOP nomination, and spent the summer amassing a war chest of over $5.6 million towards his re-election campaign.

McBride, backed by big money donors, was able to exploit Reno's paltry war chest, and sometime aloof campaign.

[5] Reno's connections to the Clinton Administration, and her handling of both the Waco siege and the Elián González affair were frequent topics in the primary.

[12] McBride's campaign focused on the importance of public education, supporting policies such as teacher pay rises and less emphasis on standardized tests.

[2] Though McBride himself did not make the topic an issue of his campaign, nationwide Democrats saw the race as an opportunity to avenge Al Gore's controversial loss in Florida during the 2000 presidential election and the subsequent recount.

[14][16] Department of Justice observers were stationed at some of the polls,[2] but unlike the problems during the 2000 presidential election and the Democratic primary, voting went smoothly.