Buchanan won the national mail-in primary by a wide margin, but Hagelin supporters contended that some of the ballots were fraudulently cast and filed multiple complaints with the FEC.

The ticket was also speculated to indirectly have influenced the result of the election, due to the design of a Palm Beach, Florida, ballot which led many Gore supporters to accidentally cast a vote for Buchanan.

[2] His surprisingly strong showing in the primary was regarded as foreshadowing Bush's electoral troubles which would culminate in his losing the general election to Bill Clinton.

[4] His campaign did not receive the same level of attention as his bids four and eight years earlier, and in August 1999, he placed fifth in the Iowa straw poll, behind George W. Bush, Steve Forbes, Elizabeth Dole, and Gary Bauer.

[8][9] At a June 1999 luncheon in Washington, former presidential advisor Roger Stone first suggested to Bay Buchanan, Pat's sister and campaign manager, that her brother consider running for the Reform nomination.

[8][11] He contended that the Democratic and Republican Parties "have become nothing but two wings of the same bird of prey," pointing to what he characterized as their similar positions, such as supporting "soft money" in campaign finance, and international trade agreements.

[31] On April 12, 2000, Buchanan announced that, if elected, he would appoint Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa to a cabinet post and oppose efforts to normalize trade with China.

[32] In June 2000, Fulani resigned her position as campaign co-chair, citing Buchanan's emphasis on social conservatism, his failure to reach out to independents and left-leaning voters, and his decision not to support her bid for party chair as the primary reasons for her departure.

[1] As a result, the certified primary ballot listed two candidates: Buchanan and Michigan physicist John Hagelin, a member of the Natural Law Party.

[38] Regardless, prior to the convention, Hagelin supporters filed a Federal Election Commission complaint alleging fraud in the primary process and protesting Buchanan's expected receipt of the matching funds.

[45] Foster had spent 33 years as a school teacher and administrator, and had identified as a Democrat in the 1960s before joining the Republican Party; she eventually left the latter because she felt it was insufficiently conservative.

[40] She had also been a vocal proponent of Proposition 187, a 1984 ballot measure in California which aimed to deny aid to undocumented immigrants, and in 1996 co-chaired Buchanan's second presidential campaign.

[40] Additionally, Foster was a traveling speaker for the John Birch Society and founded a conservative advocacy organization called "Black-Americans for Family Values" which, among other causes, objected to references to homosexuality in public school curriculum and defended the display of Confederate flags in the South.

[40][45] During the campaign, she was noted for her positions on education-related issues, criticizing free school lunches for low-income students as being socialistic, and arguing that Ritalin and other hyperactivity drugs are overprescribed for children.

"[46][47][48][49] Reform Party officials were publicly complimentary towards the selection of Foster, commending the symbolism of a racially diverse ticket and noting that her background in education qualified her to discuss an issue important to many voters.

[50] The Buchanan campaign contended in an August 2 e-mail to supporters that Hagelin was planning to put forward a proposal to merge the Reform and Natural Law parties.

[54] The choice of venue for the kickoff was considered significant because earlier in the year, Republican nominee Bush had declined to condemn the school's controversial policies—including a ban on interracial dating which had lasted until that year—and was criticized by some.

[55] The university president argued that Buchanan's decision to launch his campaign at the school supported his belief that "the press had it all wrong when they vilified George Bush for coming here.

"[55] During his speech, Buchanan highlighted a number of his campaign positions, including imposing judicial term limits, pursuing antitrust action against entertainment companies like Disney, and withdrawing from the United Nations and forcing them to relocate their headquarters out of New York.

[58][60][62] In Vermont, the campaign aired an ad titled "Culture War", in which Buchanan criticized the idea of having openly gay Boy Scout leaders; the spot was considered particularly relevant to the state since they had recently legalized same-sex civil unions.

[42] In November 1999, Buchanan voiced support for the World Trade Organization protests in Seattle, and himself opposed the WTO by arguing that it was an "embryonic monster" that threatened national sovereignty, enabled human rights abuses, and lessened Americans' job security.

[73] He also suggested that his views on trade had won him support among some minority communities, stating in an NPR interview that "These manufacturing jobs in America that I'm trying to save aren't for Pat Buchanan.

[31] His views differed from those of trade unions on some other issues, however: he opposed large increases to the minimum wage or the implementation of a universal health care program.

[72] Another issue central to Buchanan's campaign was his opposition to military interventionism in almost all circumstances; this stance was the focus of A Republic, Not an Empire, and elicited criticism from Trump, McCain, and others within the Republican and Reform parties.

[76][77] He stated that he would select a pro-life running mate, would have an abortion litmus test for Supreme Court nominees, and would advocate for a Human Life Amendment to the US Constitution.

[76] After the FDA approval on September 28, Buchanan issued a press release saying that "Today, our government certified the culture of death in an easy to swallow tablet".

[76] In his October Meet the Press appearance, Buchanan referred to the drug as "a human pesticide" and stated that he would oppose its being placed on the market, including by way of appointments to the FDA.

[76] During a January 24, 2000, appearance on CNN, Buchanan argued that racism exists "right there in the human heart" and that "that's a problem that can't be dealt with simply by political leaders.

[83] Buchanan differed from Foster on the issue of subsidized school lunches for low-income students; while she argued that they were unnecessary and socialistic, he voiced support for maintaining the program.

[88] The Palm Beach County election official who had designed the ballot agreed that it was "suspicious" that Buchanan had received so many votes from traditionally Democratic, Jewish precincts.