In 2000, Republican George W. Bush went up against Democratic nominee Al Gore. Leading up to Election Day, the race was neck and neck, foreshadowing a difficult and bitter end.
On election night, the results for Florida were so close that media outlets first announced Gore won the state. Later, they said Bush won. Although Gore gave a concession speech, he eventually rescinded it, and the state went into a recount.
The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which decided the recount was unconstitutional. Florida's electoral votes went to Bush, giving him the election.
"The court divided along ideological lines with the conservatives backing Bush, the more conservative candidate, and the liberals backing Gore, the more liberal candidate," Richard Hasen wrote in his book, "The Voting Wars: From Florida 2000 to the Next Election Meltdown." "The case presented difficult questions about court intervention in a process that both sides thought was infected with politics from the opposing side."