Republican Cliff Stearns, who had been in office since 1989, ran for a seventh term in 2000. He faced no primary challengers or a Democratic candidate in the general election. Timothy Clower, a Jacksonville taxi business owner and a write-in candidate for this election, intended to use the term limits issue against Stearns, as he promised in 1988 that he would serve only six terms. Barbara Elliott of Bradenton also ran as a write-in candidate. The term limits issue failed to gain traction, as Stearns was re-elected almost unanimously, winning approximately 99.9% of the votes.
