Republican John McCain celebrated his victory in the 2000 New Hampshire primary with his wife, Cindy. The Arizona senator jumped out to an early lead in the race for his party's nomination, but was ultimately overtaken by Texas Governor George W. Bush, who won the election.

Some McCain officials claimed their campaign, which stressed the candidate's maverick reputation and "straight talk" delivery, had been railroaded by dirty tactics from Bush's team, particularly its chief strategist, Karl Rove.