AHC: President Elizabeth Dole in 2000

Now here's a challenge, how would you make Elizabeth Dole win the 2000 Presidential Election?
 
Well, easy. Make George Bush decline running in 2000, as he sees it as an easy win for the Dems. Besides, he won in a landslide in Texas in 1998. Why leave the people who voted for him? Liz Dole basically takes the place of Bush in the primary and wins. Liz Dole would probably be able to take more voters than Bush and decisively win more states. No Gore popular vote win. No Florida recount.
 
Didn't she drop out in '99 because of fundraising?

Meaning the invisible primary, the "Lester primary" (as small a percentage of citizens as those named Lester).
 
Alternatively, have Harvey Gantt win the 1990 senate race, have Bob not run in 1996 for some reason, and have Elizabeth run for the senate race. The added experience would allow her to rally up the Anyone But Bush base. If Bush doesn't run, she'd be the frontrunner.
 
Have Bush run a worse campaign (maybe take Karl Rove out of the equation) for Texas Governor in 1994 so Richards wins re-election, or have Bush not run at all. Also have Jeb defeated in 1994 as OTL. Thereby no Bushes run and thus Dole can be the frontrunner for the Republican nomination
 
If GHW Bush had not been available (my usual POD is to have Clayton Williams run a better campaign for governor of Texas and win in 1990 and run again in 1994), Elizabeth Dole would have been a possible GOP presidential nominee, but she has never struck me as a very strong candidate (her only electoral victory was in North Carolina in 2002, a good year for Republicans) and I doubt that she would beat Gore. (Remember that one thing that helped GW Bush win Florida in 2000 was his relationship, political as well as family, with Jeb Bush...)
 
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