The 2000 North Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2000. The general election was fought between the Republican nominee, former mayor of Charlotte Richard Vinroot and the Democratic nominee, state Attorney General Mike Easley. Easley won by 52% to 46%, and succeeded fellow Democrat Jim Hunt as governor. This election was the first North Carolina gubernatorial election since 1980 in which the winner of the gubernatorial election was of a different party from the winner of the concurrent presidential election.

Richard A. Vinroot is an American politician and attorney from Charlotte, North Carolina. He served as the 52nd Mayor of Charlotte from 1991 to 1995. Vinroot ran unsuccessfully for Governor of North Carolina in 1996, 2000 and 2004. The City of Charlotte's Richard Vinroot International Achievement Award is named in his honor.