U.S. presidential election, 1996

The U.S. presidential election of 1996 was a contest between incumbent President Bill Clinton and Senator Bob Dole of Kansas. Clinton benefitted from a good economy and a lack of credible foreign threats, and won the election handily over Dole, who was thought to have run a lackluster campaign.

General election

Campaign

Without meaningful primary opposition, Clinton was able to focus on the general election early, while Dole was forced to move to the right and spend his campaign reserves fighting off challengers. As a result, Clinton could run a campaign through the summer defining his opponent as an aged conservative far from the mainstream before Dole was in a position to respond. (Compared to the youthful Clinton, Dole appeared especially old and frail, illustrated by an embarrassing fall off a stage during a campaign event.)

Related Topics:
Clinton - Dole

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Throughout the runup to the general election, Clinton maintained comfortable leads in the polls over Dole and Perot. The televised debates featured only Dole and Clinton, locking out Perot and the other minor candidates from the discussion. Perot, who had been allowed to participate in the 1992 debates, would eventually take his case to court, seeking damages from not being in the debate, as well as citing unfair coverage from the major media outlets.

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In the end, Clinton won with a clear lead over Dole and Perot won less than half as many votes as he had in 1992, although Clinton was narrowly denied the absolute majority of votes he had hoped for.

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Although he hailed from Arkansas, Clinton carried just four of the eleven states of the American South, tying his 1992 run for the worst performance by a winning Democratic presidential candidate in the region (in terms of states won). Clinton's performance seems to have been part of a broader decline in support for the Democratic Party in the South. In the 2000 and 2004 elections, the Democrats would fail to carry even one of the Southern states, leading to their defeat both times. This completed the Republican takeover of the American South, a region in which Democrats had held a near monopoly for a century after Reconstruction.

Related Topics:
American South - 2000 - 2004 election - Reconstruction

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Results

Source (Popular Vote): {{Leip PV source 2| year=1996| as of=August 7, 2005}}

Related Topics:
August 7 - 2005

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Source (Electoral Vote): {{National Archives EV source| year=1996| as of=August 7, 2005}}

Related Topics:
August 7 - 2005

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Voting Age Population: 196,498,000

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Percent of voting age population casting a vote for President: 49.00%

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(a) On the California, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas election ballots, James Campbell of California, Perot's former boss at IBM, was listed as a stand-in Vice-Presidential candidate until Perot decided on Pat Choate as his choice for Vice President.

Related Topics:
California - Indiana - Iowa - Kansas - Louisiana - Maine - Maryland - Missouri - Montana - Oregon - South Dakota - Tennessee - Texas - IBM

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(b) {{U.S. presidential election PV minimum}}

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Close states

• Kentucky, 0.96%
• Nevada, 1.02%
• Georgia, 1.17%
• Colorado, 1.37%
• Virginia, 1.96%
• Arizona, 2.22%
• Tennessee, 2.41%
• Montana, 2.88%
• South Dakota, 3.46%
• North Carolina, 4.69%
• Texas, 4.93%
• Mississippi, 5.13%
• Indiana, 5.58%
• Florida, 5.70%
• South Carolina, 6.04%
• Missouri, 6.30%
• Ohio, 6.36%
• North Dakota, 6.81%
• Alabama, 6.97%
• New Mexico, 7.33%
• Oklahoma, 7.81%
• Oregon, 8.09%
• Pennsylvania, 9.20%
• New Hampshire, 9.95%