1996 United States presidential election

The 1996 United States presidential election happened on November 5, 1996. Bill Clinton, the incumbent president and Democratic candidate, won reelection. He defeated Bob Dole, the Republican candidate, who was the former Senator of Kansas for president, and Ross Perot, the Reform Party candidate, who was a businessman.

Perot received less media attention and was not included in the presidential debates and, while still getting large results for a third-party candidate, by U.S. standards, did not renew his success in the 1992 election.

Clinton benefited from an economy that recovered from the early 1990s recession, and a relatively stable world stage. On November 5, 1996,^[2] President Clinton went on to win re-election by a substantial popular vote margin with a large electoral college victory.

President Clinton went on to win re-election relatively easily despite becoming the first sitting president since Woodrow Wilson in 1916 to do so with under 50% of the National Vote (49%), while winning enough states to earn him 379 electoral votes. Senator Bob Dole from Kansas ran for the Republicans and was at the mercy of peaceful overseas relations and a thriving economy. He gained (41%) of the vote while winning enough states to win 159 electoral votes. The GOP did well in the congressional races however thus effectively positioning themselves for the 1998 midterms and the subsequent 2000 race for the White House.

• Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States (1993-2001) (Nominee)
• Jimmy Griffin, former mayor of Buffalo from New York (1978-1993)
• Lyndon LaRouche, activist and perennial candidate from Virginia

• Former Mayor of Buffalo
  Jimmy Griffin
  from New York
  (1978-1993)
  (Withdrew in February 1996)
• Activist and perennial candidate
  Lyndon LaRouche
  from Virginia

• Bob Dole, US Senator from Kansas (1969-1996) and 1976 vice presidential nominee (Nominee)
• Pat Buchanan, former White House Communications Director from Virginia (1985-1987)
• Steve Forbes, newspaper and magazine publisher from New Jersey (1990-present)
• Lamar Alexander, former Governor of Tennessee (1979-1987) and former US Secretary of Education (1991-1993)
• Richard Lugar, US Senator from Indiana (1977–2013)
• Phil Gramm, US Senator from Texas (1985–2002)
• Alan Keyes, former Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs (1985-1987) from Maryland
• Bob Dornan, U.S. representative from California (1977-1983, 1985-1997)
• Arlen Specter, US Senator from Pennsylvania (1981-2011)
• Pete Wilson, Governor of California (1991-1999)

• Senator
  Bob Dole
  from Kansas
• Conservative columnist
  Pat Buchanan
  from Virginia
• Newspaper and magazine publisher
  Steve Forbes
  from New York
• Former Governor
  Lamar Alexander
  of Tennessee
• Former U.S. ECOSOC Ambassador
  Alan Keyes from Maryland
• Senator
  Richard Lugar
  from Indiana
• Senator
  Phil Gramm
  from Texas
• Representative
  Bob Dornan
  from California
• Senator
  Arlen Specter
  from Pennsylvania
• Governor
  Pete Wilson
  of California

• Ross Perot, founder of the Reform Party and 1992 Independent nominee for President of the United States (Nominee)
• Richard Lamm, former Governor of Colorado (1975-1987)

Media related to United States presidential election, 1996 at Wikimedia Commons