1996
The 1996 U.S. presidential election was won by Bill Clinton (Democratic) with 379 of 538 electoral votes, defeating Bob Dole (Republican). Electoral vote margin: 220 EV, popular-vote margin +8.5%; turnout 51.7%. The cycle falls in the Modern Polarization era of American electoral history.
Bill Clinton and the 1996 map
Clinton won re-election comfortably over veteran Senator Bob Dole, running on the booming economy and declaring that 'the era of big government is over.' Clinton's triangulation strategy co-opted many Republican positions while defending the social safety net. Perot ran again on the Reform Party ticket but won only 8.4% compared to his 1992 total. The economy was in a strong expansion, and Clinton's incumbency advantages were decisive. No Democratic candidate had won consecutive terms since FDR.
Budget surplus; economic boom; welfare reform; Newt Gingrich's Republican Revolution
First Democrat re-elected since FDR; Perot ran again but won only half his 1992 support
States · 51 reporting
Embed
Drop this map on your site · coming soon
Free iframe with attribution. White-label option in the works.
Get notified →Classroom
All 300 packets, free
60 cycles · K-2 through AP · open download.
Browse packets →Poster
Wall-worthy print · coming soon
Every-election grid and single-state series in the works.
Get notified →Read further
Curated picksWhy We're Polarized
Ezra Klein
How modern American politics got this way.
Buy on Amazon →The Bitter End
John Sides et al.
How Trump and the 2020 election reshaped the parties.
Buy on Amazon →Confidence Man
Maggie Haberman
Trump in his own habitat.
Buy on Amazon →Recommendations are editorial.
Free, ad-light, no paywall
Built by one person. Tips fund the next 60 elections of editorial.