Who won South Dakota in the 1996 presidential election?

Dole (Republican) carried South Dakota in 1996, winning its 3 electoral votes.

How many electoral votes did South Dakota have in 1996?

South Dakota cast 3 electoral votes in the 1996 presidential election.

Did South Dakota vote for the national winner in 1996?

No. South Dakota backed Dole, while Bill Clinton won the presidency nationally.

Modern PolarizationSD · 3 EV

1996

South Dakota: Dole carries 3 EV.

South Dakota cast its 3 electoral votes for Dole (Republican). National winner: Bill Clinton (Democratic) — South Dakota voted against the national winner this cycle.

Reading the 1996 result in South Dakota

South Dakota backed Dole (Republican) in the 1996 presidential election, casting 3 electoral votes for the ticket. Nationally the result broke the other way — Bill Clinton (Democratic) won the presidency, leaving South Dakota among the states he did not carry.

It marked the 8th consecutive election in which South Dakota backed the Republican party, a streak reaching back to 1968. The region divided — North Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana joined South Dakota for the Republican ticket, while Minnesota and Iowa did not. Across the 34 presidential elections South Dakota has taken part in, it has most often sided with the Republican party (29 times). The vote fell within the Modern Polarization — Close elections in a divided country.

In the national count, Bill Clinton took 379 of the 538 electoral votes, against Bob Dole's 159. Bill Clinton led the national popular vote with 49.23% of the ballots cast.

The 1996 national map

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