The 1992 United States presidential election was the 52nd quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 1992. Democratic Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas defeated incumbent Republican President George H. W. Bush, independent businessman Ross Perot of Texas, and a number of minor candidates. This election marked the end of a period of Republican dominance that began in 1968.
Results[]
Bill Clinton won the election by a wide margin in the Electoral College, receiving 43% of the popular vote against Bush's 37.4% and Perot's 18.9%. It was the first time since 1968 that a candidate won the White House with under 50% of the popular vote. Only Washington, D.C., and Clinton's home state of Arkansas gave the majority of their votes to a single candidate in the entire country; the rest were won by pluralities of the vote. Clinton was the first Democrat since 1964 to win a majority of states.
Perot received 19,743,821 with 18.9% of the popular vote. The billionaire used his own money to advertise extensively, and is the only third-party candidate ever allowed into the nationally televised presidential debates with both major party candidates (Independent John B. Anderson debated Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980, but without Democrat Jimmy Carter, who had refused to appear in a three-man debate). Perot's almost 19% of the popular vote made him the most successful third-party presidential candidate in terms of popular vote since Theodore Roosevelt in the 1912 election. Also, his 19% of the popular vote was the highest ever for a candidate who did not win any electoral votes. Although he did not win any states, Perot managed to finish ahead of one of the two major party candidates in two states: In Maine, he received 30.44% of the vote to Bush's 30.39% (Clinton won Maine with 38.77%); in Utah, he collected 27.34% of the vote to Clinton's 24.65%. Bush won that state with 43.36%. He also came in second in Maine's 2nd congressional district where he had his best overall showing. He won 33.2% of the vote there and missed out on the district's 1 elector by only 4.5% of the vote.
Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Popular vote | Electoral vote | Vice presidential candidate | Home state | Electoral vote | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Count | Percentage | |||||||
Bill Clinton | Democratic | Arkansas | 44,909,889 | 43.01% | 370 | Al Gore | Tennessee | 370 |
George H. W. Bush* | Republican | Texas | 39,104,550 | 37.45% | 168 | Dan Quayle* | Indiana | 168 |
Ross Perot | Independent | Texas | 19,743,821 | 18.91% | 0 | James Stockdale | California | 0 |
Others | 665,746 | 0.64% | 0 | Others | 0 | |||
Total | 104,423,923 | 100.00% | 538 | Total | 538 | |||
Needed to win | 270 | Needed to win | 270 | |||||
*Incumbent |
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