1992 United States presidential election in North Carolina

Summary

The 1992 United States presidential election in North Carolina took place on November 3, 1992, and was part of the 1992 United States presidential election. Voters chose 14 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1992 United States presidential election in North Carolina

← 1988 November 3, 1992 1996 →
 
Nominee George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton Ross Perot
Party Republican Democratic Independent
Home state Texas Arkansas Texas
Running mate Dan Quayle Al Gore James Stockdale
Electoral vote 14 0 0
Popular vote 1,134,661 1,114,042 357,864
Percentage 43.44% 42.65% 13.70%


President before election

George H. W. Bush
Republican

Elected President

Bill Clinton
Democratic

North Carolina was very narrowly won by incumbent Republican President George H. W. Bush of Texas over his Democratic challenger, Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas. Bush took 43.44% of the vote to Clinton's 42.65%, a margin of 0.79%. North Carolina was the second-closest state in this election behind neighboring Georgia.[1] This was also the first time since 1956 when North Carolina did not support the winning candidate. It has since gone on to back losing Republicans Bob Dole in 1996, Mitt Romney in 2012, and Donald Trump in 2020.

Billionaire businessman Ross Perot, running as an Independent, finished in third, with 13.70% of the vote, a relatively strong showing for a third party candidate, and his second highest showing in the Southeast, behind only Florida.

Despite being from the South, Bill Clinton became the first Democrat to win the White House without carrying the state of North Carolina since James K. Polk in 1844, and Bush became the first ever Republican to carry the state while losing nationally. As of the 2020 presidential election, the 1992 election constitutes the last occasion the following counties have supported a Democratic presidential nominee: Alleghany, Brunswick, Greene, Pamlico, Pender, Rockingham, Sampson and Yancey.[2] This would also be the last election in which North Carolina would vote to the left of neighboring Virginia. Additionally, with Bush and Clinton each winning 50 of North Carolina's 100 counties, this remains the last time that a Republican presidential nominee has failed to win a majority of the state's counties.

Results edit

1992 United States presidential election in North Carolina[3]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Republican George H. W. Bush (incumbent) 1,134,661 43.44% 14
Democratic Bill Clinton 1,114,042 42.65% 0
Independent Ross Perot 357,864 13.70% 0
Libertarian Andre Marrou 5,171 0.20% 0
New Alliance Party Lenora Fulani (write-in) 59 0.00% 0
Natural Law Dr. John Hagelin (write-in) 41 0.00% 0
Socialist Workers Party James Warren (write-in) 12 0.00% 0
Totals 2,611,850 100.0% 14
Voter turnout 54.52%

Results by county edit

County[4] George H.W. Bush
Republican
Bill Clinton
Democratic
Ross Perot
Independent
Various candidates
Other parties
Margin Total
# % # % # % # % # %
Alamance 20,637 48.33% 15,521 36.35% 6,444 15.09% 99 0.23% 5,116 11.98% 42,701
Alexander 6,764 49.64% 4,849 35.59% 2,002 14.69% 11 0.08% 1,915 14.05% 13,626
Alleghany 1,853 39.18% 2,271 48.01% 600 12.68% 6 0.13% -418 -8.83% 4,730
Anson 2,334 27.33% 5,269 61.71% 921 10.79% 15 0.18% -2,935 -34.38% 8,539
Ashe 5,200 46.97% 4,624 41.77% 1,220 11.02% 26 0.23% 576 5.20% 11,070
Avery 3,895 57.39% 1,755 25.86% 1,123 16.55% 14 0.21% 2,140 31.53% 6,787
Beaufort 7,337 45.91% 6,445 40.33% 2,174 13.60% 24 0.15% 892 5.58% 15,980
Bertie 1,756 26.04% 4,382 64.99% 600 8.90% 5 0.07% -2,626 -38.95% 6,743
Bladen 3,214 31.58% 5,700 56.01% 1,248 12.26% 15 0.15% -2,486 -24.43% 10,177
Brunswick 8,833 39.43% 10,177 45.43% 3,349 14.95% 41 0.18% -1,344 -6.00% 22,400
Buncombe 30,892 40.92% 32,955 43.65% 11,481 15.21% 164 0.22% -2,063 -2.73% 75,492
Burke 13,397 44.48% 12,565 41.71% 4,124 13.69% 36 0.12% 832 2.77% 30,122
Cabarrus 21,281 51.75% 13,513 32.86% 6,251 15.20% 78 0.19% 7,768 18.89% 41,123
Caldwell 12,543 49.04% 9,033 35.32% 3,965 15.50% 35 0.14% 3,510 13.72% 25,576
Camden 1,039 38.84% 1,153 43.10% 479 17.91% 4 0.15% -114 -4.26% 2,675
Carteret 10,334 47.36% 8,028 36.79% 3,401 15.59% 56 0.26% 2,306 10.57% 21,819
Caswell 2,793 33.40% 4,725 56.50% 827 9.89% 18 0.22% -1,932 -23.10% 8,363
Catawba 25,466 51.54% 16,334 33.06% 7,523 15.23% 86 0.17% 9,132 18.48% 49,409
Chatham 6,568 35.36% 9,520 51.25% 2,425 13.05% 64 0.34% -2,952 -15.89% 18,577
Cherokee 4,021 45.91% 3,686 42.09% 1,040 11.87% 11 0.13% 335 3.82% 8,758
Chowan 1,661 36.86% 2,136 47.40% 700 15.53% 9 0.20% -475 -10.54% 4,506
Clay 1,890 47.73% 1,600 40.40% 465 11.74% 5 0.13% 290 7.33% 3,960
Cleveland 13,650 44.72% 13,037 42.71% 3,784 12.40% 51 0.17% 613 2.01% 30,522
Columbus 5,462 28.88% 11,469 60.63% 1,963 10.38% 22 0.12% -6,007 -31.75% 18,916
Craven 11,575 45.77% 9,998 39.54% 3,679 14.55% 35 0.14% 1,577 6.23% 25,287
Cumberland 27,139 42.10% 30,291 46.98% 6,792 10.54% 248 0.38% -3,152 -4.88% 64,470
Currituck 2,188 41.31% 1,935 36.53% 1,163 21.96% 11 0.21% 253 4.78% 5,297
Dare 4,357 40.73% 3,925 36.70% 2,388 22.33% 26 0.24% 432 4.03% 10,696
Davidson 24,869 50.01% 16,462 33.11% 8,324 16.74% 70 0.14% 8,407 16.90% 49,725
Davie 6,796 54.86% 3,675 29.67% 1,903 15.36% 13 0.10% 3,121 25.19% 12,387
Duplin 5,286 38.45% 6,816 49.58% 1,636 11.90% 9 0.07% -1,530 -11.13% 13,747
Durham 27,581 33.36% 47,331 57.24% 8,504 9.08% 268 0.32% -19,750 -23.88% 82,684
Edgecombe 6,275 31.92% 11,174 56.84% 2,175 11.06% 33 0.17% -4,899 -24.92% 19,657
Forsyth 52,787 45.40% 49,006 42.15% 14,262 12.27% 219 0.19% 3,781 3.25% 116,274
Franklin 4,669 35.20% 6,517 49.13% 2,062 15.54% 18 0.14% -1,848 -13.93% 13,266
Gaston 34,714 56.51% 19,121 31.12% 7,490 12.19% 110 0.18% 15,593 25.39% 61,435
Gates 1,158 30.20% 2,206 57.54% 466 12.15% 4 0.10% -1,048 -27.34% 3,834
Graham 1,919 49.51% 1,551 40.02% 403 10.40% 3 0.08% 368 9.49% 3,876
Granville 4,538 37.42% 6,178 50.94% 1,321 10.89% 91 0.75% -1,640 -13.52% 12,128
Greene 2,180 38.03% 2,768 48.29% 780 13.61% 4 0.07% -588 -10.26% 5,732
Guilford 60,140 41.08% 66,319 45.30% 19,601 13.39% 339 0.23% -6,179 -4.22% 146,399
Halifax 5,769 32.40% 9,960 55.94% 2,047 11.50% 28 0.16% -4,191 -23.54% 17,804
Harnett 9,751 46.58% 8,473 40.48% 2,684 12.82% 24 0.11% 1,278 6.10% 20,932
Haywood 7,292 34.71% 10,385 49.43% 3,303 15.72% 29 0.14% -3,093 -14.72% 21,009
Henderson 17,010 51.43% 10,747 32.50% 5,260 15.90% 55 0.17% 6,263 18.93% 33,072
Hertford 2,208 28.78% 4,609 60.08% 846 11.03% 9 0.12% -2,401 -31.30% 7,672
Hoke 1,711 27.00% 3,730 58.86% 887 14.00% 9 0.14% -2,019 -31.86% 6,337
Hyde 740 32.34% 1,206 52.71% 340 14.86% 2 0.09% -466 -20.37% 2,288
Iredell 19,411 49.80% 13,263 34.03% 6,204 15.92% 102 0.26% 6,148 15.77% 38,980
Jackson 4,275 36.99% 5,753 49.78% 1,516 13.12% 14 0.12% -1,478 -12.79% 11,558
Johnston 15,418 48.67% 11,284 35.62% 4,939 15.59% 38 0.12% 4,134 13.05% 31,679
Jones 1,438 37.39% 1,962 51.01% 444 11.54% 2 0.05% -524 -13.62% 3,846
Lee 6,658 45.42% 5,852 39.92% 2,125 14.50% 24 0.16% 806 5.50% 14,659
Lenoir 8,932 45.02% 8,793 44.32% 2,107 10.62% 10 0.05% 139 0.70% 19,842
Lincoln 11,018 49.29% 8,150 36.46% 3,142 14.06% 45 0.20% 2,868 12.83% 22,355
Macon 4,797 42.53% 4,624 41.00% 1,829 16.22% 29 0.26% 173 1.53% 11,279
Madison 3,121 39.07% 3,980 49.82% 857 10.73% 31 0.39% -859 -10.75% 7,989
Martin 2,958 36.90% 4,069 50.76% 981 12.24% 8 0.10% -1,111 -13.86% 8,016
McDowell 6,090 45.81% 5,309 39.93% 1,881 14.15% 15 0.11% 781 5.88% 13,295
Mecklenburg 99,496 43.57% 97,065 42.50% 31,283 13.70% 531 0.23% 2,431 1.07% 228,375
Mitchell 4,405 62.79% 1,727 24.62% 877 12.50% 6 0.09% 2,678 38.17% 7,015
Montgomery 3,543 38.67% 4,422 48.27% 1,185 12.94% 11 0.12% -879 -9.60% 9,161
Moore 12,448 46.81% 9,649 36.29% 4,448 16.73% 46 0.17% 2,799 10.52% 26,591
Nash 14,446 48.34% 10,809 36.17% 4,544 15.20% 87 0.29% 3,637 12.17% 29,886
New Hanover 24,338 46.67% 20,291 38.91% 7,401 14.19% 124 0.24% 4,047 7.76% 52,154
Northampton 1,845 23.16% 5,195 65.21% 916 11.50% 11 0.14% -3,350 -42.05% 7,967
Onslow 11,842 48.70% 8,045 33.08% 4,387 18.04% 44 0.18% 3,797 15.62% 24,318
Orange 13,009 27.50% 28,595 60.45% 5,535 11.70% 161 0.34% -15,586 -32.95% 47,300
Pamlico 1,929 38.77% 2,229 44.80% 809 16.26% 8 0.16% -300 -6.03% 4,975
Pasquotank 3,419 35.69% 4,709 49.15% 1,434 14.97% 19 0.20% -1,290 -13.46% 9,581
Pender 4,857 39.07% 5,825 46.86% 1,725 13.88% 23 0.19% -968 -7.79% 12,430
Perquimans 1,429 36.85% 1,818 46.88% 624 16.09% 7 0.18% -389 -10.03% 3,878
Person 4,460 43.60% 4,323 42.26% 1,431 13.99% 16 0.16% 137 1.34% 10,230
Pitt 16,609 41.63% 17,959 45.02% 5,262 13.19% 65 0.16% -1,350 -3.39% 39,895
Polk 3,448 45.77% 2,939 39.02% 1,134 15.05% 12 0.16% 509 6.75% 7,533
Randolph 20,697 53.20% 11,274 28.98% 6,870 17.66% 61 0.16% 9,423 24.22% 38,902
Richmond 4,356 28.01% 9,163 58.91% 2,015 12.96% 19 0.12% -4,807 -30.90% 15,553
Robeson 7,777 25.52% 19,378 63.59% 3,277 10.75% 42 0.14% -11,601 -38.07% 30,474
Rockingham 12,678 40.54% 13,880 44.39% 4,671 14.94% 40 0.13% -1,202 -3.85% 31,269
Rowan 21,297 49.84% 14,308 33.48% 7,053 16.51% 74 0.17% 6,989 16.36% 42,732
Rutherford 9,748 47.95% 7,855 38.64% 2,695 13.26% 31 0.15% 1,893 9.31% 20,329
Sampson 8,007 43.12% 8,698 46.84% 1,852 9.97% 11 0.06% -691 -3.72% 18,568
Scotland 2,980 31.84% 5,175 55.29% 1,196 12.78% 9 0.10% -2,195 -23.45% 9,360
Stanly 11,030 50.91% 7,735 35.70% 2,855 13.18% 44 0.20% 3,295 15.21% 21,664
Stokes 7,979 47.90% 6,463 38.80% 2,183 13.11% 32 0.19% 1,516 9.10% 16,657
Surry 10,866 46.33% 9,392 40.05% 3,164 13.49% 31 0.13% 1,474 6.28% 23,453
Swain 1,640 37.88% 2,117 48.89% 568 13.12% 5 0.12% -477 -11.01% 4,330
Transylvania 5,984 45.55% 5,120 38.97% 2,006 15.27% 27 0.21% 864 6.58% 13,137
Tyrrell 553 33.03% 928 55.44% 189 11.29% 4 0.24% -375 -22.41% 1,674
Union 16,542 51.71% 10,789 33.72% 4,601 14.38% 60 0.19% 5,753 17.99% 31,992
Vance 4,747 37.09% 6,598 51.55% 1,444 11.28% 11 0.09% -1,851 -14.46% 12,800
Wake 86,798 41.84% 88,979 42.89% 31,140 15.01% 550 0.27% -2,181 -1.05% 207,467
Warren 1,767 24.80% 4,656 65.35% 693 9.73% 9 0.13% -2,889 -40.55% 7,125
Washington 1,780 33.89% 2,902 55.24% 563 10.72% 8 0.15% -1,122 -21.35% 5,253
Watauga 7,899 41.09% 8,262 42.98% 3,007 15.64% 57 0.30% -363 -1.89% 19,225
Wayne 14,397 52.29% 10,307 37.44% 2,798 10.16% 30 0.11% 4,090 14.85% 27,532
Wilkes 12,547 52.57% 7,991 33.48% 3,307 13.86% 23 0.10% 4,556 19.09% 23,868
Wilson 10,176 44.36% 10,105 44.06% 2,630 11.47% 26 0.11% 71 0.30% 22,937
Yadkin 7,311 56.34% 3,913 30.15% 1,725 13.29% 28 0.22% 3,398 26.19% 12,977
Yancey 3,994 43.38% 4,285 46.54% 917 9.96% 12 0.13% -291 -3.16% 9,208
Totals 1,134,661 43.44% 1,114,042 42.65% 357,864 13.70% 5,283 0.20% 20,619 0.79% 2,611,850

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic edit

References edit

  1. ^ "1992 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
  2. ^ Sullivan, Robert David (June 29, 2016). "How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century". The National Catholic Review (America Magazine ed.).
  3. ^ "1992 Presidential General Election Data Graphs — North Carolina by County". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
  4. ^ "NC US President Race, November 03, 1992". Our Campaigns.