1996 United States presidential election in Vermont

Summary

The 1996 United States presidential election in Vermont took place on November 7, 1996, as part of the 1996 United States presidential election. Voters chose three representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1996 United States presidential election in Vermont

← 1992 November 5, 1996 2000 →
 
Nominee Bill Clinton Bob Dole Ross Perot
Party Democratic Republican Reform
Home state Arkansas Kansas Texas
Running mate Al Gore Jack Kemp Patrick Choate
Electoral vote 3 0 0
Popular vote 137,894 80,352 31,024
Percentage 53.35% 31.09% 12.00%


President before election

Bill Clinton
Democratic

Elected President

Bill Clinton
Democratic

Vermont was won by incumbent Democratic President Bill Clinton over Republican Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, with Clinton winning 53.35% to Dole's 31.09%, a margin of 22.26%. The Reform Party candidate, businessman Ross Perot, finished in third, with 12.00% of the popular vote.[1] Clinton won almost every municipality in the state.

Although Clinton had carried the state comfortably in 1992, prior to that point Vermont had been one of the most reliably Republican states in the nation, voting Republican in every election from 1856 to 1988 except for the 1964 nationwide Democratic landslide. However Vermont had always favored a liberal, secular, Northeastern brand of Republicanism, and by the 1990s, the Republican Party had become increasingly dominated by conservative, Southern, and Evangelical Christian interests. Consequently, Vermont trended increasingly toward the Democratic Party, and Clinton was able to win an even bigger victory in the state in 1996 than he had in 1992, again sweeping every county in the state.

Clinton's win in 1996 marked the first time in history that Vermont had voted Democratic in two consecutive presidential elections, signifying a long-term realignment of the state away from the GOP. It was also the first time since 1964 that a Democratic candidate won a majority of the popular vote (Clinton won the state four years prior, but with only a plurality of 46.11%). Since then Vermont has become regarded as one of the safest of blue states; it has remained Democratic in every election that has followed, often by landslide margins.

Results edit

1996 United States presidential election in Vermont
Party Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Democratic Bill Clinton (incumbent) Al Gore 137,894 53.35% 3
Republican Robert Dole Jack Kemp 80,352 31.09% 0
Reform Ross Perot Patrick Choate 31,024 12.00% 0
Green Coalition Ralph Nader Anne Goeke[1][a] 5,585 2.16% 0
Libertarian Harry Browne Jo Jorgensen 1,183 0.46% 0
No party Write-in 560 0.22% 0
Natural Law Dr. John Hagelin Dr. V. Tompkins 498 0.19% 0
Grassroots Dennis Peron Arlin Troutt Jr. 480 0.19% 0
U.S. Taxpayers' Party Howard Phillips Albion W. Knight Jr.[1][2] 382 0.15% 0
Liberty Union Mary Cal Hollis Eric Chester 292 0.11% 0
Socialist Workers Party James Harris Laura Garza 199 0.08% 0

Results by county edit

County Bill Clinton[3]
Democratic
Bob Dole[3]
Republican
Ross Perot[3]
Reform
Ralph Nader[3]
Green
Various candidates[3]
Other parties
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # % # %
Addison 8,164 52.83% 4,798 31.05% 1,808 11.70% 402 2.60% 281 1.82% 3,366 21.78% 15,453
Bennington 8,139 50.39% 5,229 32.37% 2,278 14.10% 357 2.21% 149 0.92% 2,910 18.02% 16,152
Caledonia 5,593 47.40% 4,089 34.66% 1,782 15.10% 201 1.70% 134 1.14% 1,504 12.74% 11,799
Chittenden 36,299 56.84% 19,020 29.78% 6,180 9.68% 1,395 2.18% 966 1.51% 17,279 27.06% 63,860
Essex 1,120 45.73% 819 33.44% 442 18.05% 25 1.02% 43 1.76% 301 12.29% 2,449
Franklin 8,790 54.24% 4,617 28.49% 2,488 15.35% 147 0.91% 164 1.01% 4,173 25.75% 16,206
Grand Isle 1,555 51.13% 958 31.50% 441 14.50% 45 1.48% 42 1.38% 597 19.63% 3,041
Lamoille 4,997 54.40% 2,705 29.45% 1,216 13.24% 146 1.59% 122 1.33% 2,292 24.95% 9,186
Orange 6,107 49.79% 4,043 32.96% 1,597 13.02% 279 2.27% 240 1.96% 2,064 16.83% 12,266
Orleans 5,137 51.44% 3,114 31.18% 1,508 15.10% 130 1.30% 97 0.97% 2,023 20.26% 9,986
Rutland 13,230 48.59% 9,934 36.48% 3,408 12.52% 320 1.18% 337 1.24% 3,296 12.11% 27,229
Washington 14,267 55.12% 7,750 29.94% 2,788 10.77% 739 2.86% 340 1.31% 6,517 25.18% 25,884
Windham 10,426 55.12% 5,261 27.81% 2,033 10.75% 887 4.69% 308 1.63% 5,165 27.31% 18,915
Windsor 14,070 54.07% 8,015 30.80% 3,055 11.74% 512 1.97% 371 1.43% 6,055 23.27% 26,023
Totals 137,894 53.35% 80,352 31.09% 31,024 12.00% 5,585 2.16% 3,594 1.39% 57,542 22.26% 258,449

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Vermont is one of the states where Ralph Nader's running mate (Winona LaDuke) was replaced on the ballot by Anne Goeke.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "1996 Presidential General Election Results – Vermont". Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas.
  2. ^ President Elect - 1996 - http://presidentelect.org/e1996.html Archived 2012-01-14 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b c d e Our Campaigns; VT US Presidential Election Race, November 05, 1996