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The United States presidential election of 1996 was a contest between the Democratic national ticket of President Bill Clinton of Arkansas and Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee and the Republican national ticket of former Senator Bob Dole of Kansas for President and former Housing Secretary Jack Kemp of New York for Vice President. Businessman Ross Perot ran as candidate for the Reform Party with economist Pat Choate as his running mate; he received less media attention and was excluded from the presidential debates and, while still obtaining substantial results for a third-party candidate, by U.S. standards, did not renew his success in the 1992 election. Clinton benefited from an economy which recovered from the early 1990s recession (indeed, the economy was in its best shape since the Eisenhower administration of the 1950s), and a relatively stable world stage. On November 5, 1996, President Clinton went on to win re-election with a substantial margin in the popular vote and electoral college.

Background
In 1995, the Republican Party was riding high on the gains made in the 1994 congressional elections. In those elections, the Republicans, led by Newt Gingrich, captured the majority of seats in the United States House of Representatives for the first time in years and the majority of seats in the U.S. Senate for the first time in eight years.

Democratic Party nomination
Democratic candidates

With the advantage of incumbency, Bill Clinton's path to renomination by the Democratic Party was uneventful. At the 1996 Democratic National Convention, Clinton and incumbent Vice President Al Gore were renominated with token opposition. Incarcerated fringe candidate Lyndon LaRouche won a few Arkansas delegates that were barred from the convention. Former Pennsylvania governor Bob Casey contemplated a challenge to Clinton, but health problems forced Casey to abandon a bid.

Clinton easily won primaries nationwide, with margins consistently higher than 80%.


 * Bill Clinton (inc.) - 9,706,802 (88.98%)
 * Lyndon LaRouche - 596,422 (5.47%)
 * Unpledged - 411,270 (3.77%)

Republican Party nomination
Republican Candidates
 * Bob Dole, U.S. Senator from Kansas
 * Pat Buchanan, conservative columnist from Virginia
 * Steve Forbes, newspaper and magazine publisher from New York
 * Lamar Alexander, former Governor of Tennessee
 * Phil Gramm, U.S. Senator from Texas
 * Alan Keyes, former U.S. ECOSOC Ambassador from Maryland
 * Richard Lugar, U.S. Senator from Indiana
 * Bob Dornan, U.S. representative from California
 * Arlen Specter, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania
 * Pete Wilson, Governor of California
 * Morry Taylor, businessman from Ohio
 * Charles E. Collins, businessman from Florida
 * Harold E. Stassen, former Governor of Minnesota

Candidates gallery
A number of Republican candidates entered the field to challenge the incumbent Democratic President, Bill Clinton.

The fragmented field of candidates debated issues such as a flat tax and other tax cut proposals, and a return to supply-side economic policies popularized by Ronald Reagan. More attention was drawn to the race by the budget stalemate in 1995 between the Congress and the President, which caused temporary shutdowns and slowdowns in many areas of federal government service.

Former U.S. Army General Colin L. Powell was widely courted as a potential Republican nominee. However, on November 8, 1995, Powell announced that he would not seek the nomination. Former Secretary of Defense and future Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney was touted by many as a possible candidate for the presidency, but he declared his intentions not to run in early 1995. Former and future Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld formed a presidential campaign exploratory committee, but declined to formally enter the race.

Primaries and convention
Going into the 1996 primary contest, Senate majority leader and former vice-presidential nominee Bob Dole was seen as the most likely winner. However, in the primaries and caucuses, social conservative Pat Buchanan received early victories in Alaska, Louisiana, a strong second place in the Iowa Caucus, and a surprising victory in the key New Hampshire primary, while Steve Forbes finished first in Delaware and Arizona. This put Dole's leadership in doubt. However, Dole won every primary starting with North and South Dakota, which gave him a lock on the party nomination. Dole resigned his Senate seat on June 11. The Republican National Convention formally nominated Dole on August 15, 1996 as the GOP candidate for the fall election.

Popular primaries vote
 * Bob Dole - 9,024,742 (58.82%)
 * Pat Buchanan - 3,184,943 (20.76%)
 * Steve Forbes - 1,751,187 (11.41%)
 * Lamar Alexander - 495,590 (3.23%)
 * Alan Keyes - 471,716 (3.08%)
 * Richard Lugar - 127,111 (0.83%)
 * Unpledged - 123,278 (0.80%)
 * Phil Gramm - 71,456 (0.47%)
 * Bob Dornan - 42,140 (0.28%)
 * Morry Taylor - 21,180 (0.14%)

Convention tally:


 * Bob Dole 1928
 * Pat Buchanan 47
 * Steve Forbes 2
 * Alan Keyes 1
 * Robert Bork 1

Former Congressman and Housing Secretary Jack Kemp was nominated by acclamation as Dole's running mate the following day.

Other politicians mentioned as possible GOP V.P. nominees before Kemp was selected included:
 * John Ashcroft, U.S. Senator from Missouri
 * Ken Blackwell, Ohio State Treasurer
 * Pat Buchanan, conservative commentator
 * George W. Bush, Governor of Texas
 * Carroll Campbell, Former Governor of South Carolina
 * Jim Edgar, Governor of Illinois
 * John Engler, Governor of Michigan
 * John Kasich, U.S. Representative from Ohio
 * Dan Lungren, California Attorney General
 * Connie Mack III, U.S. Senator from Florida
 * John McCain, U.S. Senator from Arizona
 * Tommy Thompson, Governor of Wisconsin
 * George Voinovich, Governor of Ohio

Notable endorsements
Bob Dole
 * Former Senator and 1964 Presidential nominee Barry Goldwater of Arizona
 * Governor George W. Bush of Texas
 * Senator William V. Roth of Delaware
 * Senator Alan K. Simpson of Wyoming
 * Senator Al D'Amato of New York
 * Former Governor Pierre S. du Pont IV of Delaware
 * Former Governor George Wallace of Alabama

Pat Buchanan
 * Governor Mike Foster of Louisiana
 * State Senator Dick Mountjoy of California
 * Former U.S. National Security Advisor Richard V. Allen
 * Former Governor Evan Mecham of Arizona
 * Future Congressman Trent Franks of Arizona

Steve Forbes
 * Former Congressman and HUD Secretary Jack Kemp of New York
 * Former Senator Gordon Humphrey of New Hampshire

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