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1996 United States presidential election in Maine

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1996 United States presidential election in Maine

← 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 James Campbell
Electoral vote 4 0 0
Popular vote 312,788 186,378 85,970
Percentage 51.62% 30.76% 14.19%


President before election

Bill Clinton
Democratic

Elected President

Bill Clinton
Democratic

The 1996 United States presidential election in Maine took place on November 5, 1996, as part of the 1996 United States presidential election. Maine is one of two states in the U.S. that chooses two of its four representatives in the Electoral College based on the plurality vote in both its congressional districts instead of all four electors being chosen based on the statewide plurality vote.

Maine confirmed its status as a blue state, with Democratic nominee President Bill Clinton carrying the state with 51.62% of the vote over Republican Bob Dole, who received 30.76%.[1] As of 2020, Clinton's 20.86% margin of victory is the widest for a Democrat since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, although several subsequent Democrats have won a higher vote percentage.

Maine has voted Democratic since 1992, and is the only state other than Nebraska to split its electoral votes. The last time Maine went Republican was for George H. W. Bush and Dan Quayle in 1988. Third Party candidate Ross Perot had a lesser impact this time, only drawing 14% of the vote, compared to 30% in 1992. This would still be where Perot received the highest percentage of votes in 1996.[2] As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last election in which Piscataquis County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.[3] This is also the most recent election in which all the counties of Maine voted for the same party.

Results

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1996 United States presidential election in Maine
Party Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Democratic Bill Clinton (incumbent) Al Gore (incumbent) 312,788 51.62% 4
Republican Bob Dole Jack Kemp 186,378 30.76% 0
Reform Ross Perot James Campbell [1][4] 85,970 14.19% 0
Green Ralph Nader Winona LaDuke 15,279 2.52% 0
Libertarian Harry Browne Jo Jorgensen 2,996 0.49% 0
U.S. Taxpayers' Party Howard Phillips Herbert Titus 1,517 0.25% 0
Natural Law John Hagelin Mike Tompkins 825 0.14% 0
No party Write-in 144 0.02% 0

By congressional district

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Clinton won both congressional districts.

District Clinton Dole Perot Representative
1st 52.1% 31.8% 12.6% James B. Longley Jr. (104th Congress)
Tom Allen (105th Congress)
2nd 51.2% 29.6% 16.0% John Baldacci

Results by county

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County Bill Clinton
Democratic
Bob Dole
Republican
Ross Perot
Reform
Various candidates
Other parties
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # % #
Androscoggin 26,428 56.55% 12,053 25.79% 7,079 15.15% 1,171 2.51% 14,375 30.76% 46,731
Aroostook 18,022 51.80% 10,400 29.89% 5,747 16.52% 623 1.79% 7,622 21.91% 34,792
Cumberland 69,496 53.62% 42,620 32.88% 12,696 9.80% 4,798 3.70% 26,876 20.74% 129,610
Franklin 7,759 53.16% 3,757 25.74% 2,567 17.59% 513 3.51% 4,002 27.42% 14,596
Hancock 12,256 46.34% 8,345 31.55% 4,094 15.48% 1,753 6.63% 3,911 14.79% 26,448
Kennebec 30,257 54.37% 15,403 27.68% 8,281 14.88% 1,713 3.08% 14,854 26.69% 55,654
Knox 8,839 46.81% 6,192 32.79% 2,780 14.72% 1,072 5.68% 2,647 14.02% 18,883
Lincoln 8,130 44.74% 6,372 35.06% 2,923 16.08% 748 4.12% 1,758 9.68% 18,173
Oxford 13,580 52.05% 7,238 27.74% 4,589 17.59% 684 2.62% 6,342 24.31% 26,091
Penobscot 35,961 51.00% 22,885 32.45% 9,673 13.72% 1,998 2.83% 13,076 18.55% 70,517
Piscataquis 4,343 48.69% 2,815 31.56% 1,524 17.09% 238 2.67% 1,528 17.13% 8,920
Sagadahoc 8,417 49.73% 5,346 31.59% 2,451 14.48% 710 4.20% 3,071 18.14% 16,924
Somerset 11,773 50.94% 6,247 27.03% 4,449 19.25% 642 2.78% 5,526 23.91% 23,111
Waldo 8,012 46.37% 5,318 30.78% 2,816 16.30% 1,133 6.56% 2,694 15.59% 17,279
Washington 7,198 47.39% 4,793 31.56% 2,721 17.91% 477 3.14% 2,405 15.83% 15,189
York 42,317 51.00% 26,594 32.05% 11,580 13.96% 2,488 3.00% 15,723 18.95% 82,979
Totals 312,788 51.62% 186,378 30.76% 85,970 14.19% 20,761 3.43% 126,410 20.86% 605,897

Counties that flipped from Independent to Democratic

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Dave Leip’ss Atlas of United States Presidential Election Results 1996 Presidential General Election Results — Maine
  2. ^ "1996 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  3. ^ Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  4. ^ Perot Names Stand-in Veep Candidate http://www-cgi.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/news/9608/21/perot.veep/ Archived 2008-05-17 at the Wayback Machine