1996 United States presidential election in Connecticut
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 County Results
Clinton—50-60%
Clinton—<50% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Connecticut |
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The 1996 United States presidential election in Connecticut took place on November 5, 1996 as part of the 1996 United States presidential election. Voters chose 8 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for President and Vice President.
Connecticut was won by incumbent Democratic President Bill Clinton, who took 52.83% of the vote over Republican Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, who took 34.69%, a victory margin of 18.14%. The Reform Party candidate, Texas Billionaire Ross Perot, finished in third with 10.02% of the popular vote.[1]
Clinton's decisive win was indicative of a major shift toward the Democratic Party throughout the Northeast in the 1990s. Connecticut had previously been a Republican-leaning swing state, with Republicans winning it in the 1980s but Clinton carrying it by a fairly close 42-36 plurality in 1992. However, in 1996 Clinton not only won by double digits, but swept every county in the state, including traditionally Republican Fairfield County and Litchfield County, the first Democrat to do so since 1964. Clinton's gains proved enduring, as every county except Litchfield has voted Democratic in all the elections that have followed. Consequently, the state has become a reliably blue state in presidential elections, with Democratic nominees winning the state by double digits in every election since.
Results
| United States presidential election in Connecticut, 1996 | ||||||
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| Party | Candidate | Running mate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Bill Clinton (incumbent) | Al Gore | 735,740 | 52.83% | 8 | |
| Republican | Bob Dole | Jack Kemp | 483,109 | 34.69% | 0 | |
| Reform | Ross Perot | Patrick Choate | 139,523 | 10.02% | 0 | |
| Green | Ralph Nader | Winona LaDuke | 24,321 | 1.75% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Harry Browne | Jo Jorgensen | 5,788 | 0.42% | 0 | |
| Concerned Citizens | Howard Phillips | Joseph Zdonczyk | 2,425 | 0.17% | 0 | |
| Natural Law | Dr. John Hagelin | Dr. V. Tompkins | 1,703 | 0.12% | 0 | |
| Write-in | James Harris | 4 | 0.00% | 0 | ||
| No party | Write-in | 1 | 0.00% | 0 | ||
