Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 1992. The Democratic ticket of Arkansas governor Bill Clinton and Tennessee junior senator Al Gore defeated incumbent Republican president George H. W. Bush and vice president Dan Quayle and the independent ticket of businessman Ross Perot and vice admiral James Stockdale.
Bush had alienated many conservatives in his party by breaking his 1988 campaign pledge not to raise taxes, but he fended off a primary challenge from paleoconservative commentator Pat Buchanan without losing a single contest. Bush's popularity following his success in the Gulf War dissuaded high-profile Democratic candidates such as Mario Cuomo from entering the 1992 Democratic primaries. Clinton, a leader of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, established himself as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination by sweeping the Super Tuesday primaries. He defeated former governor of California Jerry Brown, former Massachusetts senator Paul Tsongas, and other candidates to win the nomination, and chose Tennessee senator Al Gore as his running mate. The billionaire Perot launched an independent campaign, emphasizing his opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement (which at the time was being actively negotiated) and his plan to reduce the national debt.
The economy had recovered from a recession in the spring of 1991, followed by 19 consecutive months of growth, but perceptions of the economy's slow growth harmed Bush, who had inherited a substantial economic boom from his predecessor Ronald Reagan. Bush's greatest strength, foreign policy, was regarded as much less important following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, as well as the relatively peaceful climate in the Middle East after the Gulf War. Perot led in several polls taken in June 1992, but severely damaged his candidacy by temporarily dropping out of the race in July. The Bush campaign criticized Clinton's character and emphasized Bush's foreign policy successes, while Clinton focused on the economy.
Clinton won a plurality in the popular vote and a majority of the electoral vote, breaking a streak of three consecutive Republican victories and 12 consecutive years of Republican rule of the White House, as well ending a longer period of Republican dominance in American presidential politics that began in 1968, with the exception of Jimmy Carter's narrow victory in 1976. Clinton flipped a total of 22 states that had voted Republican in the election of 1988. Perot won 18.9% of the popular vote, the highest share of the vote won by a candidate outside of the two major parties since 1912. This is the most recent presidential election in which an independent or third-party candidate placed second in any state (Maine and Utah). As of 2024, this marked the last election in which the Democratic nominee won Montana. It was also the last election in which the Democratic nominee won Georgia until 2020. Due to the three-way split, only two contests were won by an absolute majority (Arkansas and Washington D.C.), the fewest in American history.
Democratic Party nomination
1992 Democratic Party ticket for Presidentfor Vice President 40th and 42ndGovernor of Arkansas(1979–1981, 1983–1992) U.S. Senatorfrom Tennessee(1985–1993)Campaign
Candidates in this section are sorted by date of withdrawal from the primariesJerry BrownPaul TsongasTom HarkinBob KerreyDouglas WilderGovernorof California(1975–1983)U.S. Senatorfrom Massachusetts(1979–1985)U.S. Senatorfrom Iowa(1985–2015)U.S. Senatorfrom Nebraska(1989–2001)Governorof Virginia(1990–1994)CampaignCampaignCampaignCampaignCampaignEliminated at Convention:July 15, 19924,071,232 votesSuspended Campaign:March 19, 1992Endorsed Bill Clinton:June 3, 19923,656,010 votesWithdrew:March 9, 1992Endorsed Bill Clinton:March 26, 1992318,457 votesWithdrew:March 5, 1992Endorsed Bill Clinton:May 14, 1992280,304 votesWithdrew:January 8, 1992Endorsed Bill Clinton:July 14, 1992240 votes
Overview Following the successful performance by U.S. and coalition forces in the Persian Gulf War, President George H. W. Bush's approval ratings were 89%. His re-election was considered very likely; several high-profile candidates, such as Mario Cuomo and Jesse Jackson, refused to seek the Democratic nomination. U.S. Senator Al Gore from Tennessee refused to seek the nomination due to the fact his son had been struck by a car and was undergoing surgery and physical therapy; however, Tom Harkin, Paul Tsongas, Jerry Brown, Larry Agran, Bob Kerrey, Douglas Wilder, and Bill Clinton chose to run as candidates.
Harkin, a U.S. Senator from Iowa, ran as a populist liberal with labor union support. Tsongas, a former U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, highlighted his political independence and fiscal conservatism. Jerry Brown, the former California governor who had run for the Democratic nomination in 1976 and 1980, declared a significant reform agenda, including Congressional term limits, campaign finance reform, and the adoption of a flat income tax. Nebraska senator Bob Kerrey was an attractive candidate based on his business and military background, but made several gaffes on the campaign trail. Arkansas governor Bill Clinton positioned himself as a centrist, or New Democrat. He was relatively unknown nationally before the primary season. That quickly changed when Gennifer Flowers alleged an extramarital affair. Clinton denied the story, appearing on 60 Minutes with his wife, Hillary Clinton; later in 1998, he admitted the affair.
The primary began with Harkin winning his native Iowa as expected. Tsongas won the New Hampshire primary on February 18, but Clinton's second-place finish, helped by his speech labeling himself "The Comeback Kid", energized his campaign. Brown won the Maine caucus and Kerrey won South Dakota. Clinton won his first primary in Georgia. Tsongas won the Utah and Maryland primaries and a caucus in Washington. Harkin won caucuses in Idaho and Minnesota while Brown won Colorado. Kerrey dropped out two days later. Clinton won the South Carolina and Wyoming primaries and Tsongas won Arizona. Harkin dropped out. Brown won the Nevada caucus. Clinton swept nearly all of the Super Tuesday primaries on March 10 making him the solid front runner. Clinton won the Michigan and Illinois primaries. Tsongas dropped out after finishing third in Michigan; however, Brown began to pick up steam, aided by using a phone number to receive funding from small donors. Brown scored surprising wins in Connecticut, Vermont and Alaska. As the race moved to the primaries in New York and Wisconsin, Brown had taken the lead in polls in both states. Then he made a serious gaffe by announcing to an audience of New York City's Jewish community that he would consider Jesse Jackson as a vice presidential candidate; Jackson had offended many Jewish people with remarks he had made during his own presidential campaigns. Clinton won dramatically in New York (41%–26%) and closely in Wisconsin (37%–34%). Clinton then proceeded to win a long streak of primaries leading up to Brown's home state of California. Clinton won this state 48% to 41% and secured the delegates needed to lock the nomination.
The convention met in New York City, and the official tally was: Bill Clinton 3,372 Jerry Brown 596 Paul Tsongas 289 Robert P. Casey 10 Pat Schroeder 5 Larry Agran 3 Al Gore 1
Clinton chose Gore to be his running mate on July 9, 1992. Choosing fellow Southerner Gore went against the popular strategy of balancing a Southern candidate with a Northern partner. Gore served to balance the ticket in other ways, as he was perceived as strong on family values and environmental issues, while Clinton was not. Gore's similarities to Clinton also allowed him to push some of his key campaign themes, such as centrism and generational change.
Republican Party nomination
1992 Republican Party ticket for Presidentfor Vice President 41stPresident of the United States(1989–1993) 44thVice President of the United States(1989–1993)Campaign
Candidates in this section are sorted by date of withdrawal from the primariesPat BuchananDavid DukeWhite House Communications Directorfrom Virginia(1985–1987)State Representativefrom Louisiana(1989–1992)CampaignCampaignWithdrew:August 17, 1992Endorsed George Bush:August 17, 19922,899,488 votesWithdrew:April 22, 1992119,115 votes President Bush had the public support and endorsement of former President Ronald Reagan and the Republican Party establishment. However, he faced a primary challenge from paleoconservative journalist Pat Buchanan, who became the primary opponent of President Bush; Ron Paul, the Libertarian Party's presidential nominee in 1988, had planned to run against the President, but dropped out shortly after Buchanan's entry in December. Buchanan's best showing was in the New Hampshire primary on February 18, 1992—where Bush won by a 53–38% margin. President Bush won 73% of all primary votes, with 9,199,463 votes. Buchanan won 2,899,488 votes; unpledged delegates won 287,383 votes, and David Duke, Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, won 119,115 votes. Just over 100,000 votes were cast for all other candidates, half of which were write-in votes for H. Ross Perot. Former Minnesota governor Harold Stassen, who had run for president nine times since 1944, also mounted his final campaign.
President George H. W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle easily won renomination by the Republican Party. However, the success of the opposition forced the moderate Bush to move further to the right than in the previous election, and to incorporate many socially conservative planks in the party platform. Bush allowed Buchanan to give a prime time address at the Republican National Convention in Houston, Texas, and his "Culture War" speech alienated liberal Republicans.
With intense pressure on the Buchanan delegates to relent, the tally for president went as follows: George H. W. Bush 2166 Pat Buchanan 18 former ambassador Alan Keyes 1
Vice President Dan Quayle was renominated by voice vote.
Ross Perot candidacy
1992 Independent ticket for Presidentfor Vice President President and CEO of Perot Systems(1988–2009) President of the Naval War College(1977–1979)Campaign
The public's concern about the federal budget deficit and fears of professional politicians led to the independent candidacy of billionaire Texan Ross Perot increasing in popularity in the polls—at one point Perot was leading the major party candidates. Perot crusaded against the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and internal and external national debt, tapping into voters' potential fear of the deficit. His volunteers succeeded in collecting enough signatures to get his name on the ballot in all 50 states. In June, Perot led the national public opinion polls with support from 39% of the voters (versus 31% for Bush and 25% for Clinton). Perot severely damaged his credibility by dropping out of the presidential contest in July and remaining out of the race for several weeks before re-entering. He compounded this damage by eventually claiming, without evidence, that his withdrawal was due to Republican operatives attempting to disrupt his daughter's wedding.
Perot and retired Vice Admiral James Stockdale drew 19,743,821 votes (19% of the popular vote).
Minor parties and independents Minor party candidates, 1992 Andre MarrouLenora FulaniJohn HagelinBo Gritz Howard PhillipsLyndon LaRouche Alaska State Representative(1985–1987) Psychologist and political activist Scientistand researcher Conservativepolitical activist Conservativepolitical activist Political activist
Libertarian Party nomination
Libertarian candidates: Andre Marrou, former Alaska State Representative and 1988 vice presidential nominee Richard B. Boddie, political science professor from California