1992 United States presidential election in Nevada

The 1992 United States presidential election in Nevada took place on November 3, 1992, as part of the 1992 United States presidential election. Voters chose four representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1992 United States presidential election in Nevada

November 3, 1992

Nominee Bill Clinton George H. W. Bush Ross Perot Party Democratic Republican Independent Home state Arkansas Texas Texas Running mate Al Gore Dan Quayle James Stockdale Electoral vote 4 0 0 Popular vote 189,148 175,828 132,580 Percentage 37.36% 34.73% 26.19%

County Results Clinton   30-40%   40-50% Bush   30-40%   40-50% Perot   30-40%

President before election George H. W. Bush Republican Elected President Bill Clinton Democratic

Nevada was won by Governor Bill Clinton (D-Arkansas) with 37.36% of the popular vote over incumbent President George H. W. Bush (R-Texas) with 34.73%. Businessman Ross Perot (I-Texas) finished in third, with 26.19% of the popular vote.[1] Clinton ultimately won the national vote, defeating incumbent President Bush and Perot.[2]

Clinton's win, although narrow, would mark the beginning of Nevada's transition from a safe Republican state into a swing state; in all three presidential elections held in the 1980s, Republicans had dominated Nevada by double digit margins and swept every county. Although Clinton carried only two of the state's seventeen counties, his win in Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, and the most populous county in the state, would prove the key to this and future Democratic victories in Nevada.

Clinton's percentage of the vote was the lowest to win a state since Woodrow Wilson carried only 32.08 percent of the vote in Idaho in 1912.

As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last time a Democratic presidential candidate carried White Pine County in a presidential election,[3] and the last one where a third-party candidate carried any Nevada county. In this case, Ross Perot carried Storey County.[3]

Results

1992 United States presidential election in Nevada[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Democratic	Bill Clinton	189,148	37.36%	4
	Republican	George H. W. Bush (incumbent)	175,828	34.73%	0
	Independent	Ross Perot	132,580	26.19%	0
	America First	James "Bo" Gritz	2,892	0.57%	0
	N/A	"None of these candidates"	2,537	0.50%	0
	Libertarian	Andre Marrou	1,835	0.36%	0
	American Independent	Howard Phillips	677	0.13%	0
	New Alliance	Lenora Fulani	483	0.10%	0
	Natural Law	Dr. John Hagelin	338	0.07%	0
Totals			506,318	100.0%	4

Results by county

County or City	William Jefferson Clinton[4] Democratic		George Herbert Walker Bush[4] Republican		Henry Ross Perot[4] Independent		Various candidates[4] Other parties		Margin		Total votes cast
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Churchill	1,770	23.10%	3,789	49.45%	1,964	25.63%	140	1.83%	1,825[lower-alpha 1]	23.82%	7,663
Clark	124,586	41.15%	97,403	32.17%	75,364	24.89%	5,429	1.79%	27,183	8.98%	302,782
Douglas	3,928	25.94%	6,182	40.82%	4,814	31.79%	221	1.46%	1,368[lower-alpha 1]	9.03%	15,145
Elko	2,782	23.33%	5,208	43.67%	3,628	30.42%	308	2.58%	1,580[lower-alpha 1]	13.25%	11,926
Esmeralda	118	20.21%	221	37.84%	220	37.67%	25	4.28%	1[lower-alpha 1]	0.17%	584
Eureka	129	18.70%	330	47.83%	214	31.01%	17	2.46%	116[lower-alpha 1]	16.81%	690
Humboldt	810	22.99%	1,505	42.72%	1,149	32.61%	59	1.67%	356[lower-alpha 1]	10.11%	3,523
Lander	423	21.23%	885	44.43%	652	32.73%	32	1.61%	233[lower-alpha 1]	11.70%	1,992
Lincoln	511	27.52%	890	47.93%	394	21.22%	62	3.34%	-379	-20.41%	1,857
Lyon	2,777	30.17%	3,509	38.12%	2,716	29.51%	202	2.19%	-732	-7.95%	9,204
Mineral	909	34.42%	918	34.76%	746	28.25%	68	2.57%	-9	-0.34%	2,641
Nye	2,561	31.92%	2,743	34.19%	2,501	31.18%	217	2.71%	-182	-2.27%	8,022
Pershing	467	29.82%	643	41.06%	429	27.39%	27	1.72%	-176	-11.24%	1,566
Storey	488	32.13%	458	30.15%	550	36.21%	23	1.51%	-62[lower-alpha 2]	-4.08%	1,519
Washoe	39,500	34.45%	42,636	37.18%	30,974	27.01%	1,561	1.36%	-3,136	-2.73%	114,671
White Pine	1,354	36.30%	1,206	32.33%	1,070	28.69%	100	2.68%	148	3.97%	3,730
Carson City	6,035	32.10%	7,302	38.83%	5,195	27.63%	271	1.44%	-1,267	-6.74%	18,803
Totals	189,148	37.36%	175,828	34.73%	132,580	26.19%	8,762	1.73%	13,320	2.63%	506,318

Notes

1. In this county where Clinton ran third behind Bush and Perot, margin given is Bush vote minus Perot vote and percentage is Bush percentage minus Perot percentage.
2. In this county where Bush ran third behind Clinton and Perot, margin given is Clinton vote minus Perot vote and percentage is Clinton percentage minus Perot percentage.

References

1. "1992 Presidential General Election Results – Nevada". U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
2. "1992 Presidential General Election Results". U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
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. Nevada Secretary of State, compiled 1992; General Election Returns (Carson City, 1992)