1996 United States presidential election in California

The 1996 United States presidential election in California took place on November 5, 1996, as part of the 1996 United States presidential election. Voters chose 54 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1996 United States presidential election in California

November 5, 1996
Turnout	65.53% (of registered voters) 9.79 pp 52.56% (of eligible voters) 1.96 pp [1]
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 54 0 0 Popular vote 5,119,835 3,828,380 697,847 Percentage 51.10% 38.21% 6.96%
County Results Clinton   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% Dole   40–50%   50–60%
President before election Bill Clinton Democratic Elected President Bill Clinton Democratic

California, was won by Incumbent President Bill Clinton (D) over Senator Bob Dole (R), with Clinton winning 51.1% to 38.21% by a margin of 12.89%. Billionaire businessman Ross Perot (Reform Party) finished in third, with 6.96% of the popular vote.[2]

California had grown increasingly Democratic relative to the rest of the nation in the prior three elections, culminating in Bill Clinton's becoming the first Democrat to carry California in 1992 since Lyndon Johnson's 1964 landslide. In 1996, Clinton carried California once again by double digits, representing the first time California had voted Democratic in back-to-back elections since 1944 and 1948. Nevertheless, Clinton's margin of victory shrank from 13.40% to 12.89%, even as his national margin swelled by 3%. Dole reclaimed eleven counties for the GOP: San Diego, Riverside, Fresno, San Luis Obispo, Butte, Tehama, Tuolumne, Siskiyou, Del Norte, Plumas, and Mariposa. He also carried Trinity County, the one county in the state in which Ross Perot had won a plurality in 1992. Of these counties, San Diego, Riverside, Fresno, and San Luis Obispo cast over 100,000 votes; and San Diego County was the largest county in the country to switch parties in 1996.

In contrast, Clinton flipped no counties in the state from red to blue, making this the first election since 1980 in which no red counties in the state turned blue. Clinton became the first Democrat to win the White House without carrying Fresno County since the county's founding in 1856, and remains the only one to have done so as of 2020.[3] He also became the first Democrat since Woodrow Wilson in 1912 to win the White House without carrying Plumas County.[4] Nevertheless, Clinton retained seven counties that he had been the first Democrat to carry since 1964 in 1992: San Bernardino, Ventura, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Monterey, Imperial, and San Benito, of which all save Imperial and San Benito cast over 100,000 votes. He also retained all the counties Dukakis had carried in 1988, including a number of sizeable ones that had voted for Ford in 1976, such as Santa Clara, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Sonoma.

Late in the 1996 campaign, Dole had made an upset in California central to his strategy.[5] Dole hoped to capitalize on two issues that had been figuring prominently in California politics under Governor Pete Wilson, illegal immigration and affirmative action.[6]

California is one of thirteen states where on the election ballot, James Campbell of California, Perot's former boss at IBM, was listed as a stand-in Vice-Presidential candidate.[2][7]

Results

1996 United States presidential election in California[2][8]
Party		Candidate	Running mate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Democratic	William Jefferson Clinton (Incumbent)	Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (Incumbent)	5,119,835	51.10%	54
	Republican	Robert Joseph Dole	Jack French Kemp	3,828,380	38.21%	0
	Reform	Henry Ross Perot	James Campbell	697,847	6.96%	0
	Green	Ralph Nader	Winona LaDuke	237,016	2.37%	0
	Libertarian	Harry Browne	Jo Jorgensen	73,600	0.73%	0
	Peace and Freedom	Marsha Feinland	Kate McClatchy	25,332	0.25%	0
	Taxpayers’	Howard Phillips	Herbert Titus	21,202	0.21%	0
	Natural Law	John Hagelin	Dr. V. Tompkins	15,403	0.15%	0
	Write-in	Charles Collins		765	0.01%	0
	Write-in	James Harris		77	0.00%	0
	Write-in	Joel Neuberg		13	0.00%	0
	Write-in	Willie Carter		12	0.00%	0
	Write-in	Isabell Masters		2	0.00%	0
Invalid or blank votes				242,155	2.36%	—
Totals			10,261,639	100.0%	54
Voter turnout			65.53%		—

Results Breakdown

By county

County	Clinton	Votes	Dole	Votes	Perot	Votes	Nader	Votes	Others	Votes
San Francisco	72.24%	209,777	15.66%	45,479	3.33%	9,659	7.39%	21,471	1.38%	3,999
Alameda	65.77%	303,903	23.07%	106,581	5.25%	24,270	4.42%	20,432	1.48%	6,858
San Mateo	60.55%	152,304	29.22%	73,508	5.98%	15,047	2.92%	7,336	1.33%	3,337
Los Angeles	59.34%	1,430,629	30.96%	746,544	6.54%	157,752	1.91%	45,977	1.25%	30,112
Marin	58.04%	67,406	28.17%	32,714	5.65%	6,559	6.34%	7,360	1.81%	2,101
Yolo	56.88%	33,033	32.38%	18,807	5.42%	3,150	4.09%	2,377	1.23%	712
Santa Clara	56.88%	297,639	32.16%	168,291	6.67%	34,908	2.35%	12,312	1.94%	10,141
Santa Cruz	56.52%	58,250	26.94%	27,766	6.36%	6,555	7.57%	7,803	2.61%	2,688
Contra Costa	55.73%	196,512	35.15%	123,954	5.79%	20,416	2.08%	7,334	1.24%	4,386
Sonoma	55.57%	100,738	29.54%	53,555	7.65%	13,862	5.27%	9,547	1.98%	3,595
Imperial	55.27%	14,591	36.76%	9,705	6.73%	1,778	0.58%	154	0.65%	172
Solano	55.12%	64,644	34.74%	40,742	7.40%	8,682	1.59%	1,868	1.15%	1,343
Monterey	53.15%	57,700	36.66%	39,794	6.67%	7,240	2.20%	2,391	1.32%	1,433
Napa	50.89%	24,588	36.09%	17,439	8.80%	4,254	2.57%	1,242	1.65%	796
San Benito	50.55%	7,030	38.72%	5,384	7.51%	1,044	1.70%	236	1.52%	212
Sacramento	49.83%	203,019	40.76%	166,049	5.86%	23,856	2.24%	9,142	1.31%	5,348
Lake	48.90%	10,432	34.96%	7,458	11.90%	2,539	2.73%	583	1.51%	323
Santa Barbara	46.87%	70,650	42.40%	63,915	6.27%	9,457	3.17%	4,774	1.29%	1,949
Merced	46.41%	21,786	44.41%	20,847	7.30%	3,427	0.98%	462	0.89%	416
San Joaquin	46.34%	67,253	44.87%	65,131	6.68%	9,692	1.03%	1,501	1.08%	1,563
Stanislaus	45.93%	53,738	44.79%	52,403	7.14%	8,360	1.00%	1,172	1.14%	1,334
Mendocino	45.74%	14,952	29.87%	9,765	11.27%	3,685	11.04%	3,608	2.09%	682
Fresno	45.32%	94,448	47.42%	98,813	5.26%	10,962	1.21%	2,523	0.79%	1,647
San Bernardino	44.36%	183,372	43.58%	180,135	9.51%	39,330	1.25%	5,150	1.30%	5,368
Humboldt	44.17%	24,628	35.52%	19,803	10.42%	5,811	8.34%	4,651	1.55%	864
San Diego	44.11%	389,964	45.57%	402,876	7.13%	63,037	1.79%	15,858	1.40%	12,416
Ventura	44.10%	110,772	43.47%	109,202	9.18%	23,054	1.88%	4,732	1.37%	3,434
Kings	43.59%	11,254	47.91%	12,368	6.76%	1,745	0.79%	205	0.94%	243
Riverside	43.05%	168,579	45.61%	178,611	9.06%	35,481	1.23%	4,814	1.05%	4,128
Alpine	42.02%	258	43.00%	264	10.26%	63	3.09%	19	1.63%	10
Del Norte	41.08%	3,652	41.29%	3,670	13.78%	1,225	2.24%	199	1.61%	143
Tuolumne	40.73%	8,950	47.27%	10,386	8.76%	1,925	1.94%	427	1.29%	284
Amador	40.60%	5,868	47.54%	6,870	8.77%	1,267	1.83%	264	1.27%	183
San Luis Obispo	40.19%	40,395	46.50%	46,733	8.16%	8,204	3.83%	3,854	1.31%	1,314
Calaveras	38.63%	6,646	48.12%	8,279	9.37%	1,612	1.96%	338	1.92%	331
Mono	38.62%	1,580	46.00%	1,882	10.93%	447	2.35%	96	2.10%	86
Butte	38.53%	30,651	48.98%	38,961	8.04%	6,393	3.03%	2,409	1.43%	1,136
Siskiyou	38.39%	7,022	47.30%	8,653	10.27%	1,879	2.03%	372	2.01%	367
Tulare	38.06%	32,669	53.90%	46,272	5.95%	5,106	0.86%	737	1.24%	1,062
Orange	37.88%	327,485	51.67%	446,717	7.66%	66,195	1.37%	11,842	1.43%	12,337
Yuba	37.42%	5,789	51.53%	7,971	8.46%	1,308	1.30%	201	1.30%	201
Trinity	37.38%	2,203	42.93%	2,530	14.53%	856	2.70%	159	2.46%	145
Placer	37.05%	34,981	52.75%	49,808	6.93%	6,542	1.99%	1,875	1.29%	1,221
Mariposa	36.73%	2,920	50.02%	3,976	9.17%	729	2.42%	192	1.66%	132
Madera	36.70%	11,254	53.85%	16,510	7.15%	2,192	1.23%	376	1.08%	330
Colusa	36.60%	2,054	54.29%	3,047	7.20%	404	0.75%	42	1.16%	65
Kern	36.56%	62,658	53.77%	92,151	7.85%	13,452	0.75%	1,289	1.07%	1,841
El Dorado	36.33%	22,957	51.84%	32,759	8.03%	5,077	2.28%	1,439	1.53%	964
Plumas	36.31%	3,540	50.31%	4,905	9.43%	919	2.19%	214	1.76%	172
Tehama	35.66%	7,290	50.34%	10,292	11.37%	2,325	1.20%	245	1.42%	291
Nevada	35.56%	15,369	50.40%	21,784	7.70%	3,330	4.85%	2,097	1.48%	639
Sutter	34.37%	8,504	57.64%	14,264	6.20%	1,533	0.84%	208	0.95%	236
Inyo	34.36%	2,601	51.84%	3,924	10.71%	811	1.68%	127	1.40%	106
Lassen	33.60%	3,318	52.60%	5,194	10.94%	1,080	1.33%	131	1.54%	152
Sierra	33.57%	573	51.38%	877	9.96%	170	2.34%	40	2.75%	47
Shasta	33.11%	20,848	55.17%	34,736	9.33%	5,875	1.07%	675	1.31%	827
Glenn	32.04%	2,841	56.86%	5,041	8.89%	788	0.96%	85	1.25%	111
Modoc	31.79%	1,368	53.10%	2,285	12.27%	528	1.14%	49	1.70%	73

By congressional district

Clinton won 38 of 52 congressional districts.

District	Dole	Clinton	Perot	Representative
1st	35%	48%	10%	Frank Riggs
2nd	51%	36%	9%	Wally Herger
3rd	44%	45%	7%	Vic Fazio
4th	51%	38%	8%	John Doolittle
5th	34%	57%	5%	Bob Matsui
6th	29%	57%	7%	Lynn Woolsey
7th	25%	65%	6%	George Miller
8th	18%	66%	4%	Nancy Pelosi
9th	13%	75%	3%	Ron Dellums
10th	43%	48%	6%	Bill Baker
				Ellen Tauscher
11th	45%	46%	7%	Richard Pombo
12th	21%	70%	4%	Tom Lantos
13th	28%	62%	7%	Pete Stark
14th	31%	58%	6%	Anna Eshoo
15th	35%	53%	7%	Tom Campbell
16th	29%	61%	6%	Zoe Lofgren
17th	32%	55%	6%	Sam Farr
18th	45%	46%	7%	Gary Condit
19th	52%	40%	6%	George Radanovich
20th	41%	52%	6%	Cal Dooley
21st	56%	34%	8%	Bill Thomas
22nd	44%	44%	7%	Andrea Seastrand
				Walter Capps
23rd	42%	46%	9%	Elton Gallegly
24th	37%	52%	7%	Anthony Beilenson
				Brad Sherman
25th	47%	41%	9%	Buck McKeon
26th	25%	65%	7%	Howard Berman
27th	41%	49%	7%	Carlos Moorhead
				Jim Rogan
28th	44%	45%	8%	David Dreier
29th	24%	67%	5%	Henry Waxman
30th	20%	71%	5%	Xavier Becerra
31st	26%	65%	7%	Matthew G. Martínez
32nd	12%	81%	4%	Julian Dixon
33rd	14%	80%	4%	Lucille Roybal-Allard
34th	27%	63%	7%	Esteban Torres
35th	11%	84%	4%	Maxine Waters
36th	41%	47%	8%	Jane Harman
37th	13%	82%	4%	Walter R. Tucker
				Juanita Millender-McDonald
38th	36%	53%	8%	Steve Horn
39th	48%	41%	8%	Ed Royce
40th	49%	38%	11%	Jerry Lewis
41st	47%	43%	8%	Jay Kim
42nd	36%	54%	9%	George Brown Jr.
43rd	46%	43%	9%	Ken Calvert
44th	45%	44%	9%	Sonny Bono
45th	51%	38%	8%	Dana Rohrabacher
46th	41%	49%	8%	Bob Dornan
				Loretta Sánchez
47th	54%	36%	7%	Christopher Cox
48th	56%	34%	8%	Ron Packard
49th	40%	49%	7%
				Brian Bilbray
50th	32%	60%	6%	Bob Filner
51st	52%	39%	7%	Duke Cunningham
52nd	48%	41%	8%	Duncan Hunter

References

1. https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2018-general/sov/04-historical-voter-reg-participation.pdf
2. Dave Leip's Atlas of United States Presidential Election Results - 1996 California Results
3. "County winners, 1836-2016". Google Docs. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
4. "County winners, 1836-2016". Google Docs. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
5. Jr, B. Drummond Ayres (1996-10-31). "Behind Dole's California Strategy: A Bid to Save His Campaign (Published 1996)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
6. Jr, B. Drummond Ayres (1996-10-31). "Behind Dole's California Strategy: A Bid to Save His Campaign (Published 1996)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
7. "Perot Names Stand-in Veep Candidate". Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2012-02-05.
8. Statement of Vote November 5, 1996, Prepared by Bill Jones California Secretary of State Archived July 31, 2008, at the Wayback Machine(access date 2012-02-05)