1992 United States presidential election in Florida explained

Election Name:	1992 United States presidential election in Florida
Country:	Florida
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1988 United States presidential election in Florida
Previous Year:	1988
Next Election:	1996 United States presidential election in Florida
Next Year:	1996
Election Date:	November 3, 1992
Image1:	George H. W. Bush presidential portrait (cropped 2).jpg
Nominee1:	George H. W. Bush
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Home State1:	Texas
Running Mate1:	Dan Quayle
Electoral Vote1:	25
Popular Vote1:	2,173,310
Percentage1:	40.89%
Nominee2:	Bill Clinton
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Home State2:	Arkansas
Running Mate2:	Al Gore
Electoral Vote2:	0
Popular Vote2:	2,072,698
Percentage2:	39.00%
Image3:	RossPerotColor.jpg
Nominee3:	Ross Perot
Party3:	Independent (United States)
Home State3:	Texas
Running Mate3:	James Stockdale
Electoral Vote3:	0
Popular Vote3:	1,053,067
Percentage3:	19.82%
Map Size:	400px
President
Before Election:	George H. W. Bush
Before Party:	Republican Party (United States)
After Election:	Bill Clinton
After Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
Turnout:	83%

The 1992 United States presidential election in Florida took place on November 3, 1992, as part of the 1992 United States presidential election. The race was extremely close – so close in fact that some news networks mistakenly reported that Democratic challenger Bill Clinton had won in the state, although incumbent President George H. W. Bush was eventually declared the winner. Bush received 40.89% of the vote to Clinton's 39.00%. The final result in Florida reflected the reluctance of many Southern states to back fellow Southerner Clinton, although Clinton was polling well in other parts of the country.

Background

Following World War II the Democratic presidential nominee had only won Florida in 1948, 1964, and 1976.

Florida gained four seats in the United States House of Representatives as a result of the 1990 United States census.

Primary

Democratic

Florida was the only southern state on Super Tuesday where Bill Clinton received less than 60% of the vote. Paul Tsongas spent $500,000 on television ads.

Republican

The delegates in the Republican primary were allocated by congressional district.

General

Jack Gargan formed Throw the Hypocritical Rascals Out in May 1991, and he help formed the movement to draft Ross Perot. Over 230,000 signatures were collected and Perot was qualified to appear on the ballot on May 27, 1992.

Bush won by about 100,000 votes, marking the first time Florida had backed the losing candidate since 1960, when it voted for Richard Nixon over John F. Kennedy.^[1] This was also the last time until the 2020 election that Florida would back the loser of the presidential election as well only the second time since 1924.^[2] Despite Bush's narrow victory, this election marked the start of Florida's transition from a strong GOP state into a closely divided swing state for future presidential elections; just four years earlier Bush had carried Florida by 22 points, making it his second-best state in the South. This is also the only election since 1944 that Florida did not vote the same way as Ohio, a state with a similar voting history. Florida was one of 5 states that gave Perot more than 1 million votes, including California, Texas, New York, and Ohio.

Clinton flipped the heavily populated South Florida counties of Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami -Dade, which had all voted for Bush in 1988, into the Democratic column, and they have remained reliable Democratic bastions in the state ever since, buoying Democratic base support in the state.^[3] Clinton's victory in Palm Beach County was noteworthy in as much as that county had not previously backed a Democratic presidential nominee since Florida's "Solid South" days when Franklin D. Roosevelt swept all sixty-seven counties in 1944.^[4] This was the last time St. Lucie County voted for a Republican presidential candidate until 2016.^[3]

Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Graham won reelection in the concurrent U.S. Senate election. The Republicans gained three seats in the Florida House of Representatives and one seat in the Florida Senate.

Results

Primary election results

Democratic

Candidate! colspan="2"

Vote Received
	%
Bill Clinton	554,861	50.8%
Paul Tsongas	379,572	34.7%
Jerry Brown	133,156	12.2%
Tom Harkin	13,302	1.2%
Bob Kerrey	11,557	1.1%
Total	1,092,448	100%

Republican

Candidate! colspan="2"

Vote received
	%
George H.W. Bush (incumbent)	607,522	68.1%
Pat Buchanan	285,074	31.9%
Total	892,596	100%

General election results

United States presidential election in Florida, 1992
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	George H. W. Bush (incumbent)	2,173,310	40.89%	25
	Democratic	Bill Clinton	2,072,698	39.00%	0
	Independent	Ross Perot	1,053,067	19.82%	0
	Libertarian	Andre Marrou	15,079	0.28%	0
	Write-Ins		238	0.00%	0
Totals			5,314,392	100.0%	25

Results by county

County	George H.W. Bush Republican		Bill Clinton Democratic		Ross Perot Independent		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total votes cast
		%		%		%		%		%
	Alachua		22,813		29.87%		37,888		49.61%		15,296		20.03%		375		0.49%		-15,075		-19.74%		76,372
	Baker		3,418		50.59%		1,976		29.25%		1,315		19.46%		47		0.70%		1,442		21.34%		6,756
	Bay		22,842		49.99%		12,846		28.12%		9,712		21.26%		289		0.63%		9,996		21.87%		45,689
	Bradford		3,672		44.02%		3,041		36.46%		1,574		18.87%		54		0.65%		631		7.56%		8,341
	Brevard		84,585		43.19%		61,091		31.19%		49,509		25.28%		675		0.34%		23,494		12.00%		195,860
	Broward		164,832		30.92%		276,361		51.85%		90,937		17.06%		920		0.17%		-111,529		-20.93%		533,050
	Calhoun		1,721		37.58%		1,665		36.36%		1,176		25.68%		17		0.37%		56		1.22%		4,579
	Charlotte		24,311		39.17%		22,907		36.91%		14,720		23.72%		126		0.20%		1,404		2.26%		62,064
	Citrus		16,412		36.68%		15,937		35.62%		12,314		27.52%		83		0.19%		475		1.06%		44,746
	Clay		26,360		57.95%		10,610		23.33%		8,423		18.52%		92		0.20%		15,750		34.62%		45,485
	Collier		38,448		53.44%		18,796		26.13%		14,518		20.18%		182		0.25%		19,652		27.31%		71,944
	Columbia		6,492		43.41%		5,528		36.97%		2,906		19.43%		28		0.19%		964		6.44%		14,954
	DeSoto		3,070		41.32%		2,646		35.62%		1,687		22.71%		26		0.35%		424		5.70%		7,429
	Dixie		1,401		32.04%		1,855		42.42%		1,094		25.02%		23		0.53%		-454		-10.38%		4,373
	Duval		123,631		49.47%		92,098		36.85%		33,388		13.36%		809		0.32%		31,533		12.62%		249,926
	Escambia		52,868		50.24%		32,045		30.45%		19,923		18.93%		385		0.37%		20,823		19.79%		105,221
	Flagler		6,246		38.19%		6,693		40.92%		3,390		20.73%		26		0.16%		-447		-2.73%		16,355
	Franklin		1,664		37.99%		1,535		35.05%		1,144		26.12%		37		0.84%		129		2.94%		4,380
	Gadsden		3,975		27.62%		8,486		58.96%		1,871		13.00%		62		0.43%		-4,511		-31.34%		14,394
	Gilchrist		1,395		34.73%		1,511		37.62%		1,090		27.13%		21		0.52%		-116		-2.89%		4,017
	Glades		1,185		35.12%		1,305		38.68%		878		26.02%		6		0.18%		-120		-3.56%		3,374
	Gulf		2,651		45.29%		1,938		33.11%		1,245		21.27%		20		0.34%		713		12.18%		5,854
	Hamilton		1,402		37.64%		1,622		43.54%		695		18.66%		6		0.16%		-220		-5.90%		3,725
	Hardee		2,900		45.08%		2,018		31.37%		1,499		23.30%		16		0.25%		882		13.71%		6,433
	Hendry		3,279		40.91%		2,691		33.57%		2,032		25.35%		14		0.17%		588		7.34%		8,016
	Hernando		17,902		36.47%		19,174		39.06%		11,848		24.14%		162		0.33%		-1,272		-2.59%		49,086
	Highlands		14,499		44.76%		11,237		34.69%		6,593		20.35%		62		0.19%		3,262		10.07%		32,391
	Hillsborough		130,643		42.07%		115,282		37.13%		63,054		20.31%		1,523		0.49%		15,361		4.94%		310,502
	Holmes		3,196		48.96%		1,877		28.75%		1,427		21.86%		28		0.43%		1,319		20.21%		6,528
	Indian River		19,140		43.54%		12,360		28.12%		12,375		28.15%		87		0.20%		6,765		15.39%		43,962
	Jackson		6,725		45.82%		5,482		37.35%		2,450		16.69%		19		0.13%		1,243		8.47%		14,676
	Jefferson		1,506		32.19%		2,271		48.55%		895		19.13%		6		0.13%		-765		-16.36%		4,678
	Lafayette		1,039		41.15%		867		34.34%		612		24.24%		7		0.28%		172		6.81%		2,525
	Lake		30,825		44.17%		23,200		33.24%		15,614		22.37%		148		0.21%		7,625		10.93%		69,787
	Lee		73,436		44.24%		53,660		32.32%		38,452		23.16%		454		0.27%		19,776		11.92%		166,002
	Leon		31,983		32.87%		47,791		49.12%		17,212		17.69%		308		0.32%		-15,808		-16.25%		97,294
	Levy		3,796		34.71%		4,330		39.59%		2,784		25.46%		26		0.24%		-534		-4.88%		10,936
	Liberty		1,126		43.71%		820		31.83%		617		23.95%		13		0.50%		306		11.88%		2,576
	Madison		2,007		34.38%		2,648		45.36%		1,174		20.11%		9		0.15%		-641		-10.98%		5,838
	Manatee		42,725		42.63%		33,841		33.77%		23,290		23.24%		364		0.36%		8,884		8.86%		100,220
	Marion		35,442		40.74%		30,829		35.44%		20,529		23.60%		189		0.22%		4,613		5.30%		86,989
	Martin		24,800		46.63%		14,802		27.83%		13,442		25.27%		140		0.26%		9,998		18.80%		53,184
	Miami-Dade		235,313		43.19%		254,609		46.73%		54,003		9.91%		918		0.17%		-19,296		-3.54%		544,843
	Monroe		9,898		34.38%		10,450		36.30%		8,314		28.88%		127		0.44%		-552		-1.92%		28,789
	Nassau		9,367		51.54%		5,503		30.28%		3,255		17.91%		49		0.27%		3,864		21.26%		18,174
	Okaloosa		32,818		53.13%		12,038		19.49%		16,671		26.99%		242		0.39%		16,147		26.14%		61,769
	Okeechobee		3,298		35.20%		3,418		36.48%		2,647		28.25%		7		0.07%		-120		-1.28%		9,370
	Orange		108,788		45.90%		82,683		34.89%		44,844		18.92%		696		0.29%		26,105		11.01%		237,011
	Osceola		19,143		42.29%		15,010		33.16%		11,021		24.35%		93		0.21%		4,133		9.13%		45,267
	Palm Beach		140,350		34.63%		187,869		46.36%		76,243		18.81%		789		0.19%		-47,519		-11.73%		405,251
	Pasco		47,735		35.11%		53,130		39.08%		34,654		25.49%		443		0.33%		-5,395		-3.97%		135,962
	Pinellas		159,121		37.63%		160,528		37.96%		101,257		23.95%		1,945		0.46%		-1,407		-0.33%		422,851
	Polk		65,963		45.21%		51,450		35.26%		28,204		19.33%		283		0.19%		14,513		9.95%		145,900
	Putnam		8,910		34.72%		10,709		41.73%		5,979		23.30%		63		0.25%		-1,799		-7.01%		25,661
	St. Johns		20,188		50.49%		12,291		30.74%		7,400		18.51%		107		0.27%		7,897		19.75%		39,986
	St. Lucie		24,400		35.76%		23,876		34.99%		19,817		29.04%		140		0.21%		524		0.77%		68,233
	Santa Rosa		17,339		52.90%		6,556		20.00%		8,788		26.81%		94		0.29%		8,551		26.09%		32,777
	Sarasota		66,855		42.76%		54,552		34.89%		34,289		21.93%		656		0.42%		12,303		7.87%		156,352
	Seminole		57,101		48.57%		35,660		30.33%		24,487		20.83%		312		0.27%		21,441		18.24%		117,560
	Sumter		4,366		35.41%		5,027		40.77%		2,901		23.53%		35		0.28%		-661		-5.36%		12,329
	Suwannee		4,576		40.23%		3,988		35.06%		2,791		24.54%		19		0.17%		588		5.17%		11,374
	Taylor		2,693		37.34%		2,568		35.60%		1,929		26.74%		23		0.32%		125		1.74%		7,213
	Union		1,546		43.29%		1,248		34.95%		770		21.56%		7		0.20%		298		8.34%		3,571
	Volusia		59,172		38.05%		65,223		41.94%		30,823		19.82%		281		0.18%		-6,051		-3.89%		155,499
	Wakulla		2,586		38.52%		2,320		34.55%		1,790		26.66%		18		0.27%		266		3.97%		6,714
	Walton		5,726		42.25%		3,888		28.69%		3,890		28.70%		50		0.37%		1,836		13.55%		13,554
	Washington		3,695		46.94%		2,544		32.32%		1,596		20.28%		36		0.46%		1,151		14.62%		7,871
Totals	2,173,310	40.89%	2,072,698	39.00%	1,053,067	19.82%	15,317	0.29%	100,612	1.89%	5,314,392

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Alachua
• Broward
• Dixie
• Flagler
• Gilchrist
• Glades
• Hamilton
• Hernando
• Jefferson
• Leon
• Levy
• Madison
• Miami-Dade
• Monroe
• Okeechobee
• Palm Beach
• Pasco
• Pinellas
• Putnam
• Sumter
• Volusia

Results by congressional district

District^[5]	Clinton	Bush	Perot
	1st		25.7%		51.1%		23.1%
	2nd		41.9%		38.6%		19.5%
	3rd		57%		30%		13%
	4th		30.2%		53.2%		16.6%
	5th		41.6%		34.2%		24.2%
	6th		31.3%		47.3%		21.4%
	7th		34.4%		44.7%		21%
	8th		32.3%		47.6%		20.1%
	9th		34.2%		41.4%		24.6%
	10th		40%		36.2%		23.8%
	11th		41.1%		39.2%		19.7%
	12th		34.4%		45.6%		20%
	13th		34.7%		42.8%		22.5%
	14th		31.3%		46.1%		22.5%
	15th		30.9%		43.4%		25.7%
	16th		35.7%		39.4%		24.9%
	17th		73.5%		19.1%		7.3%
	18th		32.8%		56.9%		10.3%
	19th		53.8%		30.3%		15.9%
	20th		46.9%		33.6%		19.6%
	21st		31.2%		58.2%		10.6%
	22nd		45%		37.6%		17.4%
	23rd		62.3%		23.2%		14.5%
Total	100%	100%	100%

Works cited

• Book: Steed . Robert . Moreland . Laurence . Baker . Tod . The 1992 Presidential Election in the South: Current Patterns of Southern Party and Electoral Politics . . 1994 . 0275945340.

Notes and References

1. Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas; 1992 Presidential General Election Results – Florida
2. News: Paulson . Darryl . 4 November 2016 . A quick history of Florida's presidential politics, from Whigs to wigged out . Tampa Bay Times . 7 July 2019 .
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. Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, p. 164-165
5. Web site: 1992 United States Presidential Election, Results by Congressional District . July 25, 2024 . Western Washington University.