1996 United States presidential election in New York explained

Election Name:	1996 United States presidential election in New York
Country:	New York
Flag Image:	Flag of New York (1909–2020).svg
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1992 United States presidential election in New York
Previous Year:	1992
Next Election:	2000 United States presidential election in New York
Next Year:	2000
Election Date:	November 5, 1996
Image1:	File:Bill Clinton.jpg
Nominee1:	Bill Clinton
Party1:	Democratic Party (United States)
Alliance1:	Liberal
Home State1:	Arkansas
Running Mate1:	Al Gore
Electoral Vote1:	33
Popular Vote1:	3,756,177
Percentage1:	59.47%
Nominee2:	Bob Dole
Party2:	Republican Party (United States)
Home State2:	Kansas
Running Mate2:	Jack Kemp
Electoral Vote2:	0
Popular Vote2:	1,933,492
Percentage2:	30.61%
Image3:	File:RossPerotColor.jpg
Nominee3:	Ross Perot
Party3:	Independence Party of New York
Home State3:	Texas
Running Mate3:	Pat Choate
Electoral Vote3:	0
Popular Vote3:	503,458
Percentage3:	7.97%
President
Before Election:	Bill Clinton
Before Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:	Bill Clinton
After Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
Turnout:	47.47%

The 1996 United States presidential election in New York took place on November 5, 1996, as part of the 1996 United States presidential election. Voters chose 33 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

New York, a reliable blue state that no Republican presidential candidate has won since 1984, was won by incumbent Democratic President Bill Clinton of Arkansas and Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee, over the Republican ticket of Senator Bob Dole of Kansas and Representative Jack Kemp of New York. Clinton carried New York by a landslide 28.86% margin of victory, taking 59.47% of the vote to Dole's 30.61%, even though Republican vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp was from New York. Reform Party candidate Ross Perot finished in third, with 7.97% of the popular vote.

Clinton improved dramatically on his 1992 showing in New York, when he had won the state with a 49.7% plurality. 1996 firmly entrenched New York's status in the modern era as a Democratic stronghold, rather than the swing state it had been in the 20th century. Many historically powerfully Republican upstate counties were won by the Democratic ticket: As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last time for a Democrat to carry Cattaraugus, Chenango, Delaware, Fulton, Jefferson, Ontario, Schuyler, Yates, Chemung, Herkimer, Lewis, Oneida and Schoharie counties.^[1]

This is the first election since 1964 that Democrats swept all five boroughs of New York City, which also occurred in 2000 and 2012. In this process of sweeping traditionally Republican suburbs around New York City, Clinton increased his lead in Westchester County – where he later moved in 2000 – from an 8.5% win in 1992 to a 21-point sweep in 1996. Many of these gains would be preserved in future elections: since 1996, no Democratic presidential candidate has received less than 58% of the vote in New York State, and except for George W. Bush in 2004, no Republican has broken 40%. Clinton's 28.86% victory margin is the second widest ever for a Democrat, only behind Lyndon Johnson's 37.25% in 1964, although several subsequent Democrats have received a higher vote share.

Results

1996 United States presidential election in New York^[2] ^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Democratic	Bill Clinton	3,649,630	57.78%
	Liberal	Bill Clinton	106,547	1.69%
	Total	Bill Clinton (incumbent)	3,756,177	59.47%	33
	Republican	Bob Dole	1,738,707	27.53%
	Conservative	Bob Dole	183,392	2.90%
	Freedom	Bob Dole	11,393	0.18%
	Total	Bob Dole	1,933,492	30.61%	0
	Independence	Ross Perot	503,458	7.97%	0
	Green	Ralph Nader	75,956	1.20%	0
	Right to Life	Howard Phillips	23,580	0.37%	0
	Libertarian	Harry Browne	12,220	0.19%	0
	Natural Law	John Hagelin	5,011	0.08%	0
	Worker's World		3,473	0.05%	0
	Socialist Workers	James Harris	2,762	0.04%	0
Totals			6,316,129	100.0%	33
Voter turnout			47.47%		—

New York City results

1996 presidential election in New York City^[4]			Manhattan	The Bronx	Brooklyn	Queens	Staten Island	Total
	Democratic- Liberal	Bill Clinton	394,131	248,276	432,232	372,925	64,684	1,512,248	77.10%
			79.96%	85.80%	80.07%	72.94%	50.53%
	Republican- Conservative- Freedom	Bob Dole	67,839	30,435	81,406	107,650	52,207	339,537	17.31%
			13.76%	10.52%	15.08%	21.05%	40.78%
	Independence	Ross Perot	11,144	7,186	15,031	22,288	8,968	64,617	3.29%
			2.26%	2.48%	2.78%	4.36%	7.01%
	Green	Ralph Nader	15,969	1,727	7,802	4,599	1,040	31,137	1.59%
			3.24%	0.60%	1.45%	0.90%	0.81%
	Right to Life	Howard Phillips	723	784	1,175	1,535	554	4,771	0.24%
			0.15%	0.27%	0.22%	0.30%	0.43%
	Libertarian	Harry Browne	1,536	242	653	727	207	3,365	0.17%
			0.31%	0.08%	0.12%	0.14%	0.16%
	Natural Law	John Hagelin	593	232	537	602	148	2,112	0.11%
			0.12%	0.08%	0.10%	0.12%	0.12%
	Worker's World	Monica Moorehead	615	290	520	547	107	2,079	0.11%
			0.12%	0.10%	0.10%	0.11%	0.08%
	Socialist Workers	James Harris	349	178	477	423	92	1,519	0.08%
			0.07%	0.06%	0.09%	0.08%	0.07%
TOTAL			492,899	289,350	539,833	511,296	128,007	1,961,385	100.00%

Results by county

County	Bill Clinton Democratic		Bob Dole Republican		Ross Perot Independence		Ralph Nader^[5] Green		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total votes cast
	data-sort-type="number"		data-sort-type="number"	%	data-sort-type="number"		data-sort-type="number"	%	data-sort-type="number"		data-sort-type="number"	%		data-sort-type="number"		data-sort-type="number"	%	data-sort-type="number"		data-sort-type="number"	%	data-sort-type="number"		data-sort-type="number"	%
	Albany		85,993		60.99%		39,785		28.22%		11,957		8.48%		2,071		1.47%		1,185		0.84%		46,208		32.77%		140,991
	Allegany		6,621		37.40%		8,107		45.79%		2,730		15.42%		116		0.66%		129		0.73%		−1,486		−8.39%		17,703
	Bronx		248,276		85.80%		30,435		10.52%		7,186		2.48%		1,727		0.60%		1,726		0.60%		217,841		75.28%		289,350
	Broome		44,407		51.15%		31,327		36.09%		9,114		10.50%		1,308		1.51%		658		0.76%		13,080		15.06%		86,814
	Cattaraugus		13,029		41.17%		12,971		40.99%		5,151		16.28%		184		0.58%		308		0.97%		58		0.18%		31,643
	Cayuga		15,879		49.79%		11,093		34.78%		4,420		13.86%		234		0.73%		268		0.84%		4,786		15.01%		31,894
	Chautauqua		26,831		47.67%		21,261		37.77%		7,484		13.30%		281		0.50%		433		0.77%		5,570		9.90%		56,290
	Chemung		16,977		47.40%		14,287		39.89%		3,967		11.08%		192		0.54%		390		1.09%		2,690		7.51%		35,813
	Chenango		8,797		45.63%		7,319		37.96%		2,822		14.64%		172		0.89%		169		0.88%		1,478		7.67%		19,279
	Clinton		15,386		52.95%		9,759		33.58%		3,488		12.00%		153		0.53%		274		0.94%		5,627		19.37%		29,060
	Columbia		12,910		47.11%		10,324		37.67%		3,466		12.65%		488		1.78%		215		0.78%		2,586		9.44%		27,403
	Cortland		9,130		46.94%		7,606		39.11%		2,398		12.33%		194		1.00%		121		0.62%		1,524		7.83%		19,449
	Delaware		8,724		44.98%		7,684		39.62%		2,601		13.41%		219		1.13%		166		0.86%		1,040		5.36%		19,394
	Dutchess		47,339		45.60%		41,929		40.39%		12,294		11.84%		1,374		1.32%		885		0.85%		5,410		5.21%		103,821
	Erie		224,554		54.74%		132,343		32.26%		45,679		11.13%		4,684		1.14%		2,974		0.72%		92,211		22.48%		410,234
	Essex		7,893		46.47%		6,379		37.55%		2,363		13.91%		165		0.97%		186		1.10%		1,514		8.92%		16,986
	Franklin		8,494		51.81%		5,072		30.94%		2,499		15.24%		109		0.66%		220		1.34%		3,422		20.87%		16,394
	Fulton		9,779		46.28%		7,881		37.30%		3,214		15.21%		120		0.57%		136		0.64%		1,898		8.98%		21,130
	Genesee		10,074		41.56%		10,821		44.64%		2,996		12.36%		131		0.54%		216		0.89%		−747		−3.08%		24,238
	Greene		8,251		41.00%		8,712		43.29%		2,790		13.86%		208		1.03%		163		0.81%		−461		−2.29%		20,124
	Hamilton		1,228		34.00%		1,841		50.97%		492		13.62%		24		0.66%		27		0.75%		−613		−16.97%		3,612
	Herkimer		11,910		44.73%		10,085		37.88%		4,235		15.91%		174		0.65%		222		0.83%		1,825		6.85%		26,626
	Jefferson		16,783		49.18%		12,362		36.22%		4,561		13.36%		159		0.46%		262		0.77%		4,421		12.96%		34,127
	Kings		432,232		80.07%		81,406		15.08%		15,031		2.78%		7,802		1.45%		3,362		0.62%		350,826		64.99%		539,833
	Lewis		4,402		43.22%		3,965		38.93%		1,669		16.39%		38		0.37%		111		1.09%		437		4.29%		10,185
	Livingston		10,868		43.23%		10,981		43.68%		2,889		11.49%		205		0.82%		195		0.78%		−113		−0.45%		25,138
	Madison		11,832		43.84%		11,324		41.96%		3,379		12.52%		220		0.82%		233		0.86%		508		1.88%		26,988
	Monroe		164,858		53.18%		115,694		37.32%		23,936		7.72%		3,277		1.06%		2,229		0.72%		49,164		15.86%		309,994
	Montgomery		10,485		49.54%		7,172		33.88%		3,253		15.37%		94		0.44%		162		0.77%		3,313		15.66%		21,166
	Nassau		303,587		55.74%		196,820		36.14%		36,122		6.63%		4,345		0.80%		3,790		0.70%		106,767		19.60%		544,664
	New York		394,131		79.96%		67,839		13.76%		11,144		2.26%		15,969		3.24%		3,816		0.77%		326,292		66.20%		492,899
	Niagara		44,203		49.42%		31,438		35.15%		12,564		14.05%		611		0.68%		628		0.70%		12,765		14.27%		89,444
	Oneida		44,399		46.77%		37,996		40.03%		11,296		11.90%		453		0.48%		785		0.83%		6,403		6.74%		94,929
	Onondaga		100,190		51.40%		73,771		37.84%		17,602		9.03%		1,954		1.00%		1,422		0.73%		26,419		13.56%		194,939
	Ontario		19,156		46.23%		17,237		41.60%		4,391		10.60%		349		0.84%		306		0.74%		1,919		4.63%		41,439
	Orange		54,995		48.01%		45,956		40.12%		11,778		10.28%		921		0.80%		888		0.78%		9,039		7.89%		114,538
	Orleans		6,233		40.82%		6,865		44.96%		1,986		13.01%		95		0.62%		89		0.58%		−632		−4.14%		15,268
	Oswego		20,440		44.75%		17,159		37.57%		7,499		16.42%		280		0.61%		295		0.65%		3,281		7.18%		45,673
	Otsego		11,470		47.54%		8,774		36.37%		3,217		13.33%		442		1.83%		223		0.92%		2,696		11.17%		24,126
	Putnam		16,173		42.08%		17,452		45.41%		4,032		10.49%		447		1.16%		328		0.85%		−1,279		−3.33%		38,432
	Queens		372,925		72.94%		107,650		21.05%		22,288		4.36%		4,599		0.90%		3,834		0.75%		265,275		51.89%		511,296
	Rensselaer		34,273		50.68%		23,482		34.72%		8,405		12.43%		869		1.29%		596		0.88%		10,791		15.96%		67,625
	Richmond		64,684		50.53%		52,207		40.78%		8,968		7.01%		1,040		0.81%		1,108		0.87%		12,477		9.75%		128,007
	Rockland		63,127		56.24%		40,395		35.99%		6,798		6.06%		1,189		1.06%		732		0.65%		22,732		20.25%		112,241
	St. Lawrence		21,798		56.65%		10,827		28.14%		5,309		13.80%		222		0.58%		321		0.83%		10,971		28.51%		38,477
	Saratoga		39,832		46.50%		34,337		40.08%		10,141		11.84%		711		0.83%		644		0.75%		5,495		6.42%		85,665
	Schenectady		35,404		53.07%		22,106		33.14%		7,865		11.79%		759		1.14%		575		0.86%		13,298		19.93%		66,709
	Schoharie		5,902		44.51%		5,353		40.37%		1,796		13.54%		121		0.91%		89		0.67%		549		4.14%		13,261
	Schuyler		3,303		43.26%		3,134		41.05%		1,037		13.58%		92		1.20%		69		0.90%		169		2.21%		7,635
	Seneca		6,825		48.91%		5,004		35.86%		1,889		13.54%		126		0.90%		111		0.80%		1,821		13.05%		13,955
	Steuben		14,481		37.94%		17,710		46.40%		5,496		14.40%		175		0.46%		309		0.81%		−3,229		−8.46%		38,171
	Suffolk		261,828		51.83%		182,510		36.13%		52,209		10.33%		4,786		0.95%		3,880		0.77%		79,318		15.70%		505,213
	Sullivan		15,052		53.29%		9,321		33.00%		3,453		12.23%		244		0.86%		174		0.62%		5,731		20.29%		28,244
	Tioga		8,769		41.20%		9,416		44.24%		2,721		12.79%		219		1.03%		157		0.74%		−647		−3.04%		21,282
	Tompkins		20,772		55.95%		11,532		31.06%		2,623		7.07%		1,854		4.99%		343		0.92%		9,240		24.89%		37,124
	Ulster		35,852		48.55%		26,212		35.49%		9,246		12.52%		1,913		2.59%		628		0.85%		9,640		13.06%		73,851
	Warren		11,603		43.31%		11,152		41.63%		3,623		13.52%		212		0.79%		201		0.75%		451		1.68%		26,791
	Washington		9,572		42.46%		8,954		39.72%		3,648		16.18%		172		0.76%		198		0.88%		618		2.74%		22,544
	Wayne		15,145		42.07%		15,837		44.00%		4,619		12.83%		153		0.43%		243		0.68%		−692		−1.93%		35,997
	Westchester		196,310		56.92%		123,719		35.87%		18,028		5.23%		4,364		1.27%		2,442		0.71%		72,591		21.05%		344,863
	Wyoming		5,735		36.25%		7,477		47.26%		2,411		15.24%		72		0.46%		126		0.80%		−1,742		−11.01%		15,821
	Yates		4,066		43.59%		3,925		42.08%		1,190		12.76%		75		0.80%		71		0.76%		141		1.51%		9,327
Totals	3,756,177	59.47%	1,933,492	30.61%	503,458	7.97%	75,956	1.20%	47,046	0.74%	1,822,685	28.86%	6,316,129

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• • Cattaraugus Chemung
• Chenango
  • • • • • • • • • • Clinton Delaware Dutchess Essex Fulton Herkimer Jefferson Lewis Madison Oneida Ontario
    • Orange Oswego Richmond (coterminous with Staten Island, a borough of New York City)
      • • • • Saratoga Schoharie Schuyler Suffolk Warren Washington Yates

See also

• United States presidential elections in New York
• Presidency of Bill Clinton

Notes and References

1. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016.
2. Web site: Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections 1996 – New York. January 7, 2013.
3. https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/eac_assets/1/6/1996%20Voter%20Registration%20and%20Turnout%20by%20State.pdf
4. Web site: 1996 Nov 5 • General: President of the United States • State of New York . July 26, 2024 . New York State Board of Elections: Past Elections Results.
5. Our Campaigns; NY US President Race, November 05, 1996