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Democratic Ticket
Presidential candidate: BILL CLINTON, President
VP candidate: AL GORE, Vice President
Popular votes: 47,402,357 (49.2%)
Electoral votes: 379
Republican Ticket
Presidential candidate: Bob Dole, Kansas Senator
VP candidate: Jack Kemp, former HUD Secretary
Popular votes: 39,198,755 (40.7%)
Electoral votes: 159
1996 US Electoral Map: How each state voted. Election Results. Wisconsin's Choice: Clinton.

Election Facts

  • Character issues dogged Clinton again but his personality, his record of moderate policy initiatives, and a strong economy worked to his benefit.
  • Clinton adopted conservative approaches to welfare reform, deficit reduction, and family values while holding to Democratic stances on the environment, health care, and education.
  • Clinton made the Republicans' adoption of a conservative platform look extreme by comparison.
  • Clinton's support by women and minorities helped him win re-election.
Bob Dole speaks at a campaign rally in Madison, September 5, 1996. Photo by Joseph W. Jackson III, courtesy of the "Wisconsin State Journal."
Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson greets Bob Dole at a campaign rally in Madison, March 17, 1996. Photo by Joseph W. Jackson III, courtesy of the "Wisconsin State Journal."