1992 United States presidential election in North Carolina

Main article: 1992 United States presidential election

1992 United States presidential election in North Carolina

←  1988 November 3, 1992 1996  →

Nominee George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton Ross Perot Party Republican Democratic Independent Home state Texas Arkansas Texas Running mate Dan Quayle Al Gore James Stockdale Electoral vote 14 0 0 Popular vote 1,134,661 1,114,042 357,864 Percentage 43.44% 42.65% 13.70%

County results Congressional district results Bush   40–50%   50–60%   60–70% Clinton   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%

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

The 1992 United States presidential election in North Carolina took place on November 3, 1992, and was part of the 1992 United States presidential election. Voters chose 14 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

North Carolina was very narrowly won by incumbent Republican President George H. W. Bush of Texas over his Democratic challenger, Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas. Bush took 43.44% of the vote to Clinton's 42.65%, a margin of 0.79%. North Carolina was the second-closest state in this election behind neighboring Georgia. ^[1] This was also the first time since 1956 when North Carolina did not support the winning candidate. It has since gone on to back losing Republicans Bob Dole in 1996, Mitt Romney in 2012, and Donald Trump in 2020.

Billionaire businessman Ross Perot, running as an Independent, finished in third, with 13.70% of the vote, a relatively strong showing for a third party candidate, and his second highest showing in the Southeast, behind only Florida.

Despite being from the South, Bill Clinton became the first Democrat to win the White House without carrying the state of North Carolina since James K. Polk in 1844, and Bush became the first ever Republican to carry the state while losing nationally. As of the 2020 presidential election ^[update] , the 1992 election constitutes the last occasion the following counties have supported a Democratic presidential nominee: Alleghany, Brunswick, Greene, Pamlico, Pender, Rockingham, Sampson and Yancey. ^[2] This would also be the last election in which North Carolina would vote to the left of neighboring Virginia. Additionally, with Bush and Clinton each winning 50 of North Carolina's 100 counties, this remains the last time that a Republican presidential nominee has failed to win a majority of the state's counties.

Results

1992 United States presidential election in North Carolina [3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	George H. W. Bush (incumbent)	1,134,661	43.44%	14
	Democratic	Bill Clinton	1,114,042	42.65%	0
	Independent	Ross Perot	357,864	13.70%	0
	Libertarian	Andre Marrou	5,171	0.20%	0
	New Alliance Party	Lenora Fulani (write-in)	59	0.00%	0
	Natural Law	Dr. John Hagelin (write-in)	41	0.00%	0
	Socialist Workers Party	James Warren (write-in)	12	0.00%	0
Totals			2,611,850	100.0%	14
Voter turnout			54.52%		—

Results by county

1992 United States presidential election in North Carolina by county ^[4]

County	George H. W. Bush Republican		Bill Clinton Democratic		Ross Perot Independent		Various candidates Other parties		Margin
	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#
Mitchell	62.79%	4,405	24.62%	1,727	12.50%	877	0.09%	6	38.18%	2,678
Avery	57.39%	3,895	25.86%	1,755	16.55%	1,123	0.21%	14	31.53%	2,140
Yadkin	56.34%	7,311	30.15%	3,913	13.29%	1,725	0.22%	28	26.18%	3,398
Gaston	56.51%	34,714	31.12%	19,121	12.19%	7,490	0.18%	110	25.38%	15,593
Davie	54.86%	6,796	29.67%	3,675	15.36%	1,903	0.10%	13	25.20%	3,121
Randolph	53.20%	20,697	28.98%	11,274	17.66%	6,870	0.16%	61	24.22%	9,423
Wilkes	52.57%	12,547	33.48%	7,991	13.86%	3,307	0.10%	23	19.09%	4,556
Henderson	51.43%	17,010	32.50%	10,747	15.90%	5,260	0.17%	55	18.94%	6,263
Cabarrus	51.75%	21,281	32.86%	13,513	15.20%	6,251	0.19%	78	18.89%	7,768
Catawba	51.54%	25,466	33.06%	16,334	15.23%	7,523	0.17%	86	18.48%	9,132
Union	51.71%	16,542	33.72%	10,789	14.38%	4,601	0.19%	60	17.98%	5,753
Davidson	50.01%	24,869	33.11%	16,462	16.74%	8,324	0.14%	70	16.91%	8,407
Rowan	49.84%	21,297	33.48%	14,308	16.51%	7,053	0.17%	74	16.36%	6,989
Iredell	49.80%	19,411	34.03%	13,263	15.92%	6,204	0.26%	102	15.77%	6,148
Onslow	48.70%	11,842	33.08%	8,045	18.04%	4,387	0.18%	44	15.61%	3,797
Stanly	50.91%	11,030	35.70%	7,735	13.18%	2,855	0.20%	44	15.21%	3,295
Wayne	52.29%	14,397	37.44%	10,307	10.16%	2,798	0.11%	30	14.86%	4,090
Alexander	49.64%	6,764	35.59%	4,849	14.69%	2,002	0.08%	11	14.05%	1,915
Caldwell	49.04%	12,543	35.32%	9,033	15.50%	3,965	0.14%	35	13.72%	3,510
Johnston	48.67%	15,418	35.62%	11,284	15.59%	4,939	0.12%	38	13.05%	4,134
Lincoln	49.29%	11,018	36.46%	8,150	14.06%	3,142	0.20%	45	12.83%	2,868
Nash	48.34%	14,446	36.17%	10,809	15.20%	4,544	0.29%	87	12.17%	3,637
Alamance	48.33%	20,637	36.35%	15,521	15.09%	6,444	0.23%	99	11.98%	5,116
Carteret	47.36%	10,334	36.79%	8,028	15.59%	3,401	0.26%	56	10.57%	2,306
Moore	46.81%	12,448	36.29%	9,649	16.73%	4,448	0.17%	46	10.53%	2,799
Graham	49.51%	1,919	40.02%	1,551	10.40%	403	0.08%	3	9.49%	368
Rutherford	47.95%	9,748	38.64%	7,855	13.26%	2,695	0.15%	31	9.31%	1,893
Stokes	47.90%	7,979	38.80%	6,463	13.11%	2,183	0.19%	32	9.10%	1,516
New Hanover	46.67%	24,338	38.91%	20,291	14.19%	7,401	0.24%	124	7.76%	4,047
Clay	47.73%	1,890	40.40%	1,600	11.74%	465	0.13%	5	7.32%	290
Polk	45.77%	3,448	39.02%	2,939	15.05%	1,134	0.16%	12	6.76%	509
Transylvania	45.55%	5,984	38.97%	5,120	15.27%	2,006	0.21%	27	6.58%	864
Surry	46.33%	10,866	40.05%	9,392	13.49%	3,164	0.13%	31	6.28%	1,474
Craven	45.77%	11,575	39.54%	9,998	14.55%	3,679	0.14%	35	6.24%	1,577
Harnett	46.58%	9,751	40.48%	8,473	12.82%	2,684	0.11%	24	6.11%	1,278
McDowell	45.81%	6,090	39.93%	5,309	14.15%	1,881	0.11%	15	5.87%	781
Beaufort	45.91%	7,337	40.33%	6,445	13.60%	2,174	0.15%	24	5.58%	892
Lee	45.42%	6,658	39.92%	5,852	14.50%	2,125	0.16%	24	5.50%	806
Ashe	46.97%	5,200	41.77%	4,624	11.02%	1,220	0.23%	26	5.20%	576
Currituck	41.31%	2,188	36.53%	1,935	21.96%	1,163	0.21%	11	4.78%	253
Dare	40.73%	4,357	36.70%	3,925	22.33%	2,388	0.24%	26	4.04%	432
Cherokee	45.91%	4,021	42.09%	3,686	11.87%	1,040	0.13%	11	3.83%	335
Forsyth	45.40%	52,787	42.15%	49,006	12.27%	14,262	0.19%	219	3.25%	3,781
Burke	44.48%	13,397	41.71%	12,565	13.69%	4,124	0.12%	36	2.76%	832
Cleveland	44.72%	13,650	42.71%	13,037	12.40%	3,784	0.17%	51	2.01%	613
Macon	42.53%	4,797	41.00%	4,624	16.22%	1,829	0.26%	29	1.53%	173
Person	43.60%	4,460	42.26%	4,323	13.99%	1,431	0.16%	16	1.34%	137
Mecklenburg	43.57%	99,496	42.50%	97,065	13.70%	31,283	0.23%	531	1.06%	2,431
Lenoir	45.02%	8,932	44.32%	8,793	10.62%	2,107	0.05%	10	0.70%	139
Wilson	44.36%	10,176	44.06%	10,105	11.47%	2,630	0.11%	26	0.31%	71
Wake	41.84%	86,798	42.89%	88,979	15.01%	31,140	0.27%	550	-1.05%	-2,181
Watauga	41.09%	7,899	42.98%	8,262	15.64%	3,007	0.30%	57	-1.89%	-363
Buncombe	40.92%	30,892	43.65%	32,955	15.21%	11,481	0.22%	164	-2.73%	-2,063
Yancey	43.38%	3,994	46.54%	4,285	9.96%	917	0.13%	12	-3.16%	-291
Pitt	41.63%	16,609	45.02%	17,959	13.19%	5,262	0.16%	65	-3.38%	-1,350
Sampson	43.12%	8,007	46.84%	8,698	9.97%	1,852	0.06%	11	-3.72%	-691
Rockingham	40.54%	12,678	44.39%	13,880	14.94%	4,671	0.13%	40	-3.84%	-1,202
Guilford	41.08%	60,140	45.30%	66,319	13.39%	19,601	0.23%	339	-4.22%	-6,179
Camden	38.84%	1,039	43.10%	1,153	17.91%	479	0.15%	4	-4.26%	-114
Cumberland	42.10%	27,139	46.98%	30,291	10.54%	6,792	0.38%	248	-4.89%	-3,152
Pamlico	38.77%	1,929	44.80%	2,229	16.26%	809	0.16%	8	-6.03%	-300
Pender	39.07%	4,857	46.86%	5,825	13.88%	1,725	0.19%	23	-7.79%	-968
Brunswick	38.40%	8,833	46.86%	10,777	14.56%	3,349	0.18%	41	-8.45%	-1,944
Alleghany	39.18%	1,853	48.01%	2,271	12.68%	600	0.13%	6	-8.84%	-418
Montgomery	38.67%	3,543	48.27%	4,422	12.94%	1,185	0.12%	11	-9.60%	-879
Perquimans	36.85%	1,429	46.88%	1,818	16.09%	624	0.18%	7	-10.03%	-389
Greene	38.03%	2,180	48.29%	2,768	13.61%	780	0.07%	4	-10.26%	-588
Chowan	36.86%	1,661	47.40%	2,136	15.53%	700	0.20%	9	-10.54%	-475
Madison	39.07%	3,121	49.82%	3,980	10.73%	857	0.39%	31	-10.75%	-859
Duplin	38.45%	5,286	49.58%	6,816	11.90%	1,636	0.07%	9	-11.13%	-1,530
Swain	37.36%	1,640	49.59%	2,177	12.94%	568	0.11%	5	-12.23%	-537
Jackson	36.99%	4,275	49.78%	5,753	13.12%	1,516	0.12%	14	-12.79%	-1,478
Pasquotank	35.69%	3,419	49.15%	4,709	14.97%	1,434	0.20%	19	-13.46%	-1,290
Granville	37.42%	4,538	50.94%	6,178	10.89%	1,321	0.75%	91	-13.52%	-1,640
Jones	37.39%	1,438	51.01%	1,962	11.54%	444	0.05%	2	-13.62%	-524
Martin	36.90%	2,958	50.76%	4,069	12.24%	981	0.10%	8	-13.86%	-1,111
Franklin	35.20%	4,669	49.13%	6,517	15.54%	2,062	0.14%	18	-13.93%	-1,848
Vance	37.09%	4,747	51.55%	6,598	11.28%	1,444	0.09%	11	-14.46%	-1,851
Haywood	34.71%	7,292	49.43%	10,385	15.72%	3,303	0.14%	29	-14.72%	-3,093
Chatham	35.36%	6,568	51.25%	9,520	13.05%	2,425	0.34%	64	-15.89%	-2,952
Hyde	32.34%	740	52.71%	1,206	14.86%	340	0.09%	2	-20.37%	-466
Washington	33.89%	1,780	55.24%	2,902	10.72%	563	0.15%	8	-21.36%	-1,122
Tyrrell	33.03%	553	55.44%	928	11.29%	189	0.24%	4	-22.40%	-375
Caswell	33.40%	2,793	56.50%	4,725	9.89%	827	0.22%	18	-23.10%	-1,932
Scotland	31.84%	2,980	55.29%	5,175	12.78%	1,196	0.10%	9	-23.45%	-2,195
Halifax	32.40%	5,769	55.94%	9,960	11.50%	2,047	0.16%	28	-23.54%	-4,191
Durham	33.36%	27,581	57.24%	47,331	9.08%	7,504	0.32%	268	-23.89%	-19,750
Bladen	31.58%	3,214	56.01%	5,700	12.26%	1,248	0.15%	15	-24.43%	-2,486
Edgecombe	31.92%	6,275	56.84%	11,174	11.06%	2,175	0.17%	33	-24.92%	-4,899
Gates	30.20%	1,158	57.54%	2,206	12.15%	466	0.10%	4	-27.33%	-1,048
Richmond	28.01%	4,356	58.91%	9,163	12.96%	2,015	0.12%	19	-30.91%	-4,807
Hertford	28.78%	2,208	60.08%	4,609	11.03%	846	0.12%	9	-31.30%	-2,401
Columbus	28.88%	5,462	60.63%	11,469	10.38%	1,963	0.12%	22	-31.76%	-6,007
Hoke	27.00%	1,711	58.86%	3,730	14.00%	887	0.14%	9	-31.86%	-2,019
Orange	27.50%	13,009	60.45%	28,595	11.70%	5,535	0.34%	161	-32.95%	-15,586
Anson	27.33%	2,334	61.71%	5,269	10.79%	921	0.18%	15	-34.37%	-2,935
Robeson	25.52%	7,777	63.59%	19,378	10.75%	3,277	0.14%	42	-38.07%	-11,601
Bertie	26.04%	1,756	64.99%	4,382	8.90%	600	0.07%	5	-38.94%	-2,626
Warren	24.80%	1,767	65.35%	4,656	9.73%	693	0.13%	9	-40.55%	-2,889
Northampton	23.16%	1,845	65.21%	5,195	11.50%	916	0.14%	11	-42.05%	-3,350

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Alleghany
• Brunswick
• Buncombe
• Camden
• Chowan
• Cumberland
• Franklin
• Guilford
• Jackson
• Madison
• Montgomery
• Pamlico
• Pasquotank
• Pender
• Perquimans
• Pitt
• Rockingham
• Sampson
• Wake
• Watauga
• Yancey

References

1. "1992 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
2. Sullivan, Robert David (June 29, 2016). "How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century". The National Catholic Review (America Magazine ed.).
3. "1992 Presidential General Election Data Graphs — North Carolina by County". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
4. "NC US President Race, November 03, 1992". Our Campaigns.