1996 Reform Party presidential primaries

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1996 Reform Party presidential primaries
Flag of the United States.svg
1996 2000  
  RossPerotColor.jpg Richard Lamm.jpg
Nominee Ross Perot Richard Lamm
Home state Texas Colorado
Running mate Pat Choate Ed Zschau
States carried473 + D.C.
Popular vote32,14517,121
Percentage65.3%34.8%

1996ReformMailInBallotResults.svg
Mail-In Presidential Primary results map.

The Reform Party of the United States of America (RPUSA) was founded in 1995 by Ross Perot. Because the party had just recently been formed, the traditional system of presidential primaries in use by the Republican and Democratic parties was not considered practical for the Reform Party to use for its presidential primary in 1996. Instead, a national primary was held through the mail in which Reform Party supporters voted for a number of candidates, while ballot efforts were concentrated entirely towards the general election.

Contents

Candidates

The mail-in primary

In 1995, former presidential candidate Ross Perot's lobbying group United We Stand America decided to become a political party. Thus, the Reform Party of the United States of America was created.

During the 1996 presidential primaries, the Reform Party was seeking an alternative candidate to party founder Ross Perot, who stated he didn't plan on running for president again. Reform Party activist Mark Sturdevant urged Colorado Governor Richard Lamm to seek the party's nomination. Initially hesitant, Lamm decided that if Ross Perot didn't run then he would enter the presidential race. [1]

Lamm was assured Perot had no intention of running, and he entered the Reform Party's primaries on June 9, with Ed Zschau as his running mate.

Lamm remained a registered member of the Democratic Party, stating: "you can't become a member of the Reform Party in Colorado. There is no Reform Party in Colorado.... I can participate by staying a Democrat. I couldn't become a member of the Reform Party if I wanted to, but I am encouraging people to sign petitions so that they can get on the ballot here in Colorado. We've got to be on the ballot in all 50 states." [2]

On March 19, Perot hinted that he may enter the Reform Party presidential primaries. [3] Later that summer, Perot announced his presidential candidacy. Most Reform Party members supported Perot, and he was the overwhelming victor during the primaries.

Lamm addressed the Reform Party's 1996 National Convention, held in Long Beach, California. In his speech, he criticized President Bill Clinton, saying: "no nation has ever borrowed its way to greatness!" He also blasted Political Action Committees for running dishonest commercials, and stated he hoped the Reform Party would become a "truth telling, straight talking political party... run by ordinary citizens." [4]

His speech received a standing ovation, and he congratulated Ross Perot on his primary victory.

Results by state

States won by H. Ross Perot
States won by Richard Lamm
H. Ross PerotRichard LammMarginState Total
State# %# %# %#
Alabama18865.969734.049131.92285AL
Alaska4045.984754.02−7−7.9687AK
Arizona54165.9827934.0226231.96820AZ
Arkansas12470.065329.947140.12177AR
California11,17464.466,16135.545,01328.9217,335CA
Colorado31818.281,42281.72−1,104−63.441,740CO
Connecticut29672.3711327.6318344.74409CT
Delaware10869.234830.776038.46156DE
D.C.2240.743259.26−10−18.5254DC
Florida2,98176.2492923.762,05252.483,910FL
Georgia46760.8930039.1116721.78767GA
Hawaii7566.963733.043833.92112HI
Idaho19053.8216346.18277.64353ID
Illinois60166.4130433.5929732.82905IL
Indiana77373.6227726.3849647.241,050IN
Iowa9662.345837.663824.68154IA
Kansas67864.4537435.5530428.901,052KS
Kentucky31071.4312428.5718642.86434KY
Louisiana6582.281417.725164.5679LA
Maine91566.3546433.6545132.701,379ME
Maryland30654.6425445.36529.28560MD
Massachusetts35359.0324540.9710818.06598MA
Michigan72671.0429628.9643042.081,022MI
Minnesota28141.5139658.49−115−16.98677MN
Mississippi6380.771519.234861.5478MS
Missouri40172.2515427.7524744.50555MO
Montana13760.628939.384821.24226MT
Nebraska11160.997139.014021.98182NE
Nevada23572.538927.4714645.06324NV
New Hampshire17365.539134.478231.06264NH
New Jersey45575.7114624.2930951.42601NJ
New Mexico12353.0210946.98146.04232NM
New York79469.1035530.9043938.201,149NY
North Carolina45861.3928838.6117022.78746NC
North Dakota13663.857736.155927.70213ND
Ohio1,05974.3236625.6869348.641,425OH
Oklahoma1,23770.3652129.6452140.721,758OK
Oregon26965.6114134.3912831.22410OR
Pennsylvania75270.9430829.0644441.881,060PA
Rhode Island4769.122130.882638.2468RI
South Carolina55267.1527032.8528234.30822SC
South Dakota6968.323231.683736.64101SD
Tennessee18776.025923.9812852.04246TN
Texas1,87772.7070527.301,17245.402,582TX
Utah8859.865940.142919.72147UT
Vermont3165.961634.041531.9247VT
Virginia23966.7611933.2412033.52358VA
Washington27268.8612331.1414937.72395WA
West Virginia7872.223027.784844.44108WV
Wisconsin41771.1616928.8424842.32586WI
Wyoming25455.4620444.545010.92458WY
TOTALS:32,14565.2517,12134.7515,02430.5049,266US

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References

  1. Benjamin, Pat (2007). The Perot Legacy: A New Political Path. iUniverse, Inc. US. ISBN   978-0-595-70214-5.
  2. "Online NewsHour: Richard Lamm -- June 10, 1996". PBS . Archived from the original on 1999-11-17.
  3. "The Political Fray". CNN.
  4. "Reform Party Convention Acceptance Speeches | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org.