1996 United States presidential election in Maine

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1996 United States presidential election in Maine
Flag of Maine.svg
  1992 November 5, 1996 2000  
  Bill Clinton 1999.jpg Ks 1996 dole (cropped).jpg RossPerotColor.jpg
Nominee Bill Clinton Bob Dole Ross Perot
Party Democratic Republican Reform
Home state Arkansas Kansas Texas
Running mate Al Gore Jack Kemp James Campbell
Electoral vote400
Popular vote312,788186,37885,970
Percentage51.62%30.76%14.19%

Maine Presidential Election Results 1996.svg
Maine Presidential Election Results CD 1996.svg
Maine Presidential Results 1996 by Municipality.svg

President before election

Bill Clinton
Democratic

Elected President

Bill Clinton
Democratic

The 1996 United States presidential election in Maine took place on November 5, 1996, as part of the 1996 United States presidential election. Maine is one of two states in the U.S. that chooses two of its four representatives in the Electoral College based on the plurality vote in both its congressional districts instead of all four electors being chosen based on the statewide plurality vote.

Contents

Maine confirmed its status as a blue state, with Democratic nominee President Bill Clinton carrying the state with 51.62% of the vote over Republican Bob Dole, who received 30.76%. [1] As of 2024, Clinton's 20.86% margin of victory is the widest for a Democrat since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, although several subsequent Democrats have won a higher vote percentage.

Maine has voted Democratic since 1992, and is the only state other than Nebraska to split its electoral votes. The last time Maine went Republican was for George H. W. Bush and Dan Quayle in 1988. Third Party candidate Ross Perot had a lesser impact this time, only drawing 14% of the vote, compared to 30% in 1992. This would still be where Perot received the highest percentage of votes in 1996. [2] As of the 2024 presidential election , this is the last election in which Piscataquis County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate. [3] This is also the most recent election in which all the counties of Maine voted for the same party.

Results

1996 United States presidential election in Maine
PartyCandidateRunning mateVotesPercentageElectoral votes
Democratic Bill Clinton (incumbent) Al Gore (incumbent)312,78851.62%4
Republican Bob Dole Jack Kemp 186,37830.76%0
Reform Ross Perot James Campbell [1] [4] 85,97014.19%0
Green Ralph Nader Winona LaDuke 15,2792.52%0
Libertarian Harry Browne Jo Jorgensen 2,9960.49%0
U.S. Taxpayers' Party Howard Phillips Herbert Titus 1,5170.25%0
Natural Law John Hagelin Mike Tompkins 8250.14%0
No party Write-in 1440.02%0

By congressional district

Clinton won both congressional districts.

DistrictClintonDolePerotRepresentative
1st 52.1%31.8%12.6% James B. Longley Jr. (104th Congress)
Tom Allen (105th Congress)
2nd 51.2%29.6%16.0% John Baldacci

Results by county

CountyBill Clinton
Democratic
Bob Dole
Republican
Ross Perot
Reform
Various candidates
Other parties
MarginTotal votes cast
# %# %# %# %# %#
Androscoggin 26,42856.55%12,05325.79%7,07915.15%1,1712.51%14,37530.76%46,731
Aroostook 18,02251.80%10,40029.89%5,74716.52%6231.79%7,62221.91%34,792
Cumberland 69,49653.62%42,62032.88%12,6969.80%4,7983.70%26,87620.74%129,610
Franklin 7,75953.16%3,75725.74%2,56717.59%5133.51%4,00227.42%14,596
Hancock 12,25646.34%8,34531.55%4,09415.48%1,7536.63%3,91114.79%26,448
Kennebec 30,25754.37%15,40327.68%8,28114.88%1,7133.08%14,85426.69%55,654
Knox 8,83946.81%6,19232.79%2,78014.72%1,0725.68%2,64714.02%18,883
Lincoln 8,13044.74%6,37235.06%2,92316.08%7484.12%1,7589.68%18,173
Oxford 13,58052.05%7,23827.74%4,58917.59%6842.62%6,34224.31%26,091
Penobscot 35,96151.00%22,88532.45%9,67313.72%1,9982.83%13,07618.55%70,517
Piscataquis 4,34348.69%2,81531.56%1,52417.09%2382.67%1,52817.13%8,920
Sagadahoc 8,41749.73%5,34631.59%2,45114.48%7104.20%3,07118.14%16,924
Somerset 11,77350.94%6,24727.03%4,44919.25%6422.78%5,52623.91%23,111
Waldo 8,01246.37%5,31830.78%2,81616.30%1,1336.56%2,69415.59%17,279
Washington 7,19847.39%4,79331.56%2,72117.91%4773.14%2,40515.83%15,189
York 42,31751.00%26,59432.05%11,58013.96%2,4883.00%15,72318.95%82,979
Totals312,78851.62%186,37830.76%85,97014.19%20,7613.43%126,41020.86%605,897

Counties that flipped from Independent to Democratic

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Dave Leip’ss Atlas of United States Presidential Election Results 1996 Presidential General Election Results — Maine
  2. "1996 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  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. Perot Names Stand-in Veep Candidate http://www-cgi.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/news/9608/21/perot.veep/ Archived 2008-05-17 at the Wayback Machine