Bill Clinton presidential campaign, 1992
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Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign for President of the United States was a critical turning point for the Democratic Party, which had controlled the White House for only four of the previous twenty-four years. Initially viewed as an unlikely prospect to win his party's nomination, Clinton did so and went on to defeat incumbent President George H. W. Bush, who had been viewed as politically invincible just a year earlier.
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Before the election
Bill Clinton was the Governor of Arkansas before the election. He served five terms. He toyed with the idea of seeking the nomination in 1988, but declined. He announced his candidacy on October 3, 1991 outside the Old State House in Little Rock, Arkansas. On December 20th, Governor Mario Cuomo of New York announced that he would not run for president.
Primaries
Like all presidential primary seasons, 1992 started with the Iowa caucus on February 10 and the New Hampshire primary on February 18. However, because an Iowan was running for President, Senator Tom Harkin, the other candidates did not challenge in Iowa.
In the New Hampshire primary, which became the de-facto first important primary, Clinton placed a surprising second (with 25% of the vote) to neighboring Senator Paul Tsongas of Massachusetts (33%). Though Tsongas had won the primary, the fact that Clinton had done relatively well there was seen as a momentum-builder as the campaigns headed south.
Governor Clinton swept most of the remaining primaries and won the Democratic nomination for President. He chose Tennessee Senator Al Gore for his Vice Presidential candidate. Initially seen as a bad choice as both candidates were southerners, it is now thought that this strategy worked well in the electoral college (in addition to Arkansas and Tennessee, the Clinton-Gore ticket won several other Republican-leaning southern states: Georgia, Louisiana, and Kentucky. These states are now considered solidly Republican.).
President Bush's popularity
In 1991, the incumbent president, George Bush, was extremely popular after the Persian Gulf War. His approval rating was above 90 percent at one point in 1991 because his war had helped erase the Vietnam Syndrome America had felt since the 1960s. But because of his mishandling of economic issues, Bush's popularity began plummetting throughout 1992. This opened the door for the campaign of independent candidate Ross Perot, who led most polls through May and then Clinton/Gore after Perot had faltered (by dropping out of the race and then re-entering and by selecting a Vice Presidential candidate (James Stockdale) many viewed as not ready for "prime time".
General election
Clinton won the election with 370 electoral votes and 45 million votes, to Bush's 168 electoral votes and 39 million votes, and Perot's 0 electoral votes and 20 million votes.
Campaign Platform
See also
- U.S. presidential election, 1992
- 1992 Democratic presidential primary
- 1992 Democratic National Convention
- The War Room (documentary)
External links
- Bill Clinton annoucement speech (http://www.4president.org/speeches/billclinton1992announcement.htm)
- Bill Clinton acceptance speech (http://wikisource.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton's_acceptance_speech_to_1992_Democratic_Convention)