The 1996 United States presidential election in Arizona took place on November 5, 1996, as part of the 1996 United States presidential election. Voters chose eight representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. Arizona was won by President Bill Clinton (D) over Senator Bob Dole (R-KS), with Clinton winning 46.5% to 44.3% by a margin of 2.2%.Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas; 1996 Presidential General Election Results – ArizonaOur Campaigns; AZ US President Race, November 05, 1996

Clinton had come fairly close to winning Arizona four years earlier. In his re-election bid, he was able to gain a larger share of the vote in Democratic-trending Pima County as well as most of northern Arizona. He also increased his support in Maricopa County, although it was again carried by the Republican candidate. His statewide margin of victory was slightly over 31,000 votes out of about 1.4 million cast. Billionaire businessman Ross Perot (Reform-TX) finished in third, with 8.0% of the popular vote. Exit polls suggest he did not change the outcome. As of 2024, this is the last election in which the following counties have voted for a Democratic presidential candidate: Gila, Greenlee, Navajo, Pinal and La Paz.Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016

This is the last election in which Arizona would vote differently from Georgia, as both had Republican winning streaks from 2000 to 2016 before flipping simultaneously in 2020 and 2024.

This is the only presidential election in Arizona's history in which Maricopa County, containing more than half of Arizona's population, voted for a candidate that lost the state, and one of only two elections in which Yavapai County, home to the city of Prescott, did so. This was the first time a Democrat had won Arizona in a presidential election since 1948, and the last time until 2020. This is also the only presidential election since 1944 in which Arizona voted Democratic while Colorado voted Republican, and the only presidential election since 1980 in which Arizona voted to the left of Nevada.

47% of white voters supported Dole, while 43% supported Clinton. 8% supported Perot.

Primary elections Democratic primary The Arizona Democratic primary was held on February 27, 1996, as one of the Democratic Party's statewide nomination contests ahead of the 1996 United States presidential election.

Incumbent President Bill Clinton won the primary in a landslide.

Republican primary The Arizona Republican primary was held on February 27, 1996, as one of the Republican Party's statewide nomination contests ahead of the 1996 United States presidential election. Publisher and Forbes magazine executive Steve Forbes defeated Bob Dole, Pat Buchanan, and Lamar Alexander in a close primary.

The Arizona contest was one of several Republican primaries held on February 27, 1996, alongside contests in North Dakota and South Dakota.

Forbes ultimately carried Arizona by a margin of 3.8%–credited to Maricopa County–making it one of only two states he won during the 1996 Republican primaries (the other being Delaware).

1996 Arizona Republican Presidential PrimaryCandidateVotes%DelegatesSteve Forbes115,96233.37%14Bob Dole102,98029.64%12Pat Buchanan95,74227.55%12Lamar Alexander24,7657.13%0Alan Keyes2,7900.80%0Richard Lugar2,0640.59%0Phil Gramm(withdrawn)8570.25%0Bob Dornan7350.21%0Others1,5870.46%0Total347,482100.00%38

Results 1996 United States presidential election in ArizonaPartyCandidateRunning mateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Democratic Bill Clinton (incumbent) Al Gore (incumbent) 653,288 46.52% 8 Republican Robert Dole Jack Kemp 622,073 44.29% 0 Reform Ross Perot Patrick Choate 112,072 7.98% 0 Libertarian Harry Browne Jo Jorgensen 14,358 1.02% 0 Green Ralph Nader (write-in) Winona LaDuke 2,062 0.15% 0 U.S. Taxpayers' Howard Phillips (write-in) 347 0.02% 0 Natural Law John Hagelin (write-in) Mike Tompkins 153 0.01% 0 No Party Charles Collins (write-in) Rosemary Giumarra 36 0.00% 0 Maverick Democratic Caroline Killeen (write-in) William F. Buckley Jr. 16 0.00% 0 No Party Robert B. Winn (write-in) 5 0.00% 0 Totals 1,404,405 100.00% 8

By county County Bill ClintonDemocratic Bob DoleRepublican Ross PerotReform Harry BrowneLibertarian Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % # % # % Apache 12,394 66.33% 4,761 25.48% 1,296 6.94% 204 1.09% 29 0.16% 7,633 40.85% 18,684 Cochise 13,782 43.17% 14,365 45.00% 3,346 10.48% 383 1.20% 47 0.15% -583 -1.83% 31,923 Coconino 20,475 53.15% 13,638 35.40% 3,666 9.52% 609 1.58% 137 0.35% 6,837 17.75% 38,522 Gila 8,577 49.26% 6,407 36.80% 2,211 12.70% 204 1.17% 12 0.07% 2,170 12.46% 17,411 Graham 3,938 42.36% 4,222 45.42% 1,034 11.12% 100 1.08% 2 0.02% -284 -3.06% 9,296 Greenlee 1,755 51.72% 1,159 34.16% 426 12.56% 53 1.56% 0 0.00% 596 17.56% 3,393 La Paz 1,964 43.71% 1,902 42.33% 597 13.29% 30 0.67% 0 0.00% 62 1.38% 4,493 Maricopa 363,991 44.53% 386,015 47.22% 58,479 7.15% 7,551 0.92% 1,396 0.18% -22,024 -2.69% 817,432 Mohave 16,629 40.04% 17,997 43.33% 6,369 15.33% 481 1.16% 57 0.14% -1,368 -3.29% 41,533 Navajo 12,912 51.78% 9,262 37.14% 2,461 9.87% 272 1.09% 31 0.12% 3,650 14.64% 24,938 Pima 137,983 52.16% 104,121 39.36% 18,809 7.11% 2,894 1.09% 745 0.28% 33,862 12.80% 264,552 Pinal 19,579 53.07% 13,034 35.33% 3,972 10.77% 293 0.79% 17 0.04% 6,545 17.74% 36,895 Santa Cruz 5,241 64.17% 2,256 27.62% 600 7.35% 65 0.80% 5 0.06% 2,985 36.55% 8,167 Yavapai 21,801 36.64% 29,921 50.29% 6,649 11.18% 1,009 1.70% 115 0.19% -8,120 -13.65% 59,495 Yuma 12,267 44.33% 13,013 47.03% 2,157 7.80% 210 0.76% 24 0.08% -746 -2.70% 27,671Totals653,28846.52%622,07344.29%112,0727.98%14,3581.02%2,6140.19%31,2152.23%1,404,405 Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Cochise

By congressional district Clinton won three of six congressional districts, including two that elected Republicans. District Dole Clinton Perot Representative 47% 46% 7%Matt Salmon 29% 64% 7%Ed Pastor 48% 42% 10%Bob Stump 49% 44% 7%John Shadegg 44% 48% 8%Jim Kolbe 45% 47% 8%J.D. Hayworth

Electors Bill Clinton & Al GoreDemocratic Party Bob Dole & Jack KempRepublican Party Ross Perot & Pat ChoateReform Party Harry Browne & Jo JorgensenLibertarian Party Ralph Nader & Winona LaDukeGreen Party Howard PhillipsU.S. Taxpayers Party John Hagelin & Mike TompkinsNatural Law Party Charles Collins & Rosemary GiumarraIndependent Caroline Killeen & William F. Buckley Jr.Maverick Democratic Robert B. WinnIndependent

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