1996 United States presidential election in California

The 1996 United States presidential election in California took place on November 5, 1996, as part of the 1996 United States presidential election. Voters chose 54 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. California, was won by incumbent President Bill Clinton (D) over Senator Bob Dole (R), with Clinton winning 51.1% to 38.21% by a margin of 12.89%. Billionaire businessman Ross Perot (Reform Party) finished in third, with 6.96% of the popular vote.Dave Leip's Atlas of United States Presidential Election Results - 1996 California Results

California had grown increasingly Democratic relative to the rest of the nation in the prior three elections, culminating in 1992 in Bill Clinton's becoming the first Democrat to carry California since Lyndon Johnson's 1964 landslide. In 1996, Clinton carried California once again by double digits, representing the first time California had voted Democratic in back-to-back elections since 1948. This was also the first time since 1964 that a Democrat won a majority of the vote in California. Nevertheless, Clinton's margin of victory shrank from 13.40% to 12.89%, even as his national margin swelled by 3%. Dole reclaimed eleven counties for the GOP: San Diego, Riverside, Fresno, San Luis Obispo, Butte, Tehama, Tuolumne, Siskiyou, Del Norte, Plumas, and Mariposa. He also carried Trinity County, the one county in the state in which Ross Perot had won a plurality in 1992. Of these counties, San Diego, Riverside, Fresno, and San Luis Obispo cast over 100,000 votes; and San Diego County was the largest county in the country to switch parties in 1996.

In contrast, Clinton flipped no counties in the state from red to blue, making this the first election since 1980 in which no red counties in the state turned blue. Clinton became the first Democrat to win the White House without carrying Fresno County since the county's founding in 1856, and remains the only one to have done so as of 2020. He also became the first Democrat since Woodrow Wilson in 1912 to win the White House without carrying Plumas County. Nevertheless, Clinton retained seven counties that in 1992 he had been the first Democrat to carry since 1964: San Bernardino, Ventura, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Monterey, Imperial, and San Benito, of which all save Imperial and San Benito cast over 100,000 votes. He also retained all the counties that had voted Democratic in 1988, including a number of sizeable ones that had voted Republican in 1976, such as Santa Clara, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Sonoma. This was the last election in which California voted to the right of Arkansas, Michigan, Minnesota, or West Virginia. This was also the first election since 1912 in which California voted differently than nearby Montana.

Late in the 1996 campaign, Dole had made an upset victory over Clinton in California central to his strategy. Dole hoped to capitalize on two issues that had been figuring prominently in California politics under Governor Pete Wilson, illegal immigration & affirmative action. California is one of 13 states where on the election ballot, James Campbell of California, Perot's former boss at IBM, was listed as a stand-in vice-presidential candidate. The Reform Party successfully conducted a drive to qualify as a party in California over the course of eighteen days in 1995.

Among white voters, 45% supported Clinton, while 43% supported Dole. 7% supported Perot.

Primary elections Democratic primary 1996 California Democratic presidential primaryCandidateVotes%Bill Clinton2,342,18592.83%Lyndon LaRouche173,953 6.89%Ralph Nader † 6,599 0.26%Pat Paulsen † 310 0.10%Ronald Spangler † 100.00%Oscar Smith Jr. † 30.00%Hal Womack † 20.00%Stanley Hallen † 00.00%Total2,523,062 100% † Indicates a write Republican primary

The California Republican presidential primary was held on March 26, 1996, as a part of the Republican Party's statewide nomination process for the upcoming presidential election. Senator Bob Dole of Kansas gained nearly two-thirds of the vote against political commentator Pat Buchanan and publishing executive Steve Forbes. 1996 California Republican presidential primaryCandidateVotes%Bob Dole1,619,93166.06%Pat Buchanan450,69518.38%Steve Forbes183,3677.48%Alan Keyes93,5773.82%Lamar Alexander44,1301.80%Robert K. Dornan23,2150.95%Phil Gramm15,2320.62%Richard Lugar14,8010.60%Morry Taylor5,7780.24%Ralph Nader (write-in)1,4410.06%Pat Paulsen (write-in)1360.00%Joel Neuberg (write-in)90.00%Total2,452,312100.00%

General election 1996 United States presidential election in CaliforniaStatement of Vote November 5, 1996, Prepared by Bill Jones California Secretary of State (access date 2012-02-05)PartyCandidateRunning mateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Democratic William Jefferson Clinton (Incumbent)Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (Incumbent) 5,119,835 51.10% 54 Republican Robert Joseph Dole Jack French Kemp 3,828,380 38.21% 0 Reform Henry Ross Perot James Campbell 697,847 6.96% 0 Green Ralph Nader Winona LaDuke 237,016 2.37% 0 Libertarian Harry Browne Jo Jorgensen 73,600 0.73% 0 Peace and Freedom Marsha Feinland Kate McClatchy 25,332 0.25% 0 Taxpayers’ Howard Phillips Herbert Titus 21,202 0.21% 0 Natural Law John Hagelin Dr. V. Tompkins 15,403 0.15% 0 Write-in Charles Collins 765 0.01% 0 Write-in James Harris 77 0.00% 0 Write-in Joel Neuberg 13 0.00% 0 Write-in Willie Carter 12 0.00% 0 Write-in Isabell Masters 2 0.00% 0 Invalid or blank votes 242,155 2.36% — Totals 10,261,639 100.00% 54 Voter turnout 65.53% —

By county County Bill ClintonDemocratic Bob DoleRepublican Ross PerotReform Ralph NaderGreen Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % # % # % Alameda 303,903 65.77% 106,581 23.07% 24,270 5.25% 20,432 4.42% 6,858 1.48% 197,322 42.70% 462,044 Alpine 258 42.02% 264 43.00% 63 10.26% 19 3.09% 10 1.63% -6 -0.98% 614 Amador 5,868 40.60% 6,870 47.54% 1,267 8.77% 264 1.83% 183 1.27% -1,002 -6.94% 14,452 Butte 30,651 38.53% 38,961 48.98% 6,393 8.04% 2,409 3.03% 1,136 1.43% -8,310 -10.45% 79,550 Calaveras 6,646 38.63% 8,279 48.12% 1,612 9.37% 338 1.96% 331 1.92% -1,633 -9.49% 17,206 Colusa 2,054 36.60% 3,047 54.29% 404 7.20% 42 0.75% 65 1.16% -993 -17.69% 5,612 Contra Costa 196,512 55.73% 123,954 35.15% 20,416 5.79% 7,334 2.08% 4,386 1.24% 72,558 20.58% 352,602 Del Norte 3,652 41.08% 3,670 41.29% 1,225 13.78% 199 2.24% 143 1.61% -18 -0.21% 8,889 El Dorado 22,957 36.33% 32,759 51.84% 5,077 8.03% 1,439 2.28% 964 1.53% -9,802 -15.51% 63,196 Fresno 94,448 45.32% 98,813 47.42% 10,962 5.26% 2,523 1.21% 1,647 0.79% -4,365 -2.10% 208,393 Glenn 2,841 32.04% 5,041 56.86% 788 8.89% 85 0.96% 111 1.25% -2,200 -24.82% 8,866 Humboldt 24,628 44.17% 19,803 35.52% 5,811 10.42% 4,651 8.34% 864 1.55% 4,825 8.65% 55,757 Imperial 14,591 55.27% 9,705 36.76% 1,778 6.73% 154 0.58% 172 0.65% 4,886 18.51% 26,400 Inyo 2,601 34.36% 3,924 51.84% 811 10.71% 127 1.68% 106 1.40% -1,323 -17.48% 7,569 Kern 62,658 36.56% 92,151 53.77% 13,452 7.85% 1,289 0.75% 1,841 1.07% -29,493 -17.21% 171,391 Kings 11,254 43.59% 12,368 47.91% 1,745 6.76% 205 0.79% 243 0.94% -1,114 -4.32% 25,815 Lake 10,432 48.90% 7,458 34.96% 2,539 11.90% 583 2.73% 323 1.51% 2,974 13.94% 21,335 Lassen 3,318 33.60% 5,194 52.60% 1,080 10.94% 131 1.33% 152 1.54% -1,876 -19.00% 9,875 Los Angeles 1,430,629 59.34% 746,544 30.96% 157,752 6.54% 45,977 1.91% 30,112 1.25% 684,085 28.38% 2,411,014 Madera 11,254 36.70% 16,510 53.85% 2,192 7.15% 376 1.23% 330 1.08% -5,256 -17.15% 30,662 Marin 67,406 58.04% 32,714 28.17% 6,559 5.65% 7,360 6.34% 2,101 1.81% 34,692 29.87% 116,140 Mariposa 2,920 36.73% 3,976 50.02% 729 9.17% 192 2.42% 132 1.66% -1,056 -13.29% 7,949 Mendocino 14,952 45.74% 9,765 29.87% 3,685 11.27% 3,608 11.04% 682 2.09% 5,187 15.87% 32,692 Merced 21,786 46.41% 20,847 44.41% 3,427 7.30% 462 0.98% 416 0.89% 939 2.00% 46,938 Modoc 1,368 31.79% 2,285 53.10% 528 12.27% 49 1.14% 73 1.70% -917 -21.31% 4,303 Mono 1,580 38.62% 1,882 46.00% 447 10.93% 96 2.35% 86 2.10% -302 -7.38% 4,091 Monterey 57,700 53.15% 39,794 36.66% 7,240 6.67% 2,391 2.20% 1,433 1.32% 17,906 16.49% 108,558 Napa 24,588 50.89% 17,439 36.09% 4,254 8.80% 1,242 2.57% 796 1.65% 7,149 14.80% 48,319 Nevada 15,369 35.56% 21,784 50.40% 3,330 7.70% 2,097 4.85% 639 1.48% -6,415 -14.84% 43,219 Orange 327,485 37.88% 446,717 51.67% 66,195 7.66% 11,842 1.37% 12,337 1.43% -119,232 -13.79% 864,576 Placer 34,981 37.05% 49,808 52.75% 6,542 6.93% 1,875 1.99% 1,221 1.29% -14,827 -15.70% 94,427 Plumas 3,540 36.31% 4,905 50.31% 919 9.43% 214 2.19% 172 1.76% -1,365 -14.00% 9,750 Riverside 168,579 43.05% 178,611 45.61% 35,481 9.06% 4,814 1.23% 4,128 1.05% -10,032 -2.56% 391,613 Sacramento 203,019 49.83% 166,049 40.76% 23,856 5.86% 9,142 2.24% 5,348 1.31% 36,970 9.07% 407,414 San Benito 7,030 50.55% 5,384 38.72% 1,044 7.51% 236 1.70% 212 1.52% 1,646 11.83% 13,906 San Bernardino 183,372 44.36% 180,135 43.58% 39,330 9.51% 5,150 1.25% 5,368 1.30% 3,237 0.78% 413,355 San Diego 389,964 44.11% 402,876 45.57% 63,037 7.13% 15,858 1.79% 12,416 1.40% -12,912 -1.46% 884,151 San Francisco 209,777 72.24% 45,479 15.66% 9,659 3.33% 21,471 7.39% 3,999 1.38% 164,298 56.58% 290,385 San Joaquin 67,253 46.34% 65,131 44.87% 9,692 6.68% 1,501 1.03% 1,563 1.08% 2,122 1.47% 145,140 San Luis Obispo 40,395 40.19% 46,733 46.50% 8,204 8.16% 3,854 3.83% 1,314 1.31% -6,338 -6.31% 100,500 San Mateo 152,304 60.55% 73,508 29.22% 15,047 5.98% 7,336 2.92% 3,337 1.33% 78,796 31.33% 251,532 Santa Barbara 70,650 46.87% 63,915 42.40% 9,457 6.27% 4,774 3.17% 1,949 1.29% 6,735 4.47% 150,745 Santa Clara 297,639 56.88% 168,291 32.16% 34,908 6.67% 12,312 2.35% 10,141 1.94% 129,348 24.72% 523,291 Santa Cruz 58,250 56.52% 27,766 26.94% 6,555 6.36% 7,803 7.57% 2,688 2.61% 30,484 29.58% 103,062 Shasta 20,848 33.11% 34,736 55.17% 5,875 9.33% 675 1.07% 827 1.31% -13,888 -22.06% 62,961 Sierra 573 33.57% 877 51.38% 170 9.96% 40 2.34% 47 2.75% -304 -17.81% 1,707 Siskiyou 7,022 38.39% 8,653 47.30% 1,879 10.27% 372 2.03% 367 2.01% -1,631 -8.91% 18,293 Solano 64,644 55.12% 40,742 34.74% 8,682 7.40% 1,868 1.59% 1,343 1.15% 23,902 20.38% 117,279 Sonoma 100,738 55.57% 53,555 29.54% 13,862 7.65% 9,547 5.27% 3,595 1.98% 47,183 26.03% 181,297 Stanislaus 53,738 45.93% 52,403 44.79% 8,360 7.14% 1,172 1.00% 1,334 1.14% 1,335 1.14% 117,007 Sutter 8,504 34.37% 14,264 57.64% 1,533 6.20% 208 0.84% 236 0.95% -5,760 -23.27% 24,745 Tehama 7,290 35.66% 10,292 50.34% 2,325 11.37% 245 1.20% 291 1.42% -3,002 -14.68% 20,443 Trinity 2,203 37.38% 2,530 42.93% 856 14.53% 159 2.70% 145 2.46% -327 -5.55% 5,893 Tulare 32,669 38.06% 46,272 53.90% 5,106 5.95% 737 0.86% 1,062 1.24% -13,603 -15.84% 85,846 Tuolumne 8,950 40.73% 10,386 47.27% 1,925 8.76% 427 1.94% 284 1.29% -1,436 -6.54% 21,972 Ventura 110,772 44.10% 109,202 43.47% 23,054 9.18% 4,732 1.88% 3,434 1.37% 1,570 0.63% 251,194 Yolo 33,033 56.88% 18,807 32.38% 3,150 5.42% 2,377 4.09% 712 1.23% 14,226 24.50% 58,079 Yuba 5,789 37.42% 7,971 51.53% 1,308 8.46% 201 1.30% 201 1.30% -2,182 -14.11% 15,470Total5,119,83551.10%3,828,38038.21%697,8476.96%237,0162.37%136,4061.36%1,291,45512.89%10,019,484 Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican Butte Del Norte Fresno Mariposa Plumas Riverside San Diego San Luis Obispo Siskiyou Tehama Tuolumne

Counties that flipped from Independent to Republican Trinity

By congressional district Clinton won 36 of 52 congressional districts, including eight held by Republicans, with the remaining 16 going to Dole, including one held by a Democrat.