1996 United States presidential election in North Carolina

The 1996 United States presidential election in North Carolina took place on 5 November 1996 as part of the 1996 United States presidential election. Voters in North Carolina chose 14 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

1996 United States presidential election in North Carolina

← 1992 November 5, 1996 2000 →
Turnout58.76% Decrease[1]
 
Nominee Bob Dole Bill Clinton Ross Perot
Party Republican Democratic Reform
Home state Kansas Arkansas Texas
Running mate Jack Kemp Al Gore Pat Choate
Electoral vote 14 0 0
Popular vote 1,225,938 1,107,849 168,059
Percentage 48.73% 44.04% 6.68%


President before election

Bill Clinton
Democratic

Elected President

Bill Clinton
Democratic

North Carolina was narrowly won by the Republican nominee, Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, defeating incumbent Democratic President Bill Clinton of Arkansas. Dole won with a plurality of 48.73% of the vote to Clinton's 44.04%, a margin of 4.69%. The Reform Party candidate, billionaire businessman Ross Perot, came in a distant third, with 6.68%.

In 1992, Clinton became the first Democrat to win the White House without carrying North Carolina since the founding of the Republican Party and the only Democrat to ever secure two terms in office without North Carolina. Although the state remained competitive in 1996, Dole improved non-trivially on George H. W. Bush's margin on his way to becoming the second losing Republican to carry the state, reflecting the state's increasingly Republican orientation. Much of Dole's strength came from wins in large counties anchored by, or adjoining, an urban area. He flipped Wake County, home of Raleigh and the largest county in the nation he flipped outside California, carrying it by 2.3%. His top two raw vote margins in the state came from Gaston County, a suburban county adjoining Mecklenburg County (home of Charlotte), and Forsyth County, home of Winston-Salem; in the latter, he increased Bush's '92 margin of 3.2% to 11.3%. He also shrank Bill Clinton's margin in Guilford County, home of Greensboro, from 4.2% to 1.0%. (Clinton did, however, flip Mecklenburg County itself.)

As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last election in which the following counties have voted for a Democratic presidential candidate: Camden, Duplin, Franklin, Haywood, Jones, Madison, Montgomery, Perquimans and Swain.[2]

Results

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1996 United States presidential election in North Carolina[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Bob Dole 1,225,938 48.73 +5.29
Democratic Bill Clinton (incumbent) 1,107,849 44.04 +1.39
Reform Ross Perot 168,059 6.68 +6.68
Libertarian Harry Browne 8,740 0.35 +0.15
Natural Law John Hagelin 2,771 0.11 +0.11
Independent Ralph Nader (write-in) 2,108 0.08
Independent Howard Phillips (write-in) 258 0.01
Independent James Harris (write-in) 84 0.00
Turnout 2,515,807

Results by county

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County[4] Bob Dole
Republican
Bill Clinton
Democratic
Ross Perot
Reform
Harry Browne
Libertarian
Various candidates
Other parties
Margin Total
# % # % # % # % # % # %
Alamance 22,461 53.66% 15,814 37.78% 3,395 8.11% 145 0.35% 46 0.11% 6,647 15.88% 41,861
Alexander 6,748 57.53% 3,955 33.72% 1,004 8.56% 15 0.13% 8 0.07% 2,793 23.81% 11,730
Alleghany 1,936 45.71% 1,801 42.53% 458 10.81% 32 0.76% 8 0.19% 135 3.18% 4,235
Anson 2,193 28.77% 4,890 64.15% 512 6.72% 20 0.26% 8 0.10% -2,697 -35.38% 7,623
Ashe 5,203 52.33% 3,825 38.47% 865 8.70% 29 0.29% 20 0.20% 1,378 13.86% 9,942
Avery 3,870 62.83% 1,586 25.75% 655 10.63% 28 0.45% 20 0.32% 2,284 37.08% 6,159
Beaufort 8,154 53.59% 6,172 40.57% 834 5.48% 35 0.23% 20 0.13% 1,982 13.02% 15,215
Bertie 1,745 27.83% 4,202 67.01% 316 5.04% 6 0.10% 2 0.03% -2,457 -39.18% 6,271
Bladen 3,335 37.22% 4,952 55.27% 655 7.31% 10 0.11% 8 0.09% -1,617 -18.05% 8,960
Brunswick 10,065 45.70% 10,041 45.59% 1,815 8.24% 75 0.34% 27 0.12% 24 0.11% 22,023
Buncombe 30,518 44.19% 31,658 45.84% 6,254 9.05% 335 0.49% 302 0.44% -1,140 -1.65% 69,067
Burke 13,853 48.97% 11,678 41.28% 2,654 9.38% 76 0.27% 30 0.11% 2,175 7.69% 28,291
Cabarrus 23,035 55.76% 14,447 34.97% 3,626 8.78% 132 0.32% 70 0.17% 8,588 20.79% 41,310
Caldwell 12,653 55.18% 8,050 35.11% 2,099 9.15% 48 0.21% 81 0.35% 4,603 20.07% 22,931
Camden 1,074 41.86% 1,186 46.22% 293 11.42% 7 0.27% 6 0.23% -112 -4.36% 2,566
Carteret 11,721 56.15% 7,566 36.24% 1,467 7.03% 75 0.36% 47 0.23% 4,155 19.91% 20,876
Caswell 3,310 40.57% 4,312 52.86% 510 6.25% 16 0.20% 10 0.12% -1,002 -12.29% 8,158
Catawba 26,898 58.03% 15,601 33.66% 3,629 7.83% 171 0.37% 55 0.12% 11,297 24.37% 46,354
Chatham 7,731 42.03% 9,353 50.84% 1,113 6.05% 103 0.56% 96 0.52% -1,622 -8.81% 18,396
Cherokee 3,883 49.26% 3,129 39.69% 785 9.96% 33 0.42% 53 0.67% 754 9.57% 7,883
Chowan 1,659 38.80% 2,239 52.36% 359 8.40% 14 0.33% 5 0.12% -580 -13.56% 4,276
Clay 1,769 48.40% 1,462 40.00% 387 10.59% 31 0.85% 6 0.16% 307 8.40% 3,655
Cleveland 13,474 47.71% 12,728 45.07% 1,931 6.84% 71 0.25% 37 0.13% 746 2.64% 28,241
Columbus 6,017 36.96% 9,019 55.40% 1,170 7.19% 69 0.42% 5 0.03% -3,002 -18.44% 16,280
Craven 13,264 52.65% 10,317 40.96% 1,528 6.07% 66 0.26% 16 0.06% 2,947 11.69% 25,191
Cumberland 29,804 44.83% 32,739 49.25% 3,776 5.68% 114 0.17% 46 0.07% -2,935 -4.42% 66,479
Currituck 2,569 45.51% 2,277 40.34% 770 13.64% 24 0.43% 5 0.09% 292 5.17% 5,645
Dare 4,977 46.00% 4,522 41.79% 1,258 11.63% 33 0.30% 30 0.28% 455 4.21% 10,820
Davidson 24,797 58.75% 13,593 32.21% 3,698 8.76% 89 0.21% 30 0.07% 11,204 26.54% 42,207
Davie 8,141 64.51% 3,525 27.93% 915 7.25% 27 0.21% 12 0.10% 4,616 36.58% 12,620
Duplin 5,432 43.83% 6,179 49.86% 766 6.18% 14 0.11% 1 0.01% -747 -6.03% 12,392
Durham 27,825 34.39% 49,186 60.79% 3,122 3.86% 332 0.41% 445 0.55% -21,361 -26.40% 80,910
Edgecombe 6,010 34.78% 10,568 61.16% 660 3.82% 31 0.18% 9 0.05% -4,558 -26.38% 17,278
Forsyth 59,160 52.81% 46,543 41.54% 5,747 5.13% 409 0.37% 174 0.16% 12,617 11.27% 112,033
Franklin 5,648 43.36% 6,448 49.50% 891 6.84% 29 0.22% 10 0.08% -800 -6.14% 13,026
Gaston 33,149 58.42% 19,458 34.29% 3,921 6.91% 158 0.28% 53 0.09% 13,691 24.13% 56,739
Gates 1,072 30.27% 2,155 60.84% 307 8.67% 6 0.17% 2 0.06% -1,083 -30.57% 3,542
Graham 1,801 54.76% 1,210 36.79% 270 8.21% 4 0.12% 4 0.12% 591 17.97% 3,289
Granville 5,498 42.95% 6,747 52.71% 432 3.38% 110 0.86% 13 0.10% -1,249 -9.76% 12,800
Greene 2,689 51.73% 2,224 42.79% 280 5.39% 2 0.04% 3 0.06% 465 8.94% 5,198
Guilford 67,727 45.89% 69,208 46.89% 9,739 6.60% 605 0.41% 308 0.21% -1,481 -1.00% 147,587
Halifax 5,700 35.40% 9,551 59.31% 816 5.07% 24 0.15% 12 0.07% -3,851 -23.91% 16,103
Harnett 11,596 53.34% 8,767 40.33% 1,287 5.92% 33 0.15% 56 0.26% 2,829 13.01% 21,739
Haywood 7,995 39.84% 9,350 46.59% 2,594 12.93% 77 0.38% 53 0.26% -1,355 -6.75% 20,069
Henderson 19,182 58.70% 10,626 32.52% 2,679 8.20% 135 0.41% 54 0.17% 8,556 26.18% 32,676
Hertford 1,823 25.86% 4,856 68.89% 356 5.05% 7 0.10% 7 0.10% -3,033 -43.03% 7,049
Hoke 1,914 32.28% 3,510 59.20% 481 8.11% 14 0.24% 10 0.17% -1,596 -26.92% 5,929
Hyde 782 38.30% 1,109 54.31% 143 7.00% 6 0.29% 2 0.10% -327 -16.01% 2,042
Iredell 21,163 56.57% 13,102 35.02% 2,970 7.94% 114 0.30% 60 0.16% 8,061 21.55% 37,409
Jackson 4,244 40.40% 5,211 49.60% 970 9.23% 51 0.49% 30 0.29% -967 -9.20% 10,506
Johnston 18,704 58.23% 11,175 34.79% 2,163 6.73% 55 0.17% 22 0.07% 7,529 23.44% 32,119
Jones 1,682 45.28% 1,829 49.23% 197 5.30% 5 0.13% 2 0.05% -147 -3.95% 3,715
Lee 7,321 50.04% 6,290 42.99% 980 6.70% 28 0.19% 11 0.08% 1,031 7.05% 14,630
Lenoir 9,433 49.84% 8,635 45.63% 822 4.34% 23 0.12% 12 0.06% 798 4.21% 18,925
Lincoln 11,439 54.86% 7,721 37.03% 1,619 7.76% 43 0.21% 28 0.13% 3,718 17.83% 20,850
Macon 5,267 49.34% 4,209 39.43% 1,121 10.50% 44 0.41% 34 0.32% 1,058 9.91% 10,675
Madison 3,110 44.24% 3,333 47.41% 538 7.65% 16 0.23% 33 0.47% -223 -3.17% 7,030
Martin 3,590 41.98% 4,500 52.62% 445 5.20% 15 0.18% 2 0.02% -910 -10.64% 8,552
McDowell 6,407 52.18% 4,553 37.08% 1,275 10.38% 26 0.21% 17 0.14% 1,854 15.10% 12,278
Mecklenburg 97,719 45.91% 103,429 48.59% 10,473 4.92% 772 0.36% 452 0.21% -5,710 -2.68% 212,845
Mitchell 3,874 65.15% 1,496 25.16% 549 9.23% 20 0.34% 7 0.12% 2,378 39.99% 5,946
Montgomery 3,379 43.11% 3,856 49.20% 587 7.49% 8 0.10% 8 0.10% -477 -6.09% 7,838
Moore 14,760 55.74% 9,847 37.19% 1,761 6.65% 61 0.23% 50 0.19% 4,913 18.55% 26,479
Nash 15,309 54.17% 11,142 39.42% 1,751 6.20% 51 0.18% 9 0.03% 4,167 14.75% 28,262
New Hanover 27,889 50.92% 22,839 41.70% 3,615 6.60% 322 0.59% 104 0.19% 5,050 9.22% 54,769
Northampton 1,881 25.08% 5,207 69.44% 402 5.36% 8 0.11% 1 0.01% -3,326 -44.36% 7,499
Onslow 13,396 55.70% 8,685 36.11% 1,857 7.72% 88 0.37% 23 0.10% 4,711 19.59% 24,049
Orange 15,053 32.19% 28,674 61.32% 1,534 3.28% 906 1.94% 598 1.28% -13,621 -29.13% 46,765
Pamlico 2,270 47.39% 2,204 46.01% 297 6.20% 16 0.33% 3 0.06% 66 1.38% 4,790
Pasquotank 2,999 38.34% 4,233 54.12% 565 7.22% 16 0.20% 9 0.12% -1,234 -15.78% 7,822
Pender 5,538 46.38% 5,409 45.30% 945 7.91% 30 0.25% 18 0.15% 129 1.08% 11,940
Perquimans 1,561 38.88% 2,069 51.53% 369 9.19% 12 0.30% 4 0.10% -508 -12.65% 4,015
Person 4,883 48.68% 4,540 45.26% 591 5.89% 13 0.13% 3 0.03% 343 3.42% 10,030
Pitt 18,227 47.95% 17,555 46.18% 2,037 5.36% 90 0.24% 102 0.27% 672 1.77% 38,011
Polk 3,516 52.04% 2,704 40.02% 493 7.30% 30 0.44% 13 0.19% 812 12.02% 6,756
Randolph 23,030 61.36% 10,783 28.73% 3,593 9.57% 82 0.22% 47 0.13% 12,247 32.63% 37,535
Richmond 3,973 31.04% 7,564 59.09% 1,230 9.61% 16 0.12% 18 0.14% -3,591 -28.05% 12,801
Robeson 8,146 29.53% 17,361 62.95% 2,015 7.31% 40 0.15% 19 0.07% -9,215 -33.42% 27,581
Rockingham 14,255 49.22% 12,096 41.77% 2,528 8.73% 36 0.12% 44 0.15% 2,159 7.45% 28,959
Rowan 22,754 57.94% 13,461 34.28% 2,902 7.39% 117 0.30% 39 0.10% 9,293 23.66% 39,273
Rutherford 9,792 52.73% 7,162 38.57% 1,585 8.53% 21 0.11% 11 0.06% 2,630 14.16% 18,571
Sampson 8,241 47.82% 8,150 47.30% 825 4.79% 12 0.07% 4 0.02% 91 0.52% 17,232
Scotland 2,858 34.44% 4,870 58.68% 548 6.60% 11 0.13% 12 0.14% -2,012 -24.24% 8,299
Stanly 11,446 56.29% 7,131 35.07% 1,690 8.31% 46 0.23% 20 0.10% 4,315 21.22% 20,333
Stokes 9,471 61.82% 4,769 31.13% 1,025 6.69% 45 0.29% 10 0.07% 4,702 30.69% 15,320
Surry 11,117 55.53% 7,303 36.48% 1,538 7.68% 44 0.22% 19 0.09% 3,814 19.05% 20,021
Swain 1,444 38.80% 1,869 50.21% 401 10.77% 6 0.16% 2 0.05% -425 -11.41% 3,722
Transylvania 6,734 52.29% 4,842 37.60% 1,183 9.19% 54 0.42% 64 0.50% 1,892 14.69% 12,877
Tyrrell 488 32.25% 908 60.01% 112 7.40% 4 0.26% 1 0.07% -420 -27.76% 1,513
Union 18,802 57.03% 11,525 34.96% 2,477 7.51% 117 0.35% 49 0.15% 7,277 22.07% 32,970
Vance 4,651 39.97% 6,385 54.88% 575 4.94% 17 0.15% 7 0.06% -1,734 -14.91% 11,635
Wake 108,780 48.18% 103,574 45.88% 11,811 5.23% 979 0.43% 611 0.27% 5,206 2.30% 225,755
Warren 1,861 29.36% 4,141 65.33% 319 5.03% 10 0.16% 8 0.13% -2,280 -35.97% 6,339
Washington 1,562 34.47% 2,790 61.56% 171 3.77% 7 0.15% 2 0.04% -1,228 -27.09% 4,532
Watauga 8,146 47.30% 7,349 42.67% 1,415 8.22% 139 0.81% 173 1.00% 797 4.63% 17,222
Wayne 16,588 56.44% 11,580 39.40% 1,178 4.01% 30 0.10% 14 0.05% 5,008 17.04% 29,390
Wilkes 12,395 58.39% 6,793 32.00% 1,967 9.27% 58 0.27% 15 0.07% 5,602 26.39% 21,228
Wilson 10,518 49.03% 9,779 45.59% 1,100 5.13% 31 0.14% 23 0.11% 739 3.44% 21,451
Yadkin 8,439 68.54% 2,927 23.77% 913 7.41% 22 0.18% 12 0.10% 5,512 44.77% 12,313
Yancey 3,973 45.75% 3,956 45.56% 720 8.29% 18 0.21% 17 0.20% 17 0.19% 8,684
Totals 1,225,938 48.73% 1,107,849 44.04% 168,059 6.68% 8,740 0.35% 5,221 0.21% 118,089 4.69% 2,515,807

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

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Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

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Electors

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Technically the voters of North Carolina cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. North Carolina was allocated 14 electors because it had 12 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates that appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 14 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and his or her running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 14 electoral votes. Their chosen electors then vote for president and vice president. Although electors are pledged to their candidate and running mate, they are not obligated to vote for them. An elector who votes for someone other than his or her candidate is known as a faithless elector.

The following were the members of the Electoral College from the state. All were pledged to and voted for Bob Dole and Jack Kemp:[5]

  1. Howard B. Smith
  2. Bettie West
  3. J.D. Teachey
  4. Nelson Dollar
  5. Lee Q. McMillan
  6. Carolyn McGee
  7. Jim Cole
  8. Tom Dwiggins
  9. John Van Hanford
  10. Gary Whitener
  11. George Alexander Jones
  12. Quentine Finch
  13. Bill Graham
  14. Dorothy Bursey

References

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  1. ^ "Voter Turnout". North Carolina State Board of Elections.
  2. ^ Sullivan, Robert David (June 29, 2016). "How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century". The National Catholic Review (America Magazine ed.).
  3. ^ Leip, Dave. "1996 Presidential General Election Results — North Carolina". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
  4. ^ "NC US President Race, November 05, 1996". Our Campaigns.
  5. ^ "List of States, Electoral Votes and electors". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved January 7, 2010.