1996 United States presidential election in Iowa
1996 United States presidential election in Iowa
County Results
Clinton
30-40%
40-50%
50-60%
60-70%
Dole
40-50%
50-60%
60-70%
70-80%
The 1996 United States presidential election in Iowa took place on November 5, 1996, as part of the 1996 United States presidential election . Voters chose seven representatives, or electors to the Electoral College , who voted for president and vice president .
Iowa was easily won by Democratic incumbent President Bill Clinton over Republican Senator Bob Dole of Kansas , with Clinton winning 50.26% of the vote to Dole's 39.92%, a margin of 10.34%. The Reform Party candidate, billionaire businessman Ross Perot , finished in third, with 8.52% of the popular vote.[ 1] Although Clinton barely exceeded Michael Dukakis ’ 1988 margin in Iowa, he was the first Democrat to carry Allamakee County and Butler County – the only Iowa counties outside the arch-conservative western fringe to back Barry Goldwater in 1964 – since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936 .[ 2] He was indeed only the second Democratic presidential nominee to ever carry Butler County since the Civil War . Clinton was the second of three Democrats (after Roosevelt in 1936 and Barack Obama in 2012) to carry the state twice.
Iowa was one of thirteen 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.[ 1] [ 3]
This is the last time Iowa was decided by a double-digit margin until 2024 . It is also the last time that the counties of Adair , Appanoose , Butler , Calhoun , Cherokee , Clay , Dallas , Davis , Decatur , Dickinson , Guthrie , Hancock , Henry , Keokuk , Lucas , Madison , Monona , Monroe , Pocahontas , Ringgold , Taylor , Van Buren , Washington , Wayne , and Wright voted for the Democratic Party presidential nominee.
Results
1996 United States presidential election in Iowa[ 4]
Party
Candidate
Running mate
Votes
Percentage
Electoral votes
Democratic
Bill Clinton (incumbent )
Al Gore (incumbent)
620,258
50.26%
7
Republican
Robert Dole
Jack Kemp
492,644
39.92%
0
Reform
Ross Perot
James Campbell
105,159
8.52%
0
Green
Ralph Nader
Anne Goeke[ 1] [ a]
6,550
0.53%
0
Natural Law
Dr. John Hagelin
Dr. V. Tompkins
3,349
0.27%
0
Libertarian IA
Harry Browne
Jo Jorgensen
2,315
0.19%
0
Taxpayer
Howard Phillips
Albion W. Knight Jr. [ 1] [ 5]
2,229
0.18%
0
No party
Write-in
1,240
0.10%
0
Socialist Workers
James Harris
Laura Garza
331[ b]
0.03%
0
Totals
1,234,075
100.0%
7
Voter Turnout (Voting age/Registered)
58%/69%
Results by county
County
Bill Clinton[ 4] Democratic
Bob Dole[ 4] Republican
Ross Perot[ 4] Reform
Ralph Nader[ 4] Green
John Hagelin[ 4] Natural Law
Various candidates Other parties
Margin
Total votes cast
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
Adair
1,802
45.79%
1,655
42.06%
458
11.64%
5
0.13%
2
0.05%
13
0.33%
147
3.73%
3,935
Adams
1,070
46.00%
920
39.55%
320
13.76%
4
0.17%
2
0.09%
10
0.43%
150
6.45%
2,326
Allamakee
2,551
44.13%
2,457
42.50%
680
11.76%
28
0.48%
10
0.17%
55
0.95%
94
1.63%
5,781
Appanoose
2,747
49.12%
2,233
39.93%
554
9.91%
12
0.21%
6
0.11%
40
0.72%
514
9.19%
5,592
Audubon
1,827
52.38%
1,314
37.67%
314
9.00%
8
0.23%
6
0.17%
19
0.54%
513
14.71%
3,488
Benton
5,546
53.95%
3,835
37.31%
846
8.23%
13
0.13%
11
0.11%
28
0.27%
1,711
16.64%
10,279
Black Hawk
29,651
55.83%
19,322
36.38%
3,623
6.82%
253
0.48%
36
0.07%
224
0.42%
10,329
19.45%
53,109
Boone
6,446
54.47%
4,293
36.27%
987
8.34%
58
0.49%
13
0.11%
38
0.32%
2,153
18.20%
11,835
Bremer
5,023
49.38%
4,213
41.42%
862
8.47%
33
0.32%
14
0.14%
27
0.27%
810
7.96%
10,172
Buchanan
4,997
55.83%
3,043
34.00%
836
9.34%
20
0.22%
19
0.21%
36
0.40%
1,954
21.83%
8,951
Buena Vista
3,420
42.94%
3,636
45.65%
831
10.43%
19
0.24%
12
0.15%
47
0.59%
-216
-2.71%
7,965
Butler
3,061
46.16%
3,036
45.78%
489
7.37%
12
0.18%
8
0.12%
25
0.38%
25
0.38%
6,631
Calhoun
2,193
45.89%
2,077
43.46%
462
9.67%
16
0.33%
7
0.15%
24
0.50%
116
2.43%
4,779
Carroll
4,333
49.29%
3,392
38.59%
998
11.35%
20
0.23%
11
0.13%
36
0.41%
941
10.70%
8,790
Cass
2,616
38.11%
3,384
49.29%
809
11.78%
15
0.22%
8
0.12%
33
0.48%
-768
-11.18%
6,865
Cedar
3,856
50.23%
2,966
38.64%
756
9.85%
42
0.55%
22
0.29%
34
0.44%
890
11.59%
7,676
Cerro Gordo
11,943
56.26%
7,427
34.99%
1,689
7.96%
60
0.28%
14
0.07%
94
0.44%
4,516
21.27%
21,227
Cherokee
2,853
44.79%
2,629
41.27%
834
13.09%
15
0.24%
6
0.09%
33
0.52%
224
3.52%
6,370
Chickasaw
3,355
52.75%
2,191
34.45%
759
11.93%
14
0.22%
11
0.17%
30
0.47%
1,164
18.30%
6,360
Clarke
2,053
52.33%
1,401
35.71%
440
11.22%
11
0.28%
3
0.08%
15
0.38%
652
16.62%
3,923
Clay
3,659
47.80%
3,129
40.88%
802
10.48%
20
0.26%
8
0.10%
37
0.48%
530
6.92%
7,655
Clayton
4,284
52.28%
2,944
35.93%
912
11.13%
32
0.39%
3
0.04%
19
0.23%
1,340
16.35%
8,194
Clinton
11,481
53.17%
7,624
35.30%
2,300
10.65%
77
0.36%
32
0.15%
81
0.38%
3,857
17.87%
21,595
Crawford
3,140
46.76%
2,686
40.00%
847
12.61%
10
0.15%
8
0.12%
24
0.36%
454
6.76%
6,715
Dallas
8,017
50.07%
6,647
41.52%
1,198
7.48%
55
0.34%
24
0.15%
69
0.43%
1,370
8.55%
16,010
Davis
1,894
50.39%
1,445
38.44%
382
10.16%
10
0.27%
8
0.21%
20
0.53%
449
11.95%
3,759
Decatur
1,846
50.95%
1,287
35.52%
452
12.48%
17
0.47%
4
0.11%
17
0.47%
559
15.43%
3,623
Delaware
3,704
49.41%
3,065
40.88%
679
9.06%
20
0.27%
4
0.05%
25
0.33%
639
8.53%
7,497
Des Moines
10,761
57.94%
5,778
31.11%
1,792
9.65%
83
0.45%
31
0.17%
129
0.69%
4,983
26.83%
18,574
Dickinson
3,562
46.59%
3,129
40.92%
901
11.78%
23
0.30%
10
0.13%
21
0.27%
433
5.67%
7,646
Dubuque
20,839
54.77%
13,391
35.19%
3,304
8.68%
254
0.67%
66
0.17%
197
0.52%
7,448
19.58%
38,051
Emmet
2,270
51.46%
1,641
37.20%
470
10.66%
11
0.25%
8
0.18%
11
0.25%
629
14.26%
4,411
Fayette
4,832
50.21%
3,848
39.98%
890
9.25%
17
0.18%
9
0.09%
28
0.29%
984
10.23%
9,624
Floyd
3,769
54.73%
2,379
34.54%
689
10.00%
15
0.22%
15
0.22%
20
0.29%
1,390
20.19%
6,887
Franklin
2,232
47.16%
2,054
43.40%
417
8.81%
14
0.30%
5
0.11%
11
0.23%
178
3.76%
4,733
Fremont
1,481
41.58%
1,576
44.24%
480
13.48%
3
0.08%
6
0.17%
16
0.45%
-95
-2.66%
3,562
Greene
2,519
52.49%
1,861
38.78%
396
8.25%
9
0.19%
1
0.02%
13
0.27%
658
13.71%
4,799
Grundy
2,322
40.83%
2,928
51.49%
401
7.05%
11
0.19%
3
0.05%
22
0.39%
-606
-10.66%
5,687
Guthrie
2,552
49.65%
2,034
39.57%
515
10.02%
11
0.21%
4
0.08%
24
0.47%
518
10.08%
5,140
Hamilton
3,455
47.48%
3,109
42.72%
661
9.08%
23
0.32%
7
0.10%
22
0.30%
346
4.76%
7,277
Hancock
2,399
45.19%
2,353
44.32%
529
9.96%
11
0.21%
6
0.11%
11
0.21%
46
0.87%
5,309
Hardin
4,053
48.69%
3,505
42.11%
713
8.57%
25
0.30%
5
0.06%
23
0.28%
548
6.58%
8,324
Harrison
2,576
39.47%
3,070
47.04%
820
12.56%
10
0.15%
14
0.21%
37
0.57%
-494
-7.57%
6,527
Henry
3,798
45.90%
3,478
42.03%
914
11.05%
23
0.28%
24
0.29%
38
0.46%
320
3.87%
8,275
Howard
2,303
52.28%
1,528
34.69%
555
12.60%
3
0.07%
2
0.05%
14
0.32%
775
17.59%
4,405
Humboldt
2,080
42.17%
2,236
45.33%
590
11.96%
9
0.18%
4
0.08%
14
0.28%
-156
-3.16%
4,933
Ida
1,589
42.58%
1,684
45.12%
436
11.68%
6
0.16%
3
0.08%
14
0.38%
-95
-2.54%
3,732
Iowa
3,354
47.68%
3,042
43.24%
575
8.17%
24
0.34%
11
0.16%
29
0.41%
312
4.44%
7,035
Jackson
4,609
54.47%
2,827
33.41%
936
11.06%
37
0.44%
18
0.21%
34
0.40%
1,782
21.06%
8,461
Jasper
8,776
52.92%
6,414
38.67%
1,263
7.62%
63
0.38%
18
0.11%
51
0.31%
2,362
14.25%
16,585
Jefferson
2,597
35.11%
2,541
34.35%
571
7.72%
47
0.64%
1,574
21.28%
67
0.91%
56
0.76%
7,397
Johnson
27,888
60.98%
13,402
29.31%
2,313
5.06%
1,491
3.26%
199
0.44%
439
0.96%
14,486
31.67%
45,732
Jones
4,668
54.40%
3,083
35.93%
765
8.92%
27
0.31%
6
0.07%
32
0.37%
1,585
18.47%
8,581
Keokuk
2,545
49.89%
2,080
40.78%
432
8.47%
10
0.20%
10
0.20%
24
0.47%
465
9.11%
5,101
Kossuth
4,031
47.40%
3,477
40.88%
932
10.96%
23
0.27%
16
0.19%
26
0.31%
554
6.52%
8,505
Lee
8,831
56.38%
4,932
31.49%
1,734
11.07%
64
0.41%
27
0.17%
74
0.47%
3,899
24.89%
15,662
Linn
45,497
54.79%
30,958
37.28%
5,607
6.75%
453
0.55%
91
0.11%
429
0.52%
14,539
17.51%
83,035
Louisa
2,081
48.68%
1,565
36.61%
590
13.80%
7
0.16%
6
0.14%
26
0.61%
516
12.07%
4,275
Lucas
2,168
51.51%
1,586
37.68%
433
10.29%
6
0.14%
3
0.07%
13
0.31%
582
13.83%
4,209
Lyon
1,489
27.82%
3,396
63.45%
422
7.88%
12
0.22%
7
0.13%
26
0.49%
-1,907
-35.63%
5,352
Madison
3,070
48.52%
2,550
40.30%
654
10.34%
18
0.28%
6
0.09%
29
0.46%
520
8.22%
6,327
Mahaska
3,737
41.80%
4,473
50.03%
656
7.34%
24
0.27%
17
0.19%
34
0.38%
-736
-8.23%
8,941
Marion
5,978
45.80%
6,100
46.74%
871
6.67%
52
0.40%
14
0.11%
37
0.28%
-122
-0.94%
13,052
Marshall
8,669
50.04%
7,017
40.50%
1,455
8.40%
80
0.46%
26
0.15%
77
0.44%
1,652
9.54%
17,324
Mills
2,068
35.83%
2,958
51.25%
683
11.83%
17
0.29%
10
0.17%
36
0.62%
-890
-15.42%
5,772
Mitchell
2,596
51.19%
1,877
37.01%
563
11.10%
16
0.32%
7
0.14%
12
0.24%
719
14.18%
5,071
Monona
1,952
46.06%
1,674
39.50%
580
13.69%
11
0.26%
8
0.19%
13
0.31%
278
6.56%
4,238
Monroe
1,884
53.63%
1,272
36.21%
329
9.37%
9
0.26%
7
0.20%
12
0.34%
612
17.42%
3,513
Montgomery
1,912
36.79%
2,583
49.70%
663
12.76%
5
0.10%
13
0.25%
21
0.40%
-671
-12.91%
5,197
Muscatine
7,674
49.88%
5,858
38.07%
1,705
11.08%
68
0.44%
21
0.14%
60
0.39%
1,816
11.81%
15,386
O'Brien
2,236
33.20%
3,877
57.56%
578
8.58%
13
0.19%
8
0.12%
23
0.34%
-1,641
-24.36%
6,735
Osceola
1,010
33.10%
1,736
56.90%
274
8.98%
6
0.20%
2
0.07%
23
0.75%
-726
-23.80%
3,051
Page
2,220
31.52%
4,032
57.25%
753
10.69%
16
0.23%
11
0.16%
11
0.16%
-1,812
-25.73%
7,043
Palo Alto
2,371
50.41%
1,817
38.63%
477
10.14%
11
0.23%
4
0.09%
23
0.49%
554
11.78%
4,703
Plymouth
3,745
37.62%
5,117
51.40%
997
10.01%
16
0.16%
12
0.12%
69
0.69%
-1,372
-13.78%
9,956
Pocahontas
1,981
47.00%
1,707
40.50%
478
11.34%
9
0.21%
8
0.19%
32
0.76%
274
6.50%
4,215
Polk
83,877
53.73%
60,884
39.00%
9,516
6.10%
786
0.50%
197
0.13%
846
0.54%
22,993
14.73%
156,106
Pottawattamie
13,276
40.45%
15,648
47.68%
3,534
10.77%
96
0.29%
66
0.20%
201
0.61%
-2,372
-7.23%
32,821
Poweshiek
4,183
50.93%
3,221
39.21%
681
8.29%
73
0.89%
12
0.15%
44
0.54%
962
11.72%
8,214
Ringgold
1,439
52.52%
967
35.29%
310
11.31%
8
0.29%
5
0.18%
11
0.40%
472
17.23%
2,740
Sac
2,170
43.43%
2,209
44.21%
579
11.59%
15
0.30%
3
0.06%
21
0.42%
-39
-0.78%
4,997
Scott
32,694
50.14%
26,751
41.03%
4,991
7.65%
295
0.45%
86
0.13%
385
0.59%
5,943
9.11%
65,202
Shelby
2,176
36.63%
3,056
51.44%
652
10.97%
16
0.27%
8
0.13%
33
0.56%
-880
-14.81%
5,941
Sioux
2,392
16.95%
10,864
77.00%
718
5.09%
42
0.30%
9
0.06%
85
0.60%
-8,472
-60.05%
14,110
Story
17,234
52.71%
12,468
38.13%
2,091
6.40%
601
1.84%
59
0.18%
242
0.74%
4,766
14.58%
32,695
Tama
3,994
51.52%
2,986
38.52%
713
9.20%
18
0.23%
13
0.17%
28
0.36%
1,008
13.00%
7,752
Taylor
1,458
44.51%
1,419
43.32%
379
11.57%
7
0.21%
1
0.03%
12
0.37%
39
1.19%
3,276
Union
2,787
49.27%
2,156
38.11%
660
11.67%
18
0.32%
2
0.04%
34
0.60%
631
11.16%
5,657
Van Buren
1,536
45.51%
1,460
43.26%
347
10.28%
6
0.18%
8
0.24%
18
0.53%
76
2.25%
3,375
Wapello
8,437
57.12%
4,828
32.69%
1,376
9.32%
54
0.37%
29
0.20%
46
0.31%
3,609
24.43%
14,770
Warren
9,120
52.20%
6,905
39.52%
1,267
7.25%
61
0.35%
20
0.11%
99
0.57%
2,215
12.68%
17,472
Washington
3,828
46.84%
3,600
44.05%
636
7.78%
38
0.46%
27
0.33%
44
0.54%
228
2.79%
8,173
Wayne
1,650
50.51%
1,295
39.64%
310
9.49%
3
0.09%
4
0.12%
5
0.15%
355
10.87%
3,267
Webster
8,380
51.32%
6,275
38.43%
1,580
9.68%
40
0.24%
9
0.06%
44
0.27%
2,105
12.89%
16,328
Winnebago
2,679
48.52%
2,211
40.05%
590
10.69%
10
0.18%
8
0.14%
23
0.42%
468
8.47%
5,521
Winneshiek
4,122
47.00%
3,532
40.27%
973
11.09%
102
1.16%
14
0.16%
27
0.31%
590
6.73%
8,770
Woodbury
17,224
45.97%
16,368
43.69%
3,436
9.17%
142
0.38%
72
0.19%
222
0.59%
856
2.28%
37,464
Worth
2,293
57.15%
1,284
32.00%
403
10.04%
14
0.35%
5
0.12%
13
0.32%
1,009
25.15%
4,012
Wright
2,912
48.87%
2,473
41.50%
536
8.99%
9
0.15%
4
0.07%
25
0.42%
439
7.37%
5,959
Totals
620,258
50.26%
492,644
39.92%
105,159
8.52%
6,550
0.53%
3,349
0.27%
6,115
0.50%
127,614
10.34%
1,234,075[ b]
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
See also
Notes
^ Iowa was one of the states where Ralph Nader's running mate (Winona LaDuke) was replaced on the ballot by Anne Goeke.
^ a b The Socialist Workers votes were not separated by county and included only as a statewide total.[ 4]
References