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| Turnout | 74.99%[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 County results Municipality results Congressional district results
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The1996 United States presidential election in Connecticut took place on November 5, 1996, as part of the1996 United States presidential election. Voters chose eight representatives, or electors to theElectoral College, who voted forpresident andvice president.
Connecticut was won by incumbentDemocraticPresidentBill Clinton, who took 52.83% of the vote overRepublican SenatorBob Dole of Kansas, who took 34.69%, a victory margin of 18.14%. TheReform Party candidate, Texas billionaireRoss Perot, finished in third, with 10.02% of the popular vote.[2]
Clinton's decisive win was indicative of a major shift toward the Democratic Party throughout the Northeast in the 1990s. Connecticut had previously been a Republican-leaning swing state, with Republicans winning it in the 1970s and 80s but Clinton carrying it by a fairly close 42-36 plurality in1992. However, in 1996 Clinton not only won by double digits, but swept every county in the state, including traditionally RepublicanFairfield County andLitchfield County, the first Democrat to do so sinceLyndon B. Johnson in1964. Clinton's gains proved enduring, as every county except Litchfield voted Democratic in all elections that followed untilDonald Trump wonWindham County in2016. Consequently, the state has become a reliablyblue state in presidential elections, with Democratic nominees winning the state by double digits in every election since.
To date, this is the last time that the towns ofMorris andThomaston voted Democratic.
| 1996 United States presidential election in Connecticut | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Running mate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Bill Clinton (incumbent) | Al Gore(incumbent) | 735,740 | 52.83% | 8 | |
| Republican | Bob Dole | Jack Kemp | 483,109 | 34.69% | 0 | |
| Reform | Ross Perot | Patrick Choate | 139,523 | 10.02% | 0 | |
| Green | Ralph Nader | Winona LaDuke | 24,321 | 1.75% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Harry Browne | Jo Jorgensen | 5,788 | 0.42% | 0 | |
| Concerned Citizens | Howard Phillips | Joseph Zdonczyk | 2,425 | 0.17% | 0 | |
| Natural Law | Dr. John Hagelin | Dr. V. Tompkins | 1,703 | 0.12% | 0 | |
| Write-in | James Harris | 4 | 0.00% | 0 | ||
| No party | Write-in | 1 | 0.00% | 0 | ||
| County | Bill Clinton Democratic | Bob Dole Republican | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Fairfield | 172,337 | 48.93% | 144,632 | 41.06% | 35,258 | 10.01% | 27,705 | 7.87% | 352,227 |
| Hartford | 203,549 | 57.04% | 111,566 | 31.26% | 41,726 | 11.70% | 91,983 | 25.78% | 356,841 |
| Litchfield | 37,375 | 45.92% | 31,645 | 38.88% | 12,378 | 15.20% | 5,730 | 7.04% | 81,398 |
| Middlesex | 37,695 | 52.51% | 22,960 | 31.98% | 11,131 | 15.51% | 14,735 | 20.53% | 71,786 |
| New Haven | 178,323 | 54.72% | 106,636 | 32.72% | 40,932 | 12.56% | 71,687 | 22.00% | 325,891 |
| New London | 54,377 | 52.74% | 33,039 | 32.05% | 15,679 | 15.21% | 21,338 | 20.69% | 103,095 |
| Tolland | 30,007 | 51.18% | 19,394 | 33.08% | 9,224 | 15.74% | 10,613 | 18.10% | 58,625 |
| Windham | 22,077 | 51.65% | 13,237 | 30.97% | 7,432 | 17.38% | 8,840 | 20.68% | 42,746 |
| Totals | 735,740 | 52.83% | 483,109 | 34.69% | 173,765 | 12.48% | 252,631 | 18.14% | 1,392,614 |
Clinton won all six congressional districts, including two that elected Republicans.[3]
| District | Clinton | Dole | Perot | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 59% | 30% | 9% | Barbara Kennelly |
| 2nd | 53% | 32% | 13% | Sam Gejdenson |
| 3rd | 57% | 31% | 10% | Rosa DeLauro |
| 4th | 51% | 40% | 7% | Chris Shays |
| 5th | 48% | 40% | 10% | Gary Franks (104th Congress) |
| James Maloney (105th Congress) | ||||
| 6th | 50% | 36% | 11% | Nancy Johnson |
State and district results of the1996 United States presidential election | ||
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