 General election logo Primary campaign logo | |
| Campaign | 1992 Democratic primaries 1992 U.S. presidential election |
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| Candidate | Bill Clinton 40th and 42ndGovernor of Arkansas (1979–1981, 1983–1992) Al Gore U.S. Senator fromTennessee (1985–1993) |
| Affiliation | Democratic Party |
| Status | Announced: October 3, 1991 Presumptive nominee: June 2, 1992 Official nominee: July 16, 1992 Won election: November 3, 1992 Certification: January 6, 1993 Inaugurated: January 20, 1993 |
| Headquarters | Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Key people | David Wilhelm (campaign manager) James Carville (chief strategist) George Stephanopoulos (senior strategist, communications director & spokesperson) Paul Begala (senior strategist) Harold M. Ickes (senior strategist) Betsey Wright (deputy campaign chair, senior researcher) Bruce Reed (deputy campaign manager for policy) Rahm Emanuel (finance director) Dee Dee Myers (media strategist) Mandy Grunwald (media strategist) David Axelrod (media strategist)[1] Mickey Kantor (general counsel) Stan Greenberg (chief pollster) |
| Slogan(s) | For people for change Putting People First It's the economy, stupid! For America, for the people |
| Theme song | "Don't Stop" byChristine McVie |
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Personal 40th and 42nd Governor of Arkansas 42nd President of the United States Tenure Appointments Presidential campaigns   | ||
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45th Vice President of the United States | ||
The1992 presidential campaign of Bill Clinton, the then-governor of Arkansas, was announced on October 3, 1991, at the Old State House inLittle Rock, Arkansas.[2] After winning a majority of delegates in theDemocratic primaries of 1992, the campaign announced that then-junior U.S.senator fromTennessee,Al Gore, would be Clinton'srunning mate. The Clinton–Gore ticket defeatedRepublican incumbent PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush and Vice PresidentDan Quayle in the presidential election on November 3, 1992, and took office as the42ndpresident and45thvice president, respectively, on January 20, 1993.
Bill Clinton was thegovernor of a traditionally conservative Southern state,Arkansas. He had been viewed as a viable presidential candidate before his actual bid in 1992. During the1988 Democratic Party presidential primaries, whereGeorge H. W. Bush, the incumbentvice president, seemed all but inevitable as the president, many turned to Clinton as the next Southern leader of the party. Clinton was seen as a potential candidate as he was a popular Democratic governor in a state that had voted for Republicans in four of the last five presidential elections. Breaking with the traditional left wing platform of the Democratic Party, Clinton espoused the ideas of theThird Way.[3] A former chairman of theDLC, he ran as aNew Democrat.
In the wake of PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush's sky-high approval ratings followingOperation Desert Storm, American media gave the Democratic Party little chance of winning the presidency in 1992.[4] Early Democratic front-runners includedBill Bradley, aNew Jerseysenator;Jesse Jackson, who finished second in 1988;Dick Gephardt, aMissourirepresentative and thenHouse Majority Leader;Al Gore, then a senator fromTennessee; andJay Rockefeller, a senator fromWest Virginia. But each bowed out early; neither Bradley nor Rockefeller considered themselves ready to run, Gephardt seemed to accept Bush's re-election as a sure thing, and Gore had opted to spend more time with his family in the wake of a tragic accident that threatened the life of his young son. The most notable front-runner,Mario Cuomo, decided not to run on December 20, 1991, the final day to apply to run in theNew Hampshire primary.
In the lead-up to the 1992New Hampshire Democratic primary, the Clinton campaign was rocked by scandal whenGennifer Flowers accused Clinton of having a 12-year sexual affair. At the same time, Clinton was accused of misleading theU.S. Army Reserve to avoid service in theVietnam War.[5] Bill andHillary Rodham Clinton addressed the sexual misconduct allegations in an interview bySteve Kroft on an episode of60 Minutes aired after theSuper Bowl XXVI.[6] Although at that time the Clintons denied an affair, they admitted to have known Flowers and Bill admitted that he had caused problems in their marriage.[7] Although Clinton lost toPaul Tsongas in the New Hampshire primary and suffered from persistent criticism over his character for the rest of the election, he won theSuper Tuesday primaries. He ultimately secured the Democratic nomination after winning primaries inIllinois andMichigan, earning him the nickname "The Comeback Kid."[5] At the same time, Bush's lead waned due to his administration's handling of theearly 1990s recession and the1992 Los Angeles riots.[8][9]
Clinton was a guest onThe Arsenio Hall Show on Wednesday June 3, 1992, the day after he secured the Democratic Party nomination.[10][11][12] He played "Heartbreak Hotel" on thesaxophone.[13] The appearance is often considered an important moment in Clinton's political career, helping build his popularity amongst minority and young voters.[11] Clinton's appearance on the show and subsequent media coverage of it, catapulted him ahead ofBush in the polls.[11]
In June and July 1992, speculation grew about who Clinton was going to pick as his running mate. Possible candidates included Kerrey, Indiana congressmanLee Hamilton, Missouri congressman Dick Gephardt, Tennessee senator Al Gore, New Jersey senator Bill Bradley, Florida senatorBob Graham and Pennsylvania senatorHarris Wofford. On July 9, 1992,[14] Clinton selected Gore as his running mate in the Arkansas State Mansion atLittle Rock.
During the 1992 Democratic Convention, the convention hall was plagued by the fact that independent candidateRoss Perot was tied with or beating Clinton in opinion research polls. This caused a moderate turn of events at the convention to win back Perot voters from the Perot campaign. This led to the selection of such speakers such asRepresentative Barbara Jordan fromTexas to deliver abipartisan keynote address to the convention delegates. Also speaking was the vice-presidential nomineeAl Gore who appealed to the center as he was, at the time, a Southern moderate Democrat fromTennessee.
However, on the last day the convention convened on July 16, 1992, Ross Perot dropped out of the presidential race and left a gap for both Bush and Clinton to scramble for newly undecided voters. This greatly led to the advantage of Bill Clinton who gave his nomination acceptance speech that night.
Throughout election night, Clinton over performed in rural areas of the country such as in the mountain west, winningMontana,Colorado, andNew Mexico (16 electoral votes). Clinton also won rural voters in the south and mid-west, carrying states such asMissouri,Arkansas,Tennessee,Kentucky,West Virginia,Louisiana,Georgia, andIowa (57 electoral votes).
A source of frustration for Democrats after the adoption ofRichard Nixon'sSouthern strategy was the increasing Republican lock on the electoral votes of theSouthern United States. Clinton's home ofArkansas gave Democrats hope that they could carry some Southern states and ultimately win the election. Clinton then made what even his opponents acknowledged was a master stroke by choosingAl Gore, a senator from Tennessee, as his running mate. This choice blunted a major strategy of the Bush campaign to paint Clinton and Gore as 'Northern liberals' in the mold of previous candidatesGeorge McGovern,Walter Mondale,Michael Dukakis, and, to a lesser extent,Hubert Humphrey. Additionally, Gore's prior military record removed much of the criticism Clinton had received earlier.
Besides Gore, several names were rumored to be in contention for the second spot, includingFloridasenator and formergovernor of FloridaBob Graham,Indiana congressmanLee H. Hamilton,Nebraska senator and formergovernorBob Kerrey,Iowa senatorTom Harkin, and newly electedPennsylvania senatorHarris Wofford.
For most of 1991, the incumbent president,George H.W. Bush, was extremely popular after thePersian Gulf War, with approval rating at times reaching as high as 90 percent. That war had helped erase theVietnam Syndrome America had felt since the 1960s, restoring confidence in the country's ability to assert itself militarily abroad. But because of a growing public perception of an economic downturn, Bush's popularity began falling throughout late 1991, and by February 1992, his approval rating fell below 40%. Bush's approval would stay low for the rest of the campaign season.[15]
Clinton's charisma, combined with a talented campaign staff and skilled campaign strategy, led to victory. Organizational theorists have proposed that his campaign structure adopted an effective blend of informality with clear goal definition, which allowed for structured creativity. There was also the Ross Perot factor, as he took many votes from the angry base due to Bush's breaking of the no tax pledge. Bill Clinton also focused on the economy in 1992 due to the recession and ran onschool choice,balanced budget amendment, opposition toillegal immigration and support forNAFTA.[citation needed]
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