The 1996 United States presidential election in Oklahoma took place on November 5, 1996. All fifty states and

the District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle (Washington, D.C.), Logan Circle, Jefferson Memoria ...

, were part of the

1996 United States presidential election The 1996 United States presidential election was the 53rd quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 5, 1996. Incumbent Democratic President Bill Clinton defeated former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, the Republican nominee ...

. Voters chose eight electors to the Electoral College, which selected the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

and

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

was won by

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Bob Dole, who was running against incumbent United States

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. Clinton ran a second time with former

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...

as Vice President, and Dole ran with former

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

Jack Kemp Jack French Kemp (July 13, 1935 – May 2, 2009) was an American politician and a professional football player. A member of the Republican Party from New York, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bu ...

. This is the last time Sequoyah County, Nowata County, Caddo County, Craig County, Kiowa County, Mayes County, Osage County, Tillman County, Seminole County, Pontotoc County, Garvin County, Cotton County, Carter County, Greer County,

Le Flore County LeFlore County is a county along the eastern border of the U.S state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 50,384. Its county seat is Poteau. The county is part of the Fort Smith metropolitan area and the name honors a Choct ...

, Murray County, Harmon County, Bryan County,

McCurtain County McCurtain County is in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 33,151. Its county seat is Idabel. It was formed at statehood from part of the earlier Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory ...

, Coal County, Pittsburg County, Johnston County, Marshall County, Jefferson County, Love County,

Atoka County Atoka County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,007. Its county seat is Atoka. The county was formed before statehood from Choctaw Lands, and its name honors a Choctaw Chief named ...

Okfuskee County Okfuskee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, its population was 12,191. Its county seat is Okemah. The county is named for a former Muscogee town in present Cleburne County, Alabama, that in turn w ...

, Pawnee County, and Pushmataha County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate. Oklahoma weighed in for this election as 4% more

third-party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a Ve ...

than the national average. This remains the last presidential election in which Oklahoma has been decided by a single-digit margin, or that the Democratic Party has won more than 40% of the vote; due to its extremely conservative,

Bible Belt The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States in which socially conservative Protestant Christianity plays a strong role in society and politics, and church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's a ...

reputation and dramatic demographic shift rightward, the state has not been competitive since. Clinton became the first Democrat since statehood to win reelection to the White House without carrying Oklahoma. The presidential election of 1996 was a very multi-partisan election for Oklahoma, with more than eleven percent of the electorate voting for third-party candidates. This is one of the last presidential elections in Oklahoma in which the Southeastern portion of the state turned out in large numbers for the Democratic Party. This may be somewhat attributed to the influence of the bordering, and politically volatile, state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, which can also be seen changing political orientation throughout the 1980s and 1990s from a Democratic area to a largely Republican one, and the bordering state of

, Clinton’s home state. In his second bid for the presidency,

Ross Perot Henry Ross Perot (; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American business magnate, billionaire, politician and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an inde ...

led the newly reformed Reform Party to gain over 10% of the votes in Oklahoma, and to pull in support nationally as the most popular third-party candidate to run for the U.S. presidency in recent times. , this is the last time a Democratic presidential candidate carried any of Oklahoma’s congressional districts (in this case,

the Second ''The Second'' is the second studio album by Canadian-American rock band Steppenwolf, released in October 1968 on ABC Dunhill Records. The album contains one of Steppenwolf's most famous songs, " Magic Carpet Ride". The background of the orig ...

and Third Districts in the rural east), as well as the last election in which a Democratic presidential candidate carried the entirety of the Choctaw Nation, a majority of the Chickasaw, Cherokee and Creek Nations, and the counties which contained the Seminole, Pawnee and Osage Nations.

Results

Results by county

Electors

Reform: Dale Barlow, Grace Rayedelle Hill, Syvia Suggs, H. Kelly Haynes, Emmy Butler, Vivian Winterman, Jack Newkirk, Patt Cameron Republican: J. Michael Brown, Steven F. Garrett, Skip Healey, Leo F. Herlacher, Dixie I. Galloway, Dale Switzer, Paul E. Thornbrugh, Gary W. Banz Libertarian: Randy Ashbrook, Sharon Lynn Atherton, Roger Bloxham, Charles Burris, Steven B. Galpin, C. Michael Todd, Chad Vanis, Robert Waldrop Democrat:

Carl Albert Carl Bert Albert (May 10, 1908 – February 4, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 46th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1977 and represented Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district as a ...

, Julian J. Rothbaum, Thomas Dee Frasier, George Lee Stidham, Elizabeth Whetsel, Betty J. McElderry, Lorray Dyson, Marjean Mitchell1996 Presidential Electors - Oklahoma
US Election Atlas

References

{{United States elections, 1996

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

1996 Oklahoma elections

Results

Results by county

Electors

See also

References