From January 29 to June 4, 1996, voters of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

chose its nominee for

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 ...

in 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 ...

. Incumbent President

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 ...

was again selected as the nominee through a series of

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

s and

caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

es culminating in the

1996 Democratic National Convention The 1996 Democratic National Convention was held at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, from August 26 to August 29, 1996. President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore were nominated for reelection. This was the first national convention ...

held from August 26 to August 29, 1996, in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Primary race overview

With the advantage of

incumbency The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

, Bill Clinton's path to renomination by the

was uneventful. At the

, Clinton - along with incumbent

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 ...

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 ...

- was renominated following a primary race in which he faced only token opposition.

Perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person can ...

Lyndon LaRouche Lyndon Hermyle LaRouche Jr. (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2019) was an American political activist who founded the LaRouche movement and its main organization the National Caucus of Labor Committees (NCLC). He was a prominent conspiracy ...

qualified for one delegate from Virginia and one delegate from Louisiana, but the state parties refused to award him delegates and the First District Court of Appeals upheld their decision. Former

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

governor Bob Casey contemplated a challenge to Clinton, but health problems forced Casey to abandon a bid. That left

Jimmy Griffin James Arthur Griffin (August 10, 1943 – January 11, 2005) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with the 1970s soft rock band Bread. He won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1970 as co-writer ...

, the former

mayor of Buffalo, New York The following is a list of people who have served as mayors of the city of Buffalo in the U.S. state of New York. List of mayors Number of mayors by party affiliation History In 1853, the charter of the city was amended to include the town ...

, as the highest-ranking challenger still in the race. After finishing in eighth place, behind even the perennial candidates, in the New Hampshire primaries, Griffin dropped out of the race. Clinton easily won primaries nationwide, with margins consistently higher than 80%.

Roland Riemers Roland Clifford Riemers (born May 15, 1943) is an American perennial candidate best known for winning the 1996 North Dakota Democratic presidential primary. Early life and career Riemers was born in 1943 in Lake City, Minnesota. He attended San A ...

scored a victory in North Dakota, a state where Clinton did not file to appear on the ballot. Backed by a loyal following, LaRouche managed to get on the ballot in most states and amassed over half a million votes nationwide in the primary. His highest percentage was 13.4% in West Virginia and received over a hundred thousand votes in California. Another notable campaign besides LaRouche's to challenge President Clinton was Chicago housewife Elvena Lloyd-Duffie, who was reported to have outraised him at one point and got as high as 11% of the vote in Oklahoma. and 7% in Louisiana.

Candidates

Nominee

Withdrew during primaries

*Activist

from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

*Former Mayor of Buffalo

from

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 * '' ...

Results

With a number of non-notable people running against Clinton and LaRouche in several states, The nationwide totals went as follows: † Indicates a

write-in candidate A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

References