1996 United States presidential election in Idaho explained

The 1996 United States presidential election in Idaho took place on November 5, 1996, as part of the 1996 United States presidential election. State voters chose four representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Idaho was won by Senator Bob Dole (R-KS) over President Bill Clinton (D), with Dole winning 52.18% to 33.65% for a margin of 18.53%. Billionaire businessman Ross Perot (Reform Party of the United States of America-TX) finished in third, with 12.71% of the popular vote.^[1], this is the last election in which Nez Perce County and Shoshone County voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.^[2] Clinton became the first ever Democrat to win the White House without carrying Benewah or Lewis Counties, and the first to do so without carrying Clearwater County since Woodrow Wilson in 1916.

With 52.18% of the popular vote, Idaho proved to be Dole's fourth strongest state in the 1996 election after neighboring Utah, Kansas and Nebraska.^[3] The state also proved to be Ross Perot's third strongest state in the election after Maine and neighboring Montana. This also marked the first time since statehood that a Democrat was reelected president without carrying Idaho.

Results

1996 United States presidential election in Idaho
Party		Candidate	Running mate	Votes	Percentage	Electoral votes
	Republican	Bob Dole	Jack Kemp	256,595	52.18%	4
	Democratic	Bill Clinton (incumbent)	Al Gore (incumbent)	165,443	33.65%	0
	Reform	Ross Perot	Patrick Choate	62,518	12.71%	0
	Libertarian	Harry Browne	Jo Jorgensen	3,325	0.68%	0
	U.S. Taxpayers' Party	Howard Phillips	Herbert Titus	2,230	0.45%	0
	Natural Law	Dr. John Hagelin	Dr. V. Tompkins	1,600	0.33%	0
	Write-in	Charles Collins	Rosemary Giumarra	7	<0.01%	0
	Write-in	Jack Fellure		1	<0.01%	0
Totals				491,719	100.00%	4

Results by county

County	Bob Dole Republican		Bill Clinton Democratic		Ross Perot Reform		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total votes cast
		%		%		%		%		%
	Ada		61,811		52.50%		43,040		36.55%		11,171		9.49%		1,721		1.46%		18,771		15.95%		117,743
	Adams		1,053		54.03%		537		27.55%		311		15.96%		48		2.46%		516		26.48%		1,949
	Bannock		14,058		44.80%		12,806		40.81%		4,158		13.25%		355		1.13%		1,252		3.99%		31,377
	Bear Lake		1,583		56.37%		805		28.67%		396		14.10%		24		0.85%		778		27.70%		2,808
	Benewah		1,667		42.54%		1,488		37.97%		701		17.89%		63		1.61%		179		4.57%		3,919
	Bingham		8,391		56.39%		4,304		28.92%		2,021		13.58%		165		1.11%		4,087		27.47%		14,881
	Blaine		3,003		36.55%		3,840		46.73%		1,193		14.52%		181		2.20%		-837		-10.18%		8,217
	Boise		1,576		53.26%		879		29.71%		440		14.87%		64		2.16%		697		23.55%		2,959
	Bonner		6,207		43.00%		5,294		36.67%		2,669		18.49%		266		1.84%		913		6.33%		14,436
	Bonneville		19,977		59.90%		9,013		27.03%		3,921		11.76%		439		1.32%		10,964		32.87%		33,350
	Boundary		1,937		50.05%		1,194		30.85%		626		16.18%		113		2.92%		743		19.20%		3,870
	Butte		741		49.70%		507		34.00%		233		15.63%		10		0.67%		234		15.70%		1,491
	Camas		283		52.02%		156		28.68%		95		17.46%		10		1.84%		127		23.34%		544
	Canyon		23,988		59.48%		11,800		29.26%		3,956		9.81%		584		1.45%		12,188		30.22%		40,328
	Caribou		1,740		55.77%		841		26.96%		501		16.06%		38		1.22%		899		28.81%		3,120
	Cassia		4,663		63.65%		1,596		21.79%		976		13.32%		91		1.24%		3,067		41.86%		7,326
	Clark		266		61.29%		117		26.96%		45		10.37%		6		1.38%		149		34.33%		434
	Clearwater		1,658		42.70%		1,507		38.81%		650		16.74%		68		1.75%		151		3.89%		3,883
	Custer		1,249		53.93%		635		27.42%		400		17.27%		32		1.38%		614		26.51%		2,316
	Elmore		3,668		53.13%		2,324		33.66%		845		12.24%		67		0.97%		1,344		19.47%		6,904
	Franklin		2,435		62.56%		807		20.73%		589		15.13%		61		1.57%		1,628		41.83%		3,892
	Fremont		3,042		62.92%		1,114		23.04%		630		13.03%		49		1.01%		1,928		39.88%		4,835
	Gem		3,362		53.96%		1,968		31.58%		833		13.37%		68		1.09%		1,394		22.38%		6,231
	Gooding		2,637		51.05%		1,503		29.09%		980		18.97%		46		0.89%		1,134		21.96%		5,166
	Idaho		3,871		54.54%		1,979		27.88%		1,083		15.26%		165		2.32%		1,892		26.66%		7,098
	Jefferson		4,925		66.53%		1,427		19.28%		994		13.43%		57		0.77%		3,498		47.25%		7,403
	Jerome		3,358		54.82%		1,679		27.41%		1,014		16.56%		74		1.21%		1,679		27.41%		6,125
	Kootenai		18,740		47.82%		13,627		34.78%		6,083		15.52%		736		1.88%		5,113		13.04%		39,186
	Latah		6,311		38.74%		7,741		47.52%		1,828		11.22%		410		2.52%		-1,430		-8.78%		16,290
	Lemhi		2,334		60.34%		1,015		26.24%		461		11.92%		58		1.50%		1,319		34.10%		3,868
	Lewis		861		45.80%		674		35.85%		316		16.81%		29		1.54%		187		9.95%		1,880
	Lincoln		744		47.63%		478		30.60%		319		20.42%		21		1.34%		266		17.03%		1,562
	Madison		5,706		73.84%		1,216		15.73%		744		9.63%		62		0.80%		4,490		58.11%		7,728
	Minidoka		4,008		56.81%		1,977		28.02%		977		13.85%		93		1.32%		2,031		28.79%		7,055
	Nez Perce		6,675		39.98%		7,491		44.87%		2,385		14.28%		145		0.87%		-816		-4.89%		16,696
	Oneida		993		57.53%		429		24.86%		285		16.51%		19		1.10%		564		32.67%		1,726
	Owyhee		2,033		61.18%		895		26.93%		354		10.65%		41		1.23%		1,138		34.25%		3,323
	Payette		3,901		55.59%		2,119		30.19%		906		12.91%		92		1.31%		1,782		25.40%		7,018
	Power		1,501		51.12%		1,070		36.44%		344		11.72%		21		0.72%		431		14.68%		2,936
	Shoshone		1,588		26.67%		2,981		50.07%		1,283		21.55%		102		1.71%		-1,393		-23.40%		5,954
	Teton		1,251		50.28%		866		34.81%		326		13.10%		45		1.81%		385		15.47%		2,488
	Twin Falls		12,393		54.13%		6,826		29.81%		3,383		14.78%		294		1.28%		5,567		24.32%		22,896
	Valley		2,089		48.83%		1,564		36.56%		568		13.28%		57		1.33%		525		12.27%		4,278
	Washington		2,318		54.90%		1,314		31.12%		525		12.43%		65		1.54%		1,004		23.78%		4,222
Totals	256,595	52.18%	165,443	33.65%	62,518	12.71%	7,163	1.46%	91,152	18.53%	491,719

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Benewah
• Bonner
• Clearwater
• Lewis

See also

• United States presidential elections in Idaho
• Presidency of Bill Clinton

External links

• Precinct Election Results from Idaho Secretary of State

Notes and References

1. Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas; 1996 Presidential General Election Results – Idaho
2. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
3. Web site: 1996 Presidential Election Statistics. Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. 2018-03-05.