1996 United States presidential election in New Jersey

none June 2025 September 2023 1996 United States presidential election 1996 United States presidential election in New Jersey New Jersey presidential no 1992 United States presidential election in New Jersey 1992 2000 United States presidential election in New Jersey 2000 November 5, 1996 72.04%https://nj.gov/state/elections/assets/pdf/election-results/other/2022-1925-general-election-data.pdf General Election Data - 1924 to 2022 NJ.gov ( 10.44%) Bill Clinton.jpg 160x160px Bill Clinton Democratic Party (United States) Arkansas Al Gore 15 1,652,329 53.72% File:Ks 1996 dole (cropped).jpg Bob Dole Republican Party (United States) Kansas Jack Kemp 0 1,103,078 35.86% File:RossPerotColor.jpg Ross Perot Independent politician Texas Pat Choate 0 262,134 8.52% 350px County results 350px|only among top 2 candidates Municipality results Clinton #b9d7ff 40–50% #86b6f2 50–60% #4389e3 60–70% #1666cb 70–80% #0645B4 80–90% #002B84 90–100% Dole #f2b3be 40–50% #e27f90 50–60% #cc2f4a 60–70% #D40000 70–80% President Bill Clinton Democratic Party (United States) Bill Clinton Democratic Party (United States) Reform Party of the United States of America The 1996 United States presidential election in New Jersey took place on November 5, 1996, and was part of the 1996 United States presidential election. Voters chose 15 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. The major contenders were incumbent Democratic President Bill Clinton and Republican Senator from Kansas Bob Dole, with Reform Party candidate Ross Perot – listed as an "Independent" in New Jersey – running a distant third. New Jersey voted decisively to re-elect Clinton, giving him 53.72% of the vote over Republican Bob Dole's 35.86%, a margin of 17.86% and a leftward shift of 15.49% from 1992, representing the largest such shift in either direction. This double-digit win and leftward shift indicated a major shift in New Jersey politics toward the Democratic Party. As recently as the 1980s, Republican presidential candidates had easily carried the state by double-digit margins. In 1992, Clinton won the state with a narrow 43-41 plurality over George H. W. Bush, but the state was still 3% more Republican than the nation at large. However, in 1996, New Jersey voted 9.33% more Democratic than the rest of the nation, which represented the first time the state voted more Democratic than the nation since 1964 and only the third time since 1904, and a distinction the state has held ever since. As in neighboring New York and many other states, Clinton in 1996 drastically improved his electoral performance among suburban voters, a key voting bloc in New Jersey. Following this election, New Jersey has become a reliable blue state in presidential elections, not being seriously contested by Republicans since. Despite this, Dole is currently the only Republican to fail to garner 40 percent of the New Jersey ballot since Barry Goldwater in 1964. As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last time that Cape May and Ocean Counties voted for a Democratic presidential candidate. Results 1996 United States presidential election in New Jersey1996 Presidential General Election Results - New Jersey http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1996&fips=34&f=0&off=0&elect=0&minper=0 U.S. Election Atlas 5 February 2013PartyCandidateVotesPercentageElectoral votes Democratic Bill Clinton (incumbent) 1,652,329 53.72% 15 Republican Bob Dole 1,103,078 35.86% 0 Independent Ross Perot 262,134 8.52% 0 Green Ralph Nader 32,465 1.06% 0 Libertarian Harry Browne 14,763 0.48% 0 Natural Law John Hagelin 3,887 0.13% 0 Constitution Howard Phillips 3,440 0.11% 0 Socialist Workers James Harris 1,837 0.06% 0 Workers World Monica Moorehead 1,337 0.04% 0 Socialist Equality Jerome White 537 0.02% 0 Totals 3,075,807 100.00% 15 Voter Turnout (Voting age/Registered) 51%/71% By county County Bill ClintonDemocratic Bob DoleRepublican Ross PerotIndependent Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % # % Atlantic 44,434 53.15% 29,538 35.33% 8,261 9.88% 1,368 1.64% 14,896 17.82% 83,601 Bergen 191,085 52.66% 141,164 38.90% 25,512 7.03% 5,126 1.41% 49,921 13.76% 362,887 Burlington 85,086 51.94% 57,337 35.00% 18,407 11.24% 2,979 1.82% 27,749 16.94% 163,809 Camden 114,962 60.59% 52,791 27.83% 17,433 9.19% 4,537 2.39% 62,171 32.76% 189,723 Cape May 19,849 44.07% 19,357 42.98% 4,978 11.05% 852 1.89% 492 1.09% 45,036 Cumberland 25,444 54.68% 14,744 31.69% 5,348 11.49% 997 2.14% 10,700 22.99% 46,533 Essex 175,368 68.99% 65,162 25.63% 9,513 3.74% 4,153 1.63% 110,206 43.36% 254,196 Gloucester 51,915 51.66% 32,116 31.96% 14,361 14.29% 2,103 2.09% 19,799 19.70% 100,495 Hudson 116,121 69.95% 38,288 23.06% 8,965 5.40% 2,635 1.59% 77,833 46.89% 166,009 Hunterdon 18,446 35.66% 26,379 51.00% 5,686 10.99% 1,216 2.35% -7,933 -15.34% 51,727 Mercer 77,641 58.94% 40,559 30.79% 10,536 8.00% 2,990 2.27% 37,082 28.15% 131,726 Middlesex 145,201 56.20% 82,433 31.90% 24,643 9.54% 6,109 2.36% 62,768 24.30% 258,386 Monmouth 120,414 48.37% 99,975 40.16% 22,754 9.14% 5,818 2.34% 20,439 8.21% 248,961 Morris 81,092 41.43% 95,830 48.96% 15,299 7.82% 3,524 1.80% -14,738 -7.53% 195,745 Ocean 94,243 46.43% 82,830 40.81% 22,864 11.26% 3,039 1.50% 11,413 5.62% 202,976 Passaic 85,879 56.15% 53,594 35.04% 10,944 7.16% 2,534 1.66% 32,285 21.11% 152,951 Salem 12,044 46.34% 9,294 35.76% 4,124 15.87% 530 2.04% 2,750 10.58% 25,992 Somerset 50,673 44.87% 51,869 45.93% 8,377 7.42% 2,010 1.78% -1,196 -1.06% 112,929 Sussex 19,525 36.04% 26,746 49.36% 6,705 12.37% 1,207 2.23% -7,221 -13.32% 54,183 Union 108,102 56.82% 65,912 34.65% 12,432 6.53% 3,795 1.99% 42,190 22.17% 190,241 Warren 14,805 39.27% 17,160 45.52% 4,992 13.24% 744 1.97% -2,355 -6.25% 37,701Totals1,652,32953.72%1,103,07835.86%262,1348.52%58,2661.89%549,25117.86%3,075,807 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Bergen Cape May Monmouth Ocean Passaic Salem right 280px Swing by county 280px Trend relative to the state by county Legend #d40000 Republican — >15% #ff0000 Republican — +12.5−15% #ff2a2a Republican — +10−12.5% #ff5555 Republican — +7.5−10% #ff8080 Republican — +5−7.5% #ffaaaa Republican — +2.5−5% #ffd5d5 Republican — +0−2.5% #d5f6ff Democratic — +0−2.5% #aaeeff Democratic — +2.5−5% #77e3ff Democratic — +5−7.5% #4bdbff Democratic — +7.5-10% #09ceff Democratic — +10−12.5% #00bdec Democratic — +12.5−15% #00a1c8 Democratic — >15% 280px County flips Legend Democratic #92c5de Hold #0671b0 Flip Republican #f48882 Hold See also United States presidential elections in New Jersey Presidency of Bill Clinton References New Jersey 1996 Category:1996 New Jersey elections