Democratic Party presidential primaries, 1996

Democratic Party presidential primaries, 1996

January 29 to June 4, 1996

Candidate Bill Clinton Lyndon LaRouche Home state Arkansas Virginia Contests won 57 0 Popular vote 9,706,802 596,422 Percentage 89.0% 5.5%

Clinton won every statewide contest.

Previous Democratic nominee Bill Clinton Democratic nominee Bill Clinton

The 1996 Democratic presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1996 U.S. presidential election. Incumbent President Bill Clinton was again selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1996 Democratic National Convention held from August 26 to August 29, 1996, in Chicago, Illinois.

Primary race overview

With the advantage of incumbency, Bill Clinton's path to renomination by the Democratic Party was uneventful. At the 1996 Democratic National Convention, Clinton - along with incumbent Vice President Al Gore - was renominated following a primary race in which he faced only token opposition. Perennial candidate Lyndon LaRouche 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.^[1] Former Pennsylvania governor Bob Casey contemplated a challenge to Clinton, but health problems forced Casey to abandon a bid.^[2][3] That left Jimmy Griffin, the former mayor of Buffalo, New York, 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%.^[4]

Candidates

Nominee

• 

  President
  Bill Clinton
  of Arkansas

Withdrew during primaries

• Activist Lyndon LaRouche from Virginia
• Former Mayor of Buffalo Jimmy Griffin from New York

• 

  Political Activist Lyndon LaRouche
  of Virginia
• 

  Former Mayor of Buffalo
  Jimmy Griffin
  from New York

See also

• Republican Party presidential primaries, 1996

References

1. LaRouche v. Fowler. United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit. 2008-08-28
2. "Anyone left? The search for a Clinton challenger in 1996.". The Progressive. TheFreeLibrary.com. May 1, 1995. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
3. Newton-Small, Jay (November 24, 2009). "Can a Pro-Life Dem Bridge the Health-Care Divide?". Time. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
4. US President - D Primaries. OurCampaigns.