1996 United States presidential election in Georgia
1996 United States presidential election in Georgia Turnout 49.6%[ 1] 2.6 pp
County Results
Dole
40–50%
50–60%
60–70%
Clinton
40–50%
50–60%
60–70%
80–90%
The 1996 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 5, 1996, as part of the 1996 United States presidential election . Voters chose 13 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College , who voted for president and vice president .
Georgia was won by Senator Bob Dole (R -KS ) by a narrow 1.2% margin.[ 2] Georgia was the third-closest contest that year, with only Kentucky and Nevada being closer, as well as Dole's closest race. Dole's victory was possible due to the declining support for Democrats in Georgia and many other Southeastern States , though the Democratic Party in Georgia would remain a significant institution until the early 2000s. Billionaire businessman Ross Perot (Ref -TX ), who had unsuccessfully run for president as an Independent in the previous election, won 6.4% of the popular vote in Georgia, a significant total for a third-party candidate. Until the 2020 election (which Democrats won ), this was the last time that a Democratic presidential nominee finished within 2% of the Republican candidate; this was also the last time any third-party candidate has won more than 5% of the popular vote in Georgia.
During the concurrent U.S. Senate election in Georgia , Secretary of State of Georgia Max Cleland (D) narrowly defeated businessman Guy Millner (R) 48.87% to 47.54% to win election to the seat that Incumbent Senator Sam Nunn (D) left open to retire. In addition, incumbent U.S. Representatives Sanford Bishop (D-GA-2), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA-8), and Charlie Norwood (R-GA-10) all received strong challenges that year during the House elections but were nonetheless re-elected.
Georgia weighed in for this election as 10 points more Republican than the national average. As of the 2020 presidential election [update] , this is the last election in which Wheeler , Butts , Heard , Polk , Long , Hart , Chattooga , Elbert , Treutlen , Decatur , Screven , Wilkes , Greene , Dodge , Clinch , Crawford , Lanier , Miller , Brooks , Taylor , Turner , Wilcox , Cook , Marion , Jenkins , Atkinson , Berrien , Lamar , Crisp , Emanuel , Pulaski , Schley , Grady , Irwin , Johnson , Seminole , Putnam , Montgomery , Jasper , and Ben Hill counties voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.[ 3]
Georgia was one of three states won by Clinton in 1992 that Bob Dole was able to flip, the others being Montana and Colorado .
Dole's victory was the first of six consecutive Republican victories in the state, as Georgia would not vote Democratic again until Joe Biden narrowly won the state in 2020 . It has since become a swing state . This is the last election in which Georgia would vote differently from Arizona as both had Republican winning streaks from 2000 to 2016 before both flipping to Biden in 2020.
Results
Results by county
County
Bob Dole Republican
Bill Clinton Democratic
Ross Perot Reform
Harry E. Browne Libertarian
Margin
Total votes cast
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
Appling
2,572
50.44%
2,070
40.60%
446
8.75%
11
0.22%
502
9.84%
5,099
Atkinson
784
42.94%
823
45.07%
215
11.77%
4
0.22%
-39
-2.13%
1,826
Bacon
1,580
47.07%
1,360
40.51%
402
11.97%
15
0.45%
220
6.56%
3,357
Baker
408
27.66%
955
64.75%
105
7.12%
7
0.47%
-547
-37.09%
1,475
Baldwin
4,570
40.79%
5,740
51.23%
849
7.58%
46
0.41%
-1,170
-10.44%
11,205
Banks
1,925
47.23%
1,536
37.68%
595
14.60%
20
0.49%
389
9.55%
4,076
Barrow
5,342
51.65%
3,928
37.98%
942
9.11%
130
1.26%
1,414
13.67%
10,342
Bartow
9,250
51.32%
6,853
38.02%
1,770
9.82%
152
0.84%
2,397
13.30%
18,025
Ben Hill
1,516
37.08%
2,198
53.77%
358
8.76%
16
0.39%
-682
-16.69%
4,088
Berrien
1,950
42.87%
2,066
45.42%
525
11.54%
8
0.18%
-116
-2.55%
4,549
Bibb
20,778
41.61%
26,727
53.53%
2,268
4.54%
159
0.32%
-5,949
-11.92%
49,932
Bleckley
1,632
49.33%
1,365
41.26%
300
9.07%
11
0.33%
267
8.07%
3,308
Brantley
1,738
47.83%
1,494
41.11%
386
10.62%
16
0.44%
244
6.72%
3,634
Brooks
1,738
42.87%
1,977
48.77%
314
7.75%
25
0.62%
-239
-5.90%
4,054
Bryan
3,577
57.06%
2,152
34.33%
513
8.18%
27
0.43%
1,425
22.73%
6,269
Bulloch
6,646
50.97%
5,396
41.38%
939
7.20%
58
0.44%
1,250
9.59%
13,039
Burke
2,590
37.47%
3,915
56.63%
389
5.63%
19
0.27%
-1,325
-19.16%
6,913
Butts
2,027
42.61%
2,271
47.74%
416
8.75%
43
0.90%
-244
-5.13%
4,757
Calhoun
541
28.96%
1,217
65.15%
106
5.67%
4
0.21%
-676
-36.19%
1,868
Camden
4,222
49.75%
3,644
42.94%
572
6.74%
48
0.57%
578
6.81%
8,486
Candler
1,131
45.22%
1,097
43.86%
264
10.56%
9
0.36%
34
1.36%
2,501
Carroll
11,157
51.25%
8,438
38.76%
2,002
9.20%
172
0.79%
2,719
12.49%
21,769
Catoosa
8,237
55.89%
5,185
35.18%
1,257
8.53%
60
0.41%
3,052
20.71%
14,739
Charlton
1,374
45.33%
1,368
45.13%
280
9.24%
9
0.30%
6
0.20%
3,031
Chatham
31,987
44.88%
35,781
50.20%
3,028
4.25%
481
0.67%
-3,794
-5.32%
71,277
Chattahoochee
398
36.78%
565
52.22%
115
10.63%
4
0.37%
-167
-15.44%
1,082
Chattooga
2,513
39.72%
3,003
47.47%
796
12.58%
14
0.22%
-490
-7.75%
6,326
Cherokee
24,527
63.41%
10,802
27.93%
2,872
7.43%
476
1.23%
13,725
35.48%
38,677
Clarke
10,504
38.41%
15,206
55.61%
1,201
4.39%
435
1.59%
-4,702
-17.20%
27,346
Clay
293
25.63%
787
68.85%
62
5.42%
1
0.09%
-494
-43.22%
1,143
Clayton
20,625
37.34%
30,687
55.55%
3,494
6.32%
436
0.79%
-10,062
-18.21%
55,242
Clinch
789
40.42%
973
49.85%
182
9.32%
8
0.41%
-184
-9.43%
1,952
Cobb
114,188
56.93%
73,750
36.77%
10,438
5.20%
2,197
1.10%
40,438
20.16%
200,573
Coffee
3,934
48.72%
3,407
42.19%
711
8.80%
23
0.28%
527
6.53%
8,075
Colquitt
4,847
48.51%
4,135
41.38%
977
9.78%
33
0.33%
712
7.13%
9,992
Columbia
21,291
67.18%
8,601
27.14%
1,709
5.39%
92
0.29%
12,690
40.04%
31,693
Cook
1,354
39.74%
1,780
52.25%
267
7.84%
6
0.18%
-426
-12.51%
3,407
Coweta
13,058
56.85%
7,794
33.93%
1,949
8.48%
169
0.74%
5,264
22.92%
22,970
Crawford
1,290
41.57%
1,534
49.44%
270
8.70%
9
0.29%
-244
-7.87%
3,103
Crisp
2,321
43.83%
2,504
47.28%
445
8.40%
26
0.49%
-183
-3.45%
5,296
Dade
2,295
49.16%
1,737
37.21%
618
13.24%
18
0.39%
558
11.95%
4,668
Dawson
2,343
54.41%
1,434
33.30%
473
10.98%
56
1.30%
909
21.11%
4,306
Decatur
3,035
44.65%
3,245
47.74%
497
7.31%
20
0.29%
-210
-3.09%
6,797
DeKalb
60,255
29.08%
137,903
66.55%
6,742
3.25%
2,329
1.12%
-77,648
-37.47%
207,229
Dodge
2,478
42.86%
2,696
46.64%
587
10.15%
20
0.35%
-218
-3.78%
5,781
Dooly
990
31.33%
1,951
61.74%
207
6.55%
12
0.38%
-961
-30.41%
3,160
Dougherty
11,144
39.98%
15,600
55.97%
1,072
3.85%
56
0.20%
-4,456
-15.99%
27,872
Douglas
14,495
54.75%
9,631
36.37%
2,109
7.97%
242
0.91%
4,864
18.38%
26,477
Early
1,374
41.98%
1,648
50.35%
246
7.52%
5
0.15%
-274
-8.37%
3,273
Echols
335
45.09%
308
41.45%
97
13.06%
3
0.40%
27
3.64%
743
Effingham
5,022
56.76%
3,031
34.26%
769
8.69%
26
0.29%
1,991
22.50%
8,848
Elbert
2,393
40.86%
2,900
49.51%
552
9.42%
12
0.20%
-507
-8.65%
5,857
Emanuel
2,451
41.73%
2,947
50.18%
450
7.66%
25
0.43%
-496
-8.45%
5,873
Evans
1,206
47.52%
1,117
44.01%
204
8.04%
11
0.43%
89
3.51%
2,538
Fannin
3,373
48.67%
2,741
39.55%
782
11.28%
34
0.49%
632
9.12%
6,930
Fayette
21,005
63.25%
9,875
29.74%
2,016
6.07%
313
0.94%
11,130
33.51%
33,209
Floyd
12,426
48.96%
10,464
41.23%
2,345
9.24%
143
0.56%
1,962
7.73%
25,378
Forsyth
15,013
64.83%
5,957
25.72%
1,889
8.16%
300
1.30%
9,056
39.11%
23,159
Franklin
2,364
43.79%
2,338
43.30%
665
12.32%
32
0.59%
26
0.49%
5,399
Fulton
89,809
36.93%
143,306
58.93%
7,720
3.17%
2,333
0.96%
-53,497
-22.00%
243,168
Gilmer
3,121
49.06%
2,464
38.74%
725
11.40%
51
0.80%
657
10.32%
6,361
Glascock
532
52.78%
348
34.52%
128
12.70%
0
0.00%
184
18.26%
1,008
Glynn
12,305
56.96%
8,058
37.30%
1,137
5.26%
102
0.47%
4,247
19.66%
21,602
Gordon
5,232
48.35%
4,239
39.18%
1,284
11.87%
65
0.60%
993
9.17%
10,820
Grady
2,674
43.23%
2,862
46.27%
633
10.23%
16
0.26%
-188
-3.04%
6,185
Greene
1,702
42.39%
2,115
52.68%
173
4.31%
25
0.62%
-413
-10.29%
4,015
Gwinnett
96,610
59.29%
53,819
33.03%
10,236
6.28%
2,280
1.40%
42,791
26.26%
162,945
Habersham
4,730
51.93%
3,170
34.80%
1,149
12.62%
59
0.65%
1,560
17.13%
9,108
Hall
19,280
59.84%
10,362
32.16%
2,321
7.20%
256
0.79%
8,918
27.68%
32,219
Hancock
438
16.55%
2,135
80.69%
71
2.68%
2
0.08%
-1,697
-64.14%
2,646
Haralson
3,260
46.89%
2,850
40.99%
808
11.62%
35
0.50%
410
5.90%
6,953
Harris
3,829
53.70%
2,779
38.97%
489
6.86%
34
0.48%
1,050
14.73%
7,131
Hart
2,884
40.22%
3,486
48.61%
767
10.70%
34
0.47%
-602
-8.39%
7,171
Heard
1,170
41.14%
1,248
43.88%
406
14.28%
20
0.70%
-78
-2.74%
2,844
Henry
16,968
58.36%
9,498
32.67%
2,320
7.98%
288
0.99%
7,470
25.69%
29,074
Houston
17,050
52.18%
12,760
39.05%
2,730
8.35%
138
0.42%
4,290
13.13%
32,678
Irwin
1,085
42.72%
1,225
48.23%
224
8.82%
6
0.24%
-140
-5.51%
2,540
Jackson
4,782
50.38%
3,746
39.46%
899
9.47%
65
0.68%
1,036
10.92%
9,492
Jasper
1,423
44.00%
1,553
48.02%
243
7.51%
15
0.46%
-130
-4.02%
3,234
Jeff Davis
1,796
47.08%
1,576
41.31%
428
11.22%
15
0.39%
220
5.77%
3,815
Jefferson
2,077
35.86%
3,404
58.77%
298
5.15%
13
0.22%
-1,327
-22.91%
5,792
Jenkins
955
38.77%
1,336
54.24%
166
6.74%
6
0.24%
-381
-15.47%
2,463
Johnson
815
36.14%
1,194
52.95%
242
10.73%
4
0.18%
-379
-16.81%
2,255
Jones
3,272
46.80%
3,195
45.70%
497
7.11%
28
0.40%
77
1.10%
6,992
Lamar
1,988
43.75%
2,125
46.76%
409
9.00%
22
0.48%
-137
-3.01%
4,544
Lanier
519
34.55%
818
54.46%
160
10.65%
5
0.33%
-299
-19.91%
1,502
Laurens
6,118
47.79%
5,792
45.24%
818
6.39%
75
0.59%
326
2.55%
12,803
Lee
3,983
61.15%
2,005
30.78%
506
7.77%
19
0.29%
1,978
30.37%
6,513
Liberty
3,042
37.42%
4,462
54.89%
580
7.13%
45
0.55%
-1,420
-17.47%
8,129
Lincoln
1,391
47.33%
1,334
45.39%
208
7.08%
6
0.20%
57
1.94%
2,939
Long
791
40.11%
936
47.46%
236
11.97%
9
0.46%
-145
-7.35%
1,972
Lowndes
10,578
48.92%
9,470
43.79%
1,518
7.02%
58
0.27%
1,108
5.13%
21,624
Lumpkin
2,576
49.86%
1,949
37.73%
588
11.38%
53
1.03%
627
12.13%
5,166
McDuffie
3,254
50.96%
2,725
42.68%
395
6.19%
11
0.17%
529
8.28%
6,385
McIntosh
1,219
35.35%
1,927
55.89%
293
8.50%
9
0.26%
-708
-20.54%
3,448
Macon
1,006
26.54%
2,618
69.06%
159
4.19%
8
0.21%
-1,612
-42.52%
3,791
Madison
3,992
53.40%
2,571
34.39%
868
11.61%
45
0.60%
1,421
19.01%
7,476
Marion
678
37.23%
977
53.65%
159
8.73%
7
0.38%
-299
-16.42%
1,821
Meriwether
2,259
36.13%
3,492
55.85%
480
7.68%
22
0.35%
-1,233
-19.72%
6,253
Miller
847
42.43%
909
45.54%
235
11.77%
5
0.25%
-62
-3.11%
1,996
Mitchell
2,033
36.39%
3,165
56.66%
372
6.66%
16
0.29%
-1,132
-20.27%
5,586
Monroe
3,054
48.19%
2,768
43.67%
488
7.70%
28
0.44%
286
4.52%
6,338
Montgomery
1,163
43.31%
1,233
45.92%
284
10.58%
5
0.19%
-70
-2.61%
2,685
Morgan
2,118
45.92%
2,111
45.77%
364
7.89%
19
0.41%
7
0.15%
4,612
Murray
3,289
46.17%
2,861
40.16%
938
13.17%
36
0.51%
428
6.01%
7,124
Muscogee
19,360
41.86%
24,867
53.77%
1,891
4.09%
130
0.28%
-5,507
-11.91%
46,248
Newton
7,274
47.10%
6,759
43.77%
1,258
8.15%
152
0.98%
515
3.33%
15,443
Oconee
5,116
58.05%
2,992
33.95%
615
6.98%
90
1.02%
2,124
24.10%
8,813
Oglethorpe
1,826
48.03%
1,570
41.29%
369
9.71%
37
0.97%
256
6.74%
3,802
Paulding
10,152
57.57%
5,699
32.32%
1,603
9.09%
179
1.02%
4,453
25.25%
17,633
Peach
2,676
39.63%
3,582
53.05%
471
6.98%
23
0.34%
-906
-13.42%
6,752
Pickens
3,041
46.31%
2,693
41.01%
783
11.93%
49
0.75%
348
5.30%
6,566
Pierce
2,319
56.73%
1,420
34.74%
333
8.15%
16
0.39%
899
21.99%
4,088
Pike
2,054
52.52%
1,474
37.69%
357
9.13%
26
0.66%
580
14.83%
3,911
Polk
4,130
43.25%
4,298
45.01%
1,076
11.27%
46
0.48%
-168
-1.76%
9,550
Pulaski
1,196
39.47%
1,554
51.29%
268
8.84%
12
0.40%
-358
-11.82%
3,030
Putnam
2,306
44.81%
2,340
45.47%
474
9.21%
26
0.51%
-34
-0.66%
5,146
Quitman
224
28.11%
514
64.49%
59
7.40%
0
0.00%
-290
-36.38%
797
Rabun
2,213
46.42%
1,943
40.76%
585
12.27%
26
0.55%
270
5.66%
4,767
Randolph
816
34.24%
1,438
60.34%
126
5.29%
3
0.13%
-622
-26.10%
2,383
Richmond
23,670
41.62%
30,738
54.05%
2,310
4.06%
151
0.27%
-7,068
-12.43%
56,869
Rockdale
13,006
57.31%
7,656
33.73%
1,750
7.71%
284
1.25%
5,350
23.58%
22,696
Schley
470
40.17%
576
49.23%
123
10.51%
1
0.09%
-106
-9.06%
1,170
Screven
1,862
44.13%
2,087
49.47%
263
6.23%
7
0.17%
-225
-5.34%
4,219
Seminole
1,003
39.74%
1,265
50.12%
250
9.90%
6
0.24%
-262
-10.38%
2,524
Spalding
7,376
50.74%
6,017
41.39%
1,059
7.29%
84
0.58%
1,359
9.35%
14,536
Stephens
3,890
48.77%
3,072
38.51%
979
12.27%
36
0.45%
818
10.26%
7,977
Stewart
525
23.67%
1,537
69.30%
152
6.85%
4
0.18%
-1,012
-45.63%
2,218
Sumter
3,358
41.64%
4,239
52.57%
451
5.59%
16
0.20%
-881
-10.93%
8,064
Talbot
652
27.79%
1,579
67.31%
111
4.73%
4
0.17%
-927
-39.52%
2,346
Taliaferro
235
26.52%
615
69.41%
36
4.06%
0
0.00%
-380
-42.89%
886
Tattnall
2,518
46.23%
2,369
43.49%
541
9.93%
19
0.35%
149
2.74%
5,447
Taylor
1,002
37.77%
1,450
54.66%
195
7.35%
6
0.23%
-448
-16.89%
2,653
Telfair
1,143
34.30%
1,856
55.70%
322
9.66%
11
0.33%
-713
-21.40%
3,332
Terrell
1,111
40.33%
1,509
54.77%
129
4.68%
6
0.22%
-398
-14.44%
2,755
Thomas
5,649
49.04%
5,183
45.00%
667
5.79%
19
0.16%
466
4.04%
11,518
Tift
5,613
53.07%
4,198
39.69%
728
6.88%
38
0.36%
1,415
13.38%
10,577
Toombs
3,646
51.81%
2,763
39.26%
602
8.55%
26
0.37%
883
12.55%
7,037
Towns
2,030
48.58%
1,664
39.82%
459
10.98%
26
0.62%
366
8.76%
4,179
Treutlen
723
41.10%
912
51.85%
122
6.94%
2
0.11%
-189
-10.75%
1,759
Troup
8,716
55.06%
5,940
37.52%
1,090
6.89%
85
0.54%
2,776
17.54%
15,831
Turner
924
37.64%
1,272
51.81%
246
10.02%
13
0.53%
-348
-14.17%
2,455
Twiggs
958
30.80%
1,927
61.96%
210
6.75%
15
0.48%
-969
-31.16%
3,110
Union
2,685
48.70%
2,175
39.45%
622
11.28%
31
0.56%
510
9.25%
5,513
Upson
3,783
47.08%
3,491
43.45%
731
9.10%
30
0.37%
292
3.63%
8,035
Walker
8,817
50.10%
6,743
38.32%
1,969
11.19%
69
0.39%
2,074
11.78%
17,598
Walton
7,934
52.82%
5,618
37.40%
1,323
8.81%
145
0.97%
2,316
15.42%
15,020
Ware
4,746
49.55%
4,171
43.54%
636
6.64%
26
0.27%
575
6.01%
9,579
Warren
735
35.82%
1,230
59.94%
83
4.04%
4
0.19%
-495
-24.12%
2,052
Washington
2,348
33.94%
4,057
58.64%
488
7.05%
26
0.38%
-1,709
-24.70%
6,919
Wayne
3,709
52.05%
2,734
38.37%
665
9.33%
18
0.25%
975
13.68%
7,126
Webster
235
28.55%
529
64.28%
59
7.17%
0
0.00%
-294
-35.73%
823
Wheeler
460
33.90%
751
55.34%
141
10.39%
5
0.37%
-291
-21.44%
1,357
White
2,959
54.59%
1,864
34.39%
556
10.26%
41
0.76%
1,095
20.20%
5,420
Whitfield
12,368
56.69%
7,720
35.39%
1,637
7.50%
92
0.42%
4,648
21.30%
21,817
Wilcox
882
41.56%
1,067
50.28%
171
8.06%
2
0.09%
-185
-8.72%
2,122
Wilkes
1,417
39.51%
1,971
54.96%
184
5.13%
14
0.39%
-554
-15.45%
3,586
Wilkinson
1,332
34.08%
2,278
58.28%
287
7.34%
12
0.31%
-946
-24.20%
3,909
Worth
2,752
48.07%
2,300
40.17%
521
9.10%
152
2.66%
452
7.90%
5,725
Totals
1,080,843
47.01%
1,053,849
45.84%
146,337
6.37%
17,870
0.78%
26,994
1.17%
2,299,071
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
Electors
Technically the voters of Georgia cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College . Georgia was allocated 13 electors because it had 11 congressional districts and 2 senators . All candidates who appeared on the ballot or qualified to receive write-in votes had to submit a list of 13 electors, who pledged to vote for their candidate and his or her running mate. Whoever won the majority of votes in the state was awarded all 13 electoral votes. Their chosen electors then vote for president and vice president. Although electors are pledged to their candidate and running mate, they are not obligated to vote for them. An elector who votes for someone other than his or her candidate is known as a faithless elector .
The electors of each state and the District of Columbia met in December 1996 to cast their votes for president and vice president. The Electoral College itself never meets as one body. Instead the electors from each state and the District of Columbia met in their respective capitols.
The following were the members of the Electoral College from the state. All were pledged to and voted for Bob Dole and Jack Kemp.[ 6]
Thomas J. Barnette
Dot Burns
Jeanne Ferst
Briggs A. Goggans
Camilla Johnson-Moore
Brenda R. (B.J.) Lopez
Mack Mattingly
Russell K. (Rusty) Paul
Oscar N. Persons
Alec Poitevint
John M. Stuckey, Jr.
Stan Wise
Ray Wooldridge
Notes
^ a b c These write-in votes were not separated by county but given only as a state-wide total.[ 5]
References