Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 1992
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| Democratic Presidential Primaries, 1992 |
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| 1992 | ||||
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| Nominee | Bill Clinton | Jerry Brown | Paul Tsongas | |
| Home state | Arkansas | California | Massachusetts | |
| States carried | 39 | 3 | 6 | |
| Popular vote | 10,482,41 | 4,071,232 | 3,656,010 | |
| Percentage | 52.01% | 20.20% | 18.14% | |
 Democratic Primary Results: Blue denotes a Clinton win, yellow a Brown win, green a Tsongas win, orange a Kerrey win, and purple a Harkin win |
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[edit] Candidates
For most of 1991, President Bush had high popularity ratings in the wake of the Gulf War. Many well-known Democrats considered the race unwinnable and did not run for the nomination.
 Former Mayor Larry Agran of Irvine, California |
 Former Governor Jerry Brown of California |
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film actor and director Tom Laughlin of California |
 Former Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota |
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 Former Senator Paul Tsongas of Massachusetts |
 Millionaire Businessman Charles Woods of Alabama |
[edit] Potential candidates who declined to seek nomination
 Senator and 1988 Vice Presidential nominee Lloyd Bentsen of Texas |
.jpg/102px-Senator_Bill_Bradley_(D-NJ).jpg) Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey |
 Senator Dale Bumpers of Arkansas |
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 House Majority Leader and candidate form 1988 nomination Dick Gephardt of Missouri |
 Reverend, civil right activist and candidate for 1988 nomination Jesse Jackson of Illinois |
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 Former Senator and 1972 Presidential nominee George McGovern of South Dakota |
 Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia |
 Representative Patricia Schroeder of Colorado |
[edit] Overview
Clinton, a Southerner with experience governing a more conservative state, positioned himself as a centrist New Democrat. He prepared for a run in 1992 amidst a crowded field seeking to beat the incumbent President George H. W. Bush. In the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, Bush seemed unbeatable but a small economic recession spurred Democrats on. Tom Harkin won his native Iowa without much surprise. Clinton, meanwhile, was still a relatively unknown national candidate before the primary season when a woman named Gennifer Flowers appeared in the press to reveal allegations of an affair. Clinton sought damage control by appearing on 60 Minutes with his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, for an interview with Steve Kroft. Paul Tsongas of Massachusetts won the primary in neighboring New Hampshire but Clinton's second place finish - strengthened by Clinton's speech labeling himself "The Comeback Kid" - re-energized his campaign. Clinton swept nearly all of the Super Tuesday primaries, making him the solid front runner. Jerry Brown, however, began to run a surprising insurgent campaign, particularly through use of a 1-800 number to receive grassroots funding. Brown scored surprising wins in Connecticut and Colorado and seemed poised to overtake Clinton.
On March 17, Brown forced Tsongas from the race when he received a strong third-place showing in the Illinois primary and then defeated the senator for second place in the Michigan primary by a wide margin. Exactly one week later, he cemented his position as a major threat to Clinton when he eked out a narrow win in the bitterly-fought Connecticut primary. As the press now focused on the primaries in New York and Wisconsin, which were both to be held on the same day, Brown, who had taken the lead in polls in both states, made a serious gaffe: he announced to an audience of various leaders of New York City's Jewish community that, if nominated, he would consider the Reverend Jesse Jackson as a vice-presidential candidate. Jackson, who had made a pair of anti-Semitic comments about Jews in general and New York City's Jews in particular while running for president in 1984, was still a widely hated figure in that community and Brown's polling numbers suffered. On April 7, he lost narrowly to Bill Clinton in Wisconsin (37-34), and dramatically in New York (41-26).
Although Brown continued to campaign in a number of states, he won no further primaries. Despite this, he still had a sizable number of delegates, and a big win in his home state of California would deprive Clinton of sufficient support to win the nomination, which Brown apparently thought would revert to him by default. After nearly a month of intense campaigning and multiple debates between the two candidates, Clinton managed to defeat Brown in this final primary by a margin of 48% to 41%
The convention met in New York City, and the official tally was:
- Bill Clinton 3372
- Jerry Brown 596
- Paul Tsongas 289
- Penn. Gov. Robert P. Casey 10
- Rep. Pat Schroeder 5
- Larry Agran 3
- Al Gore 1
Clinton chose U.S. Senator Albert A. Gore Jr. (D-Tennessee) to be his running mate on July 9, 1992. Choosing Gore, who is from Clinton's neighboring state of Tennessee, went against the popular strategy of balancing a Southern candidate with a Northern partner. Gore did serve to balance the ticket in other ways, as he was perceived as strong on family values and environmental issues, while Clinton was not.[1] Also, Gore's similarities to Clinton allowed him to really push some of his key campaign themes, such as centrism and generational change.[2]
The Democratic Convention in New York City was essentially a solidification of the party around Clinton and Gore, though there was controversy over whether Jerry Brown would be allowed to speak. Brown did indeed speak and ultimately endorsed the Clinton campaign.
Before Gore's selection, other politicians were mentioned as a possible running-mate, e.g. Bob Kerrey, Dick Gephardt, Mario Cuomo, Indiana Representative Lee H. Hamilton, Pennsylvania Senator Harris Wofford, Florida Senator Bob Graham, and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry.
Another additional controversy concerned Pennsylvania Governor Bob Casey, who sought a speaking slot at the convention but was not granted one. Casey complained that it was because of his outspoken anti-abortion views: he had warned the platform committee that Democrats were committing "suicide" because they did not support restrictions on abortion.[3] Clinton supporters have said that Casey was not allowed to speak because he had not endorsed the ticket.
[edit] Outside resources
The story of the race was covered in the film The War Room and fictionalized into the novel and film Primary Colors.
[edit] References
- Clinton, Bill (2005). My Life. Vintage. ISBN 1-4000-3003-X.
- ^ Ifill, Gwen. "Clinton Selects Senator Gore Of Tennessee As Running Mate", The New York Times, 1992-07-10. Retrieved on 2008-03-27.
- ^ Al Gore from the United States Senate
- ^ The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution May 19, 1992 Page: A/8
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