1992 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary
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 New Hampshire results by county Tsongas Clinton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1992 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary was held on February 18, 1992, in New Hampshire as one of the Democratic Party's statewide nomination contests ahead of the 1992 United States presidential election. The primary was won by Paul Tsongas, but is known for the insurgent campaign of Bill Clinton, who managed a surprising second-place finish.
Campaign
The Iowa caucus, the first contest of the 1992 Democratic primaries, was not contested. Due to the presence of Iowa Senator Tom Harkin in the race, the other candidates did not campaign in Iowa, instead conceding the contest to Harkin, and making the New Hampshire primary even more important.[1]
On January 19, The Boston Globe published a poll showing Clinton ahead of the field with 29%, Paul Tsongas with 17%, and Bob Kerrey 16%.[1] Following this poll, reports of an extramarital affair between Clinton and Gennifer Flowers surfaced. As Clinton fell far behind former Massachusetts Senator Paul Tsongas in the New Hampshire polls,[2] Clinton and his wife Hillary went on 60 Minutes following the Super Bowl to deny the charges. The Clinton campaign also weathered attacks concerning alleged draft dodging during the Vietnam War and the case of Ricky Ray Rector.[1]
Results
Tsongas won the New Hampshire primary with Clinton finishing within single digits of Tsongas, despite trailing badly in the polls. Since many expected Tsongas to win anyway, as New Hampshire borders his home state of Massachusetts, the media viewed the results as a victory for Clinton.[1] On election night, Clinton labeled himself "The Comeback Kid",[2] and he left New Hampshire with an increase in momentum in the remaining primaries,[3] which helped him win the nomination. Clinton became the first modern president elected despite not winning the New Hampshire primary. Since then, however, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden went on to win the presidency as non-incumbents, despite losing the New Hampshire primary.
| Elections in New Hampshire |
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Results
Source:[4]
- Paul Tsongas: 55,666 (33.21%)
- Bill Clinton: 41,542 (24.78%)
- Bob Kerrey: 18,584 (11.09%)
- Tom Harkin: 17,063 (10.18%)
- Jerry Brown: 13,660 (8.15%)
- Mario Cuomo: 6,577 (3.92%)
- Tom Laughlin: 3,251 (1.94%)
- Ralph Nader: 3,054 (1.82%)
- Charles Woods: 2,862 (1.71%)
- George Herbert Walker Bush: 1,433 (0.86%)
- Pat Buchanan: 1,248 (0.74%)
- Lenora Fulani: 402 (0.24%)
- Larry Agran: 331 (0.20%)
- Patrick J. Mahoney, Jr.: 303 (0.18%)
- Eugene McCarthy: 211 (0.13%)
- John Donald Rigazio: 186 (0.11%)
- Curly Thornton: 125 (0.08%)
- Lyndon LaRouche: 115 (0.07%)
- Douglas Wilder: 103 (0.06%)
- Caroline Killeen: 94 (0.06%)
- John Patrick Cahill: 83 (0.05%)
- Paul C. Fisher: 82 (0.05%)
- Andre Marrou: 67 (0.04%)
- Frank Bona: 65 (0.04%)
- Karl J. Hegger: 61 (0.04%)
- Source: Our Campaigns
References
- ^ a b c d Carville, James (December 16, 2007). "The Comeback Kid". The Boston Globe.
- ^ a b Maraniss, David (1996). First In His Class: A Biography Of Bill Clinton. Touchstone. ISBN 0-684-81890-6.
- ^ Toner, Robin (February 20, 1992). "THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: New Hampshire; Democratic Candidates' Next Three Weeks: a Scramble Around America". The New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
- ^ "1992 Presidential Democratic Primary Election Results - New Hampshire". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections.