Reform Party

political party, United States

Learn about this topic in these articles:

Assorted References

  • establishment by Perot
    • Ross Perot
      In Ross Perot

      …September 1995 Perot established the Reform Party, which he hoped to build into a major political party. The party’s broadly defined platform called for campaign reform, congressional term limits, balancing the federal budget, overhauling the health care and income tax systems, and placing restrictions on lobbying. Running as the Reform…

      Read More

role of

    • Buchanan
      • Patrick Buchanan
        In Pat Buchanan

        …highly contentious convention, won the Reform Party’s nomination for president and its \$12.5 million in federal funds. A forceful, articulate writer and speaker, he often set forth his beliefs in blunt, memorable language. Critics called him a right-wing isolationist, a mercantilist, a nativist, and a populist, and some Republicans—those who…

        Read More
    • Trump
      • Donald Trump
        In Donald Trump: Presidential election of 2016

        …registration from Republican to the Reform Party and established a presidential exploratory committee. Although he ultimately declined to run in 2000, he published a book that year, The America We Deserve, in which he set forth his socially liberal and economically conservative political views. Trump later rejoined the Republican Party,…

        Read More
    • Ventura
      • Jesse Ventura
        In Jesse Ventura: Governor of Minnesota

        …governor of Minnesota as the Reform Party candidate. Support for his campaign quickly grew, in part owing to his offbeat television ads (in one a Jesse Ventura action figure battled another figure named Evil Special Interest Man) and his perceived honesty. Ventura redubbed himself “The Mind” and reached out via…

        Read More
    Quick Facts
    Date:
    November 5, 1996

    United States presidential election of 1996, American presidential election held on November 5, 1996, in which Democrat Bill Clinton was elected to a second term, defeating Republican Bob Dole, a former U.S. senator from Kansas.

    At a glance: the election of 1996

    The campaign

    Clinton had won his first term in 1992 against incumbent Republican George Bush with only 43 percent of the vote, as independent Ross Perot had won nearly 19 percent. Two years into Clinton’s term the Democrats lost their majority in the House of Representatives for the first time since the 1950s, and many pundits believed that Clinton, whose public support had dwindled because of some early missteps—particularly on health care and on his proposal for allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military (the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” compromise was eventually secured)—would be a one-term president.

    Washington Monument. Washington Monument and fireworks, Washington DC. The Monument was built as an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington.
    Britannica Quiz
    All-American History Quiz

    However, the Republicans in Congress, led by House speaker Newt Gingrich, often pursued policies in an uncompromising and confrontational manner. In particular, after a budget impasse between the Republicans and Clinton in 1995 and 1996—which forced two partial government shutdowns, including one for 22 days (the longest closure of government operations up to that time, it was surpassed by a 34-day shutdown in 2018–19)—Clinton won considerable public support for his more moderate approach.

    Clinton, facing little serious opposition, was easily renominated by the Democrats with his vice president, Al Gore. On the Republican side, however, Dole faced a stiff challenge from several contenders, including conservative commentator Pat Buchanan, businessman Steve Forbes, former Tennessee governor and U.S. secretary of education Lamar Alexander, and conservative commentator and former diplomat Alan Keyes. In the first two Republican contests, Dole narrowly defeated Buchanan in the Iowa caucuses (February 12) and Buchanan defeated Dole in New Hampshire’s primary (February 20). Over the next week, Forbes picked up victories in Delaware and Arizona, while Dole notched victories in North Dakota and South Dakota. On the next two biggest primary days, March 5 and March 12, however, Dole swept the contests, and he went on to win every contest throughout the remainder of the primary season, capturing the Republican nomination. In June Dole, who had spent more than three decades in Congress, resigned from the U.S. Senate, where he served as majority leader, to concentrate on his presidential bid. He selected Jack Kemp to be his vice presidential running mate.

    Perot entered the general election campaign as the candidate for the Reform Party, but he was unable to repeat the success he enjoyed in 1992. Buoyed by a recovering and increasingly strong economy, Clinton maintained consistent double-digit leads in the polls over Dole as election day neared. Ultimately, Clinton defeated Dole, capturing 49 percent to Dole’s 41 percent and Perot’s 8 percent. In the electoral college, Clinton won 379 votes to Dole’s 159; only five states had switched their votes from 1992, with Colorado, Georgia, and Montana moving away from Clinton and Clinton winning Arizona and Florida—becoming the first Democrat since 1948 to win the former and the first since 1976 to win the latter.

    For the results of the previous election, see United States presidential election of 1992. For the results of the subsequent election, see United States presidential election of 2000.

    Are you a student?
    Get a special academic rate on Britannica Premium.
    Michael Levy

    Results of the 1996 election

    The results of the 1996 U.S. presidential election are provided in the table.

    American presidential election, 1996
    presidential candidate political party electoral votes popular votes
    Source: Federal Election Commission.
    Bill Clinton Democratic 379 47,402,357
    Bob Dole Republican 159 39,198,755
    Ross Perot Reform 8,085,402
    Ralph Nader Green 685,128
    Harry Browne Libertarian 485,798
    Howard Phillips U.S. Taxpayers 184,820
    John Hagelin Natural Law 113,670
    Monica Moorehead Workers World 29,083
    Marsha Feinland Peace and Freedom 25,332