The 1996 United States presidential election in Wisconsin took place on November 5, 1996, as part of the 1996 United States presidential election. Voters chose 11 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
Wisconsin was won by President Bill Clinton (D) over Senator Bob Dole (R-KS), with Clinton winning by 48.81% to 38.48%, or a margin of 10.33%. Billionaire businessman Ross Perot (Reform Party-TX) finished in third, with 10.35% of the popular vote.
As of the 2024 presidential election, this is the last election in which the following counties have voted for a Democratic presidential candidate: Polk, St. Croix, Sheboygan, and Taylor.
Primaries
While Wisconsin typically held its presidential primaries and spring general elections in early April, the 1996 primaries and spring general election were instead held on March 19. In March 1995, Governor Tommy Thompson had signed into law a bill that shifted both the 1996 spring general election and the state's presidential primaries from April 2 to March 19 in order to align its primary with the Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio primaries held on that day. This was done in hopes that Wisconsin can join these fellow Midwestern states in a so-called "Big Ten primary" held shortly-following the southern Super Tuesday in the major party primary calendars. Similar bills had been proposed to move the Minnesota and Pennsylvania to March 19, though these did not pass.
Republican
Senator Bob Dole, the Republican front-runner, won all 36 pledged delegates available in the state's Republican primary. Dole had received Governor Thompson's endorsement ahead of the primary.
However, despite only appearing once in Wisconsin during his campaign, Pat Buchanan received more support in the Wisconsin primary than he had in any preceding primary.
General election results
Results by county
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Brown
- Door
- Jefferson
- Langlade
- Marinette
- Outagamie
- Shawano
- Sheboygan
- Taylor
- Waushara
- Winnebago
- Wood
By congressional district
Clinton won all but one of the state's nine congressional districts, including three which elected Republicans.