Main article: 1992 United States presidential election
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 68.40%  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
County results 
Congressional district results
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
The 1992 United States presidential election in North Carolina took place on November 3, 1992, and was part of the 1992 United States presidential election. Voters chose 14 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
North Carolina was very narrowly won by incumbent Republican President George H. W. Bush of Texas over his Democratic challenger, Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas. Bush took 43.44% of the vote to Clinton's 42.65%, a margin of 0.79%. North Carolina was the second-closest state in this election behind neighboring Georgia. This was also the first time since 1956 when North Carolina did not support the winning candidate. It has since gone on to back losing Republicans Bob Dole in 1996, Mitt Romney in 2012, and Donald Trump in 2020.
Billionaire businessman Ross Perot, running as an Independent, finished in third, with 13.70% of the vote, a relatively strong showing for a third party candidate, and his second highest showing in the Southeast, behind only Florida.
Background
With the exception of Jimmy Carter's victory in North Carolina in 1976, the state had voted for the Republican presidential nominee in every election since 1968. North Carolina held the third-highest number of electoral votes in the south behind Texas and Florida.
General
Despite being from the South, Bill Clinton became the first Democrat to win the White House without carrying the state of North Carolina since James K. Polk in 1844, and Bush became the first ever Republican to carry the state while losing nationally. As of the 2020 presidential election, the 1992 election constitutes the last occasion the following counties have supported a Democratic presidential nominee: Alleghany, Brunswick, Greene, Pamlico, Pender, Rockingham, Sampson and Yancey. This would also be the last election in which North Carolina would vote to the left of neighboring Virginia. Additionally, with Bush and Clinton each winning 50 of North Carolina's 100 counties, this remains the last time that a Republican presidential nominee has failed to win a majority of the state's counties.
Republican nominee Lauch Faircloth defeated incumbent Democrat Terry Sanford in the concurrent U.S. Senate election.
Results
| 1992 United States presidential election in North Carolina | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Republican | George H. W. Bush (incumbent) | 1,134,661 | 43.44% | 14 | |
| Democratic | Bill Clinton | 1,114,042 | 42.65% | 0 | |
| Independent | Ross Perot | 357,864 | 13.70% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Andre Marrou | 5,171 | 0.20% | 0 | |
| New Alliance Party | Lenora Fulani (write-in) | 59 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Natural Law | Dr. John Hagelin (write-in) | 41 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Socialist Workers Party | James Warren (write-in) | 12 | 0.00% | 0 | |
| Totals | 2,611,850 | 100.0% | 14 | ||
| Voter turnout | 54.52% | — | |||
Results by county
| County | George H.W. Bush Republican |
Bill Clinton Democratic |
Ross Perot Independent |
Various candidates Other parties |
Margin | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Alamance | 20,637 | 48.33% | 15,521 | 36.35% | 6,444 | 15.09% | 99 | 0.23% | 5,116 | 11.98% | 42,701 |
| Alexander | 6,764 | 49.64% | 4,849 | 35.59% | 2,002 | 14.69% | 11 | 0.08% | 1,915 | 14.05% | 13,626 |
| Alleghany | 1,853 | 39.18% | 2,271 | 48.01% | 600 | 12.68% | 6 | 0.13% | -418 | -8.83% | 4,730 |
| Anson | 2,334 | 27.33% | 5,269 | 61.71% | 921 | 10.79% | 15 | 0.18% | -2,935 | -34.38% | 8,539 |
| Ashe | 5,200 | 46.97% | 4,624 | 41.77% | 1,220 | 11.02% | 26 | 0.23% | 576 | 5.20% | 11,070 |
| Avery | 3,895 | 57.39% | 1,755 | 25.86% | 1,123 | 16.55% | 14 | 0.21% | 2,140 | 31.53% | 6,787 |
| Beaufort | 7,337 | 45.91% | 6,445 | 40.33% | 2,174 | 13.60% | 24 | 0.15% | 892 | 5.58% | 15,980 |
| Bertie | 1,756 | 26.04% | 4,382 | 64.99% | 600 | 8.90% | 5 | 0.07% | -2,626 | -38.95% | 6,743 |
| Bladen | 3,214 | 31.58% | 5,700 | 56.01% | 1,248 | 12.26% | 15 | 0.15% | -2,486 | -24.43% | 10,177 |
| Brunswick | 8,833 | 39.43% | 10,177 | 45.43% | 3,349 | 14.95% | 41 | 0.18% | -1,344 | -6.00% | 22,400 |
| Buncombe | 30,892 | 40.92% | 32,955 | 43.65% | 11,481 | 15.21% | 164 | 0.22% | -2,063 | -2.73% | 75,492 |
| Burke | 13,397 | 44.48% | 12,565 | 41.71% | 4,124 | 13.69% | 36 | 0.12% | 832 | 2.77% | 30,122 |
| Cabarrus | 21,281 | 51.75% | 13,513 | 32.86% | 6,251 | 15.20% | 78 | 0.19% | 7,768 | 18.89% | 41,123 |
| Caldwell | 12,543 | 49.04% | 9,033 | 35.32% | 3,965 | 15.50% | 35 | 0.14% | 3,510 | 13.72% | 25,576 |
| Camden | 1,039 | 38.84% | 1,153 | 43.10% | 479 | 17.91% | 4 | 0.15% | -114 | -4.26% | 2,675 |
| Carteret | 10,334 | 47.36% | 8,028 | 36.79% | 3,401 | 15.59% | 56 | 0.26% | 2,306 | 10.57% | 21,819 |
| Caswell | 2,793 | 33.40% | 4,725 | 56.50% | 827 | 9.89% | 18 | 0.22% | -1,932 | -23.10% | 8,363 |
| Catawba | 25,466 | 51.54% | 16,334 | 33.06% | 7,523 | 15.23% | 86 | 0.17% | 9,132 | 18.48% | 49,409 |
| Chatham | 6,568 | 35.36% | 9,520 | 51.25% | 2,425 | 13.05% | 64 | 0.34% | -2,952 | -15.89% | 18,577 |
| Cherokee | 4,021 | 45.91% | 3,686 | 42.09% | 1,040 | 11.87% | 11 | 0.13% | 335 | 3.82% | 8,758 |
| Chowan | 1,661 | 36.86% | 2,136 | 47.40% | 700 | 15.53% | 9 | 0.20% | -475 | -10.54% | 4,506 |
| Clay | 1,890 | 47.73% | 1,600 | 40.40% | 465 | 11.74% | 5 | 0.13% | 290 | 7.33% | 3,960 |
| Cleveland | 13,650 | 44.72% | 13,037 | 42.71% | 3,784 | 12.40% | 51 | 0.17% | 613 | 2.01% | 30,522 |
| Columbus | 5,462 | 28.88% | 11,469 | 60.63% | 1,963 | 10.38% | 22 | 0.12% | -6,007 | -31.75% | 18,916 |
| Craven | 11,575 | 45.77% | 9,998 | 39.54% | 3,679 | 14.55% | 35 | 0.14% | 1,577 | 6.23% | 25,287 |
| Cumberland | 27,139 | 42.10% | 30,291 | 46.98% | 6,792 | 10.54% | 248 | 0.38% | -3,152 | -4.88% | 64,470 |
| Currituck | 2,188 | 41.31% | 1,935 | 36.53% | 1,163 | 21.96% | 11 | 0.21% | 253 | 4.78% | 5,297 |
| Dare | 4,357 | 40.73% | 3,925 | 36.70% | 2,388 | 22.33% | 26 | 0.24% | 432 | 4.03% | 10,696 |
| Davidson | 24,869 | 50.01% | 16,462 | 33.11% | 8,324 | 16.74% | 70 | 0.14% | 8,407 | 16.90% | 49,725 |
| Davie | 6,796 | 54.86% | 3,675 | 29.67% | 1,903 | 15.36% | 13 | 0.10% | 3,121 | 25.19% | 12,387 |
| Duplin | 5,286 | 38.45% | 6,816 | 49.58% | 1,636 | 11.90% | 9 | 0.07% | -1,530 | -11.13% | 13,747 |
| Durham | 27,581 | 33.36% | 47,331 | 57.24% | 8,504 | 9.08% | 268 | 0.32% | -19,750 | -23.88% | 82,684 |
| Edgecombe | 6,275 | 31.92% | 11,174 | 56.84% | 2,175 | 11.06% | 33 | 0.17% | -4,899 | -24.92% | 19,657 |
| Forsyth | 52,787 | 45.40% | 49,006 | 42.15% | 14,262 | 12.27% | 219 | 0.19% | 3,781 | 3.25% | 116,274 |
| Franklin | 4,669 | 35.20% | 6,517 | 49.13% | 2,062 | 15.54% | 18 | 0.14% | -1,848 | -13.93% | 13,266 |
| Gaston | 34,714 | 56.51% | 19,121 | 31.12% | 7,490 | 12.19% | 110 | 0.18% | 15,593 | 25.39% | 61,435 |
| Gates | 1,158 | 30.20% | 2,206 | 57.54% | 466 | 12.15% | 4 | 0.10% | -1,048 | -27.34% | 3,834 |
| Graham | 1,919 | 49.51% | 1,551 | 40.02% | 403 | 10.40% | 3 | 0.08% | 368 | 9.49% | 3,876 |
| Granville | 4,538 | 37.42% | 6,178 | 50.94% | 1,321 | 10.89% | 91 | 0.75% | -1,640 | -13.52% | 12,128 |
| Greene | 2,180 | 38.03% | 2,768 | 48.29% | 780 | 13.61% | 4 | 0.07% | -588 | -10.26% | 5,732 |
| Guilford | 60,140 | 41.08% | 66,319 | 45.30% | 19,601 | 13.39% | 339 | 0.23% | -6,179 | -4.22% | 146,399 |
| Halifax | 5,769 | 32.40% | 9,960 | 55.94% | 2,047 | 11.50% | 28 | 0.16% | -4,191 | -23.54% | 17,804 |
| Harnett | 9,751 | 46.58% | 8,473 | 40.48% | 2,684 | 12.82% | 24 | 0.11% | 1,278 | 6.10% | 20,932 |
| Haywood | 7,292 | 34.71% | 10,385 | 49.43% | 3,303 | 15.72% | 29 | 0.14% | -3,093 | -14.72% | 21,009 |
| Henderson | 17,010 | 51.43% | 10,747 | 32.50% | 5,260 | 15.90% | 55 | 0.17% | 6,263 | 18.93% | 33,072 |
| Hertford | 2,208 | 28.78% | 4,609 | 60.08% | 846 | 11.03% | 9 | 0.12% | -2,401 | -31.30% | 7,672 |
| Hoke | 1,711 | 27.00% | 3,730 | 58.86% | 887 | 14.00% | 9 | 0.14% | -2,019 | -31.86% | 6,337 |
| Hyde | 740 | 32.34% | 1,206 | 52.71% | 340 | 14.86% | 2 | 0.09% | -466 | -20.37% | 2,288 |
| Iredell | 19,411 | 49.80% | 13,263 | 34.03% | 6,204 | 15.92% | 102 | 0.26% | 6,148 | 15.77% | 38,980 |
| Jackson | 4,275 | 36.99% | 5,753 | 49.78% | 1,516 | 13.12% | 14 | 0.12% | -1,478 | -12.79% | 11,558 |
| Johnston | 15,418 | 48.67% | 11,284 | 35.62% | 4,939 | 15.59% | 38 | 0.12% | 4,134 | 13.05% | 31,679 |
| Jones | 1,438 | 37.39% | 1,962 | 51.01% | 444 | 11.54% | 2 | 0.05% | -524 | -13.62% | 3,846 |
| Lee | 6,658 | 45.42% | 5,852 | 39.92% | 2,125 | 14.50% | 24 | 0.16% | 806 | 5.50% | 14,659 |
| Lenoir | 8,932 | 45.02% | 8,793 | 44.32% | 2,107 | 10.62% | 10 | 0.05% | 139 | 0.70% | 19,842 |
| Lincoln | 11,018 | 49.29% | 8,150 | 36.46% | 3,142 | 14.06% | 45 | 0.20% | 2,868 | 12.83% | 22,355 |
| Macon | 4,797 | 42.53% | 4,624 | 41.00% | 1,829 | 16.22% | 29 | 0.26% | 173 | 1.53% | 11,279 |
| Madison | 3,121 | 39.07% | 3,980 | 49.82% | 857 | 10.73% | 31 | 0.39% | -859 | -10.75% | 7,989 |
| Martin | 2,958 | 36.90% | 4,069 | 50.76% | 981 | 12.24% | 8 | 0.10% | -1,111 | -13.86% | 8,016 |
| McDowell | 6,090 | 45.81% | 5,309 | 39.93% | 1,881 | 14.15% | 15 | 0.11% | 781 | 5.88% | 13,295 |
| Mecklenburg | 99,496 | 43.57% | 97,065 | 42.50% | 31,283 | 13.70% | 531 | 0.23% | 2,431 | 1.07% | 228,375 |
| Mitchell | 4,405 | 62.79% | 1,727 | 24.62% | 877 | 12.50% | 6 | 0.09% | 2,678 | 38.17% | 7,015 |
| Montgomery | 3,543 | 38.67% | 4,422 | 48.27% | 1,185 | 12.94% | 11 | 0.12% | -879 | -9.60% | 9,161 |
| Moore | 12,448 | 46.81% | 9,649 | 36.29% | 4,448 | 16.73% | 46 | 0.17% | 2,799 | 10.52% | 26,591 |
| Nash | 14,446 | 48.34% | 10,809 | 36.17% | 4,544 | 15.20% | 87 | 0.29% | 3,637 | 12.17% | 29,886 |
| New Hanover | 24,338 | 46.67% | 20,291 | 38.91% | 7,401 | 14.19% | 124 | 0.24% | 4,047 | 7.76% | 52,154 |
| Northampton | 1,845 | 23.16% | 5,195 | 65.21% | 916 | 11.50% | 11 | 0.14% | -3,350 | -42.05% | 7,967 |
| Onslow | 11,842 | 48.70% | 8,045 | 33.08% | 4,387 | 18.04% | 44 | 0.18% | 3,797 | 15.62% | 24,318 |
| Orange | 13,009 | 27.50% | 28,595 | 60.45% | 5,535 | 11.70% | 161 | 0.34% | -15,586 | -32.95% | 47,300 |
| Pamlico | 1,929 | 38.77% | 2,229 | 44.80% | 809 | 16.26% | 8 | 0.16% | -300 | -6.03% | 4,975 |
| Pasquotank | 3,419 | 35.69% | 4,709 | 49.15% | 1,434 | 14.97% | 19 | 0.20% | -1,290 | -13.46% | 9,581 |
| Pender | 4,857 | 39.07% | 5,825 | 46.86% | 1,725 | 13.88% | 23 | 0.19% | -968 | -7.79% | 12,430 |
| Perquimans | 1,429 | 36.85% | 1,818 | 46.88% | 624 | 16.09% | 7 | 0.18% | -389 | -10.03% | 3,878 |
| Person | 4,460 | 43.60% | 4,323 | 42.26% | 1,431 | 13.99% | 16 | 0.16% | 137 | 1.34% | 10,230 |
| Pitt | 16,609 | 41.63% | 17,959 | 45.02% | 5,262 | 13.19% | 65 | 0.16% | -1,350 | -3.39% | 39,895 |
| Polk | 3,448 | 45.77% | 2,939 | 39.02% | 1,134 | 15.05% | 12 | 0.16% | 509 | 6.75% | 7,533 |
| Randolph | 20,697 | 53.20% | 11,274 | 28.98% | 6,870 | 17.66% | 61 | 0.16% | 9,423 | 24.22% | 38,902 |
| Richmond | 4,356 | 28.01% | 9,163 | 58.91% | 2,015 | 12.96% | 19 | 0.12% | -4,807 | -30.90% | 15,553 |
| Robeson | 7,777 | 25.52% | 19,378 | 63.59% | 3,277 | 10.75% | 42 | 0.14% | -11,601 | -38.07% | 30,474 |
| Rockingham | 12,678 | 40.54% | 13,880 | 44.39% | 4,671 | 14.94% | 40 | 0.13% | -1,202 | -3.85% | 31,269 |
| Rowan | 21,297 | 49.84% | 14,308 | 33.48% | 7,053 | 16.51% | 74 | 0.17% | 6,989 | 16.36% | 42,732 |
| Rutherford | 9,748 | 47.95% | 7,855 | 38.64% | 2,695 | 13.26% | 31 | 0.15% | 1,893 | 9.31% | 20,329 |
| Sampson | 8,007 | 43.12% | 8,698 | 46.84% | 1,852 | 9.97% | 11 | 0.06% | -691 | -3.72% | 18,568 |
| Scotland | 2,980 | 31.84% | 5,175 | 55.29% | 1,196 | 12.78% | 9 | 0.10% | -2,195 | -23.45% | 9,360 |
| Stanly | 11,030 | 50.91% | 7,735 | 35.70% | 2,855 | 13.18% | 44 | 0.20% | 3,295 | 15.21% | 21,664 |
| Stokes | 7,979 | 47.90% | 6,463 | 38.80% | 2,183 | 13.11% | 32 | 0.19% | 1,516 | 9.10% | 16,657 |
| Surry | 10,866 | 46.33% | 9,392 | 40.05% | 3,164 | 13.49% | 31 | 0.13% | 1,474 | 6.28% | 23,453 |
| Swain | 1,640 | 37.88% | 2,117 | 48.89% | 568 | 13.12% | 5 | 0.12% | -477 | -11.01% | 4,330 |
| Transylvania | 5,984 | 45.55% | 5,120 | 38.97% | 2,006 | 15.27% | 27 | 0.21% | 864 | 6.58% | 13,137 |
| Tyrrell | 553 | 33.03% | 928 | 55.44% | 189 | 11.29% | 4 | 0.24% | -375 | -22.41% | 1,674 |
| Union | 16,542 | 51.71% | 10,789 | 33.72% | 4,601 | 14.38% | 60 | 0.19% | 5,753 | 17.99% | 31,992 |
| Vance | 4,747 | 37.09% | 6,598 | 51.55% | 1,444 | 11.28% | 11 | 0.09% | -1,851 | -14.46% | 12,800 |
| Wake | 86,798 | 41.84% | 88,979 | 42.89% | 31,140 | 15.01% | 550 | 0.27% | -2,181 | -1.05% | 207,467 |
| Warren | 1,767 | 24.80% | 4,656 | 65.35% | 693 | 9.73% | 9 | 0.13% | -2,889 | -40.55% | 7,125 |
| Washington | 1,780 | 33.89% | 2,902 | 55.24% | 563 | 10.72% | 8 | 0.15% | -1,122 | -21.35% | 5,253 |
| Watauga | 7,899 | 41.09% | 8,262 | 42.98% | 3,007 | 15.64% | 57 | 0.30% | -363 | -1.89% | 19,225 |
| Wayne | 14,397 | 52.29% | 10,307 | 37.44% | 2,798 | 10.16% | 30 | 0.11% | 4,090 | 14.85% | 27,532 |
| Wilkes | 12,547 | 52.57% | 7,991 | 33.48% | 3,307 | 13.86% | 23 | 0.10% | 4,556 | 19.09% | 23,868 |
| Wilson | 10,176 | 44.36% | 10,105 | 44.06% | 2,630 | 11.47% | 26 | 0.11% | 71 | 0.30% | 22,937 |
| Yadkin | 7,311 | 56.34% | 3,913 | 30.15% | 1,725 | 13.29% | 28 | 0.22% | 3,398 | 26.19% | 12,977 |
| Yancey | 3,994 | 43.38% | 4,285 | 46.54% | 917 | 9.96% | 12 | 0.13% | -291 | -3.16% | 9,208 |
| Totals | 1,134,661 | 43.44% | 1,114,042 | 42.65% | 357,864 | 13.70% | 5,283 | 0.20% | 20,619 | 0.79% | 2,611,850 |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Alleghany
- Brunswick
- Buncombe
- Camden
- Chowan
- Cumberland
- Franklin
- Guilford
- Jackson
- Madison
- Montgomery
- Pamlico
- Pasquotank
- Pender
- Perquimans
- Pitt
- Rockingham
- Sampson
- Wake
- Watauga
- Yancey
Voter demographics
| The 1992 presidential vote by demographic subgroup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographic subgroup | Clinton | Bush | Perot | % of total vote | ||
| Total vote | 43 | 44 | 14 | 100 | ||
| Party | ||||||
| Republican | 7 | 84 | 9 | 37 | ||
| Independent | 38 | 36 | 26 | 18 | ||
| Democratic | 73 | 15 | 13 | 45 | ||
| Ideology | ||||||
| Liberals | 72 | 13 | 15 | 15 | ||
| Moderates | 49 | 35 | 16 | 47 | ||
| Conservatives | 20 | 69 | 10 | 38 | ||
| Gender | ||||||
| Men | 39 | 47 | 14 | 50 | ||
| Women | 46 | 41 | 13 | 50 | ||
| Race | ||||||
| White | 34 | 50 | 15 | 83 | ||
| Black | 91 | 5 | 3 | 17 | ||
| Education | ||||||
| High school graduate | 41 | 45 | 13 | 34 | ||
| Some college | 42 | 44 | 14 | 27 | ||
| College | 39 | 46 | 15 | 25 | ||
| Postgraduate work | 54 | 33 | 12 | 14 | ||
| Age | ||||||
| 18–29 years old | 41 | 43 | 15 | 22 | ||
| 30–44 years old | 43 | 42 | 15 | 33 | ||
| 45–59 years old | 40 | 47 | 13 | 25 | ||
| 60 and older | 49 | 43 | 9 | 16 | ||
| Income | ||||||
| Under $30,000 | 51 | 35 | 14 | 42 | ||
| $30,000–50,000 | 35 | 52 | 13 | 28 | ||
| Over $50,000 | 36 | 49 | 15 | 29 | ||
| Church attendance | ||||||
| Attend weekly | 39 | 50 | 11 | 51 | ||
| Attend less often | 47 | 38 | 17 | 49 | ||
Source: Vote Research and Survey (1,563 surveyed)
References
- "Voter Turnout". North Carolina State Board of Elections.
- "1992 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
- Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 185-186.
- Steed, Moreland & Baker 1994, p. 140.
- Sullivan, Robert David (June 29, 2016). "How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century". The National Catholic Review (America Magazine ed.).
- Steed, Moreland & Baker 1994, p. 151-152.
- "1992 Presidential General Election Data Graphs — North Carolina by County". Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas.
- "NC US President Race, November 03, 1992". Our Campaigns.
- Steed, Moreland & Baker 1994, pp. 147, 149.
Works cited
- Moreland, Laurence; Steed, Robert; Baker, Tod, eds. (1991). The 1988 Presidential Election in the South: Continuity Amidst Change in Southern Party Politics. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0275931455.
- Steed, Robert; Moreland, Laurence; Baker, Tod, eds. (1994). The 1992 Presidential Election in the South: Current Patterns of Southern Party and Electoral Politics. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0275945340.
| State and district results of the 1992 U.S. presidential election | ||
|---|---|---|
|  | |
| (1991 ←) 1992 United States elections (→ 1993) | |
|---|---|
| President | |
| U.S. Senate |
|
| U.S. House |
|
| Governors | |
| State legislatures |
|
| Mayors | |
| States |
|