Question about Clinton vs Bush vote totals

[LostInTheMaise]

I'm in an argument with a guest that claims Bush got more votes than Clinton. I have demanded it's false but would like some backup since there is a fin on the table.

[lancdem]

1. He did

but it's a red herring because Clinton had to face a well-funded third-party candidate in Perot.

Edit: A better approach is to tell him Gore got 540,000 more votes than Bush. That ought to shut him up.

[auburnblu]

2. Nader wasn't nearly as viable as Perot

Perot got a pretty substantial 19% of the votes in 1992, that number went down to maybe 6/7% in 1996, but still significant, I think the Green Party ended up with less than 2% in 2000.

What's ironic though is Perot didn't cause Bush or Dole to lose. Clinton got a few more votes than Dole and Perot combined in 1996. But we all know Nader's impact.

[lancdem]

3. I think Perot got around 8 percent in 1996

Nader's share of the vote was miniscule compared to Perot's, as you point out.

[Democrats unite]

4. What the hell are you all talking about?

Popular vote electorial vote

Clinton/Gore 44,909,806 43.01% 370 68.77%

Bush/Quale 39,104,550 37.45% 168 31.23%

Perot/Stockdale 19,743,821 18.91% 0 0.00%

Marrou/Lord 290,087 0.28% 0 0.00%

Other 375,458 0.36% 0 0.00%

[LostInTheMaise]

5. I was asking about the current bush (*) vs Clinton

Thanks for the other stats tho...

[leyton]

6. It's possible.

But in 1992, there was a lot of apathy about government in general (fueling Ross Perot's rise).

I think it's important to note that Clinton is Big Dog, and Dubya is just an idiot. :D

[LostInTheMaise]

7. Clinton is Big Dog, and Dubya is just an idiot

I can accept that idiom but I was looking to win a bet that Clinton got more votes both times than GWB got in 2000. I'm telling the betee that I won. Am I correct?

[pmbryant]

8. Looks like you lost your bet

Here's the data (from Dave Leip's Atlas of US Presidential Elections, link):

2000:

George W. Bush 50,459,621 47.87%
Albert Gore Jr. 51,003,357 48.38%

1996:

William Clinton 47,402,357 49.24%
Robert Dole 39,198,755 40.71%
H. Ross Perot 8,085,402 8.40%

1992:

William Clinton 44,909,806 43.01%
George Bush 39,104,550 37.45%
H. Ross Perot 19,743,821 18.91%

Going by absolute vote totals, GWB got more votes than Clinton got in either of his elections (though fewer than Al Gore of course).

Going by percentage, GWB got more than Clinton did in 1992, but less than Clinton did in 1996. (And of course less than Al Gore!).

EDIT: Of course, comparison of votes from one election year to another are completely meaningless. As evidence, Dukakis in 1988 received more votes than Jimmy Carter in 1976.

--Peter

[Yupster]

9. Wow

Don't feel bad. I would have lost that bet too. Probably most of us would have.