New Hampshire Democratic primary, 1992

The 1992 New Hampshire Democratic primary was won by Paul Tsongas, but is known for the insurgent campaign of Bill Clinton, who managed a surprising second place finish.

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 percent, Paul Tsongas with 17 percent, 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]

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 left New Hampshire with an increase in momentum in the remaining primaries,^[3] which would help him win the nomination. Clinton became the first president elected despite not winning the New Hampshire primary, a feat since duplicated by George W. Bush in 2000 and Barack Obama in 2008.

Results

• 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%)
• William Horrigan, Jr.: 53 (0.03%)
• Dean Adams Curtis: 43 (0.03%)
• Stephen Burke: 39 (0.02%)
• Gilbert H. Holmes: 39 (0.02%)
• Ron Kovic: 36 (0.02%)
• Rufus T. Higginbotham: 31 (0.02%)
• Chris Norton: 31 (0.02%)
• Rose Monyek: 29 (0.02%)
• James Bryant Gay, Jr.: 28 (0.02%)
• Barry J. Deutsch: 26 (0.02%)
• Cyril E. Sagan: 26 (0.02%)
• Edward T. O'Donnell, Jr.: 24 (0.01%)
• Tom Shiekman: 23 (0.01%)
• Stephen H. Schwartz: 17 (0.01%)
• George W. Benns: 12 (0.01%)
• Nathan J. Averick: 7 (0.00%)

Source: Our Campaigns

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Carville, James (December 16, 2007). "The Comeback Kid". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/12/16/the_comeback_kid/. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Maraniss, David (1996). First In His Class: A Biography Of Bill Clinton. Touchstone. ISBN 0684818906. 
3. ^ Toner, Robin (February 20, 1992). "THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: New Hampshire; Democratic Candidates' Next Three Weeks: a Scramble Around America". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE2DD1F3FF933A15751C0A964958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved May 20, 2010.