1992 Democratic presidential primary
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The 1992 Democratic presidential primary chose the Democratic nominee for the general election.
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Candidates
- Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown Jr., former governor of California
- William J. Clinton, governor of Arkansas (nominee)
- Thomas R. Harkin, U.S. senator from Iowa
- J. Robert Kerrey, U.S. senator from Nebraska
- Paul M. Simon, U.S. senator from Illinois
- Paul E. Tsongas, former U.S. senator from Massachusetts
- L. Douglas Wilder, governor of Virginia
History
The 1992 election was thought to be nearly unwinable by many Democrats. President George Herbert Walker Bush was extremely popular after the Gulf War and the nation's poor economy did not seem to hurt his record popularity. Thus many of the most noted Democrats, such as Mario Cuomo and Dick Gephardt, stayed out of the election and the contestants became known as the "Seven Dwarfs" (a sarcastic reference to the Disney movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) as none was extremely well known.
Harkin had an early victory in his home state of Iowa, a contest that was largely uncontested by the other candidates, but fared poorly elsewhere. Tsongas emerged as the early front runner and won the New Hampshire Primary. During the summer of 1991 Clinton had been polling strongly, but a collection of sex scandals exploded and during the winter he plummeted to single digit support. After finishing as surprise strong second New Hampshire he was proclaimed to be the "comeback kid" and gained a great deal of momentum. Meanwhile, Tsongas became plagued by questions about his health. Clinton eventually won a major victory in Illinois and swept the rest of the country. Brown emerged as the liberal alternative to Clinton towards the end, but was ultimately unsuccessful.
Outside resources
The story of the race was covered in the film The War Room and fictionalized into the novel and film Primary Colors.
External links
- Democrats 1992 (http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/8088/Dem1992.html)