Ross Perot 1992 presidential campaign

"Ross Perot presidential campaign" redirects here. For his 1996 campaign, see Ross Perot 1996 presidential campaign.

Ross Perot for President
Campaign1992 United States presidential election
CandidateRoss Perot
President and CEO of Perot Systems
(1988–1992)[1]
VADM James B. Stockdale
President of the Naval War College
(1977–1979)
AffiliationIndependent
StatusLost election: November 3, 1992
SloganRoss for Boss
I'm Ross, and you're the Boss!
Leadership for a Change

In 1992, Ross Perot ran unsuccessfully as an independent candidate for President of the United States. Perot was a Texas industrialist who had never served as a public official, but he had experience as the head of several successful corporations and had been involved in public affairs for the previous three decades. Grass-root organizations sprang up in every state to help Perot achieve ballot access following his announcement on the February 20, 1992, edition of Larry King Live. James Stockdale, a retired Navy vice admiral, was Perot's running mate.

Perot focused the campaign on his plans to balance the federal budget, further economic nationalism, strengthen the war on drugs, and implement "electronic town halls" throughout the nation for "direct democracy". His views were described as a combination of "East Texas populism with high-tech wizardry".[2] Supporters saw him as a non-political and witty "folk hero", but critics described him as "authoritarian"[3] and "short-tempered".[4]

Perot largely financed his own campaign and relied on marketing and wide grass roots support. In certain polls, he led the three-way race with Republican nominee George H. W. Bush, the incumbent President, and Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas, the Democratic nominee. He dropped out in July 1992 amid controversy, but re-entered in October, participating in all three presidential debates. His polling numbers never fully recovered from his initial exit, despite his aggressive use of commercials on prime-time television. Perot appeared on every state ballot as a result of the earlier draft efforts.

In the general election, Clinton defeated Bush while Perot carried no states and received no votes in the Electoral College. However, Perot won several counties, placed second in two states, and finished far ahead of any other candidate in third place overall, receiving close to 18.97 percent of the popular vote, the most won by a non-major-party presidential candidate since Theodore Roosevelt in 1912.[5] Perot remains the only non-major-party presidential candidate since George C. Wallace in 1968 both to win counties and to finish as high as second place in any state.

  1. ^ Hayes, Thomas (June 4, 1992). "The 1992 Campaign: Advisors – Morton H. Meyerson; The Team Perot Picked To Head His Campaign". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Dunham, Richard S.; Douglas Harbrecht (April 6, 1992). "Is Perot after the Presidency, or the President?". Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on June 30, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  3. ^ "Republican leader assails Ross Perot as a 'demagogue'". Reading Eagle. Reading, Pennsylvania: The Washington Post. May 22, 1992. p. A4. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  4. ^ Gilbert and King, p. 213
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference rapoport4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).