Electoral history of Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton served as the 42nd president of the United States (1993–2001) and as the 40th and 42nd governor of Arkansas (1979–1981; 1983–1992). A member of the Democratic Party, Clinton first ran for a public office in 1974, competing in the congressional election for Arkansas's 3rd congressional district. After narrowly losing to incumbent representative John Paul Hammerschmidt, he ran for the office of Arkansas Attorney General in 1976. He won the Democratic primary comfortably, receiving over 55% of the popular vote. Witnessing his strong support during the primaries, Republicans did not nominate a candidate to run against him. Clinton won the general election unopposed. His experience as the attorney general was considered a natural "stepping-stone" to the governorship.

After serving as attorney general, Clinton ran for governor of Arkansas in 1978. He defeated the Republican nominee to win the election. At age 32, became the nation's youngest governor in January 1979. He lost re-election to the Republican nominee Frank D. White in 1980. After leaving office in January 1981, Clinton self-deprecatingly referred to himself as "the youngest former governor in the history of the country".^[1] In 1982, he ran again in the gubernatorial election, defeating Governor White. He contested and won the 1984, 1986, and 1990 gubernatorial elections.

In 1992, Clinton contested the Democratic primaries for the presidential nomination. Initially trailing Jerry Brown in the polls, his lead eventually increased, and he became the front runner. After being the runner-up in the New Hampshire primary, he delivered a speech labeling himself as the "Comeback Kid", which re-energized his campaign. After becoming the presumptive nominee, he selected Al Gore, a senator from Tennessee as his running mate; the Clinton–Gore ticket defeated the incumbent, President George H. W. Bush, and Vice President Dan Quayle. In December 1992, he resigned as governor and became the 42nd president of the United States on January 20, 1993. As president, he signed the North American Free Trade Agreement into law. His handling of the federal budget and the Bosnian War likely helped him keep his approval ratings high, and most of the polls showed him leading throughout 1996. Facing no major challenge within the Democratic Party, Clinton and Gore were re-nominated as the presidential and vice-presidential candidates. In the 1996 presidential election, the Clinton–Gore ticket was re-elected, defeating Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole and vice-presidential nominee Jack Kemp.