1996 United States presidential election

The 1996 United States presidential election was the 53rd quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 12, 1996. Republican incumbent Harvey Jones of Louisiana defeated Democratic senator Casey Booker in a landslide victory.

As he was unopposed in the Republican primary, incumbent Harvey Jones was renominated for the presidency along with Arlene Antonio-Song. Meanwhile, in the Democratic primary, Casey Booker, a senator and the 1992 Democratic vice presidential nominee, had defeated New York City mayor Alexis Mulgrave and selected U.S. Representative Jacky Cameron as his running mate.

A constitutional crisis was caused due to a conflict with the election's previously scheduled date and the text of the Constitution that says elections must take place on the second Saturday of every other month. Due to this constitutional crisis and the proposal of the 28th Amendment, the election had to be postponed for one week in order to end the crisis.

Jones was consistently victorious in national polls and thus was predicted to win the election by many political scholars. He defeated Booker in the biggest landslide victory since 1984, winning 446 electoral votes and 67.4% of the popular vote. He was sworn in on January 20, 1997.

Republican Party
Incumbents Harvey Jones and Arlene Antonio-Song were unopposed in the Republican primaries and were thus automatically nominated for the presidency and vice presidency, respectively.

Democratic Party
Following Hillary Rodham's defeat in the previous election, the Democratic Party had a slew of leaders and potential presidential candidates in 1996. It was widely speculated that multiple Democrats would run for the nomination, but only four ended up running. Casey Booker, who was the party's vice presidential nominee in 1992, eventually became the nominee and chose U.S. Representative Jacky Cameron as his running mate.

Lost nomination

 * Alexis Mulgrave, 107th Mayor of New York City since 1994

Withdrew before primaries

 * Sterling Johnson, U.S. Senator from the Northwest from 1994 to 1995; 12th United States Deputy Secretary of State from 1993 to 1994
 * Joseph Smith, 47th Governor of Michigan since 1993

Declined to run

 * Hillary Rodham, 54th Governor of New York in 1993; Democratic presidential nominee in 1992
 * Rodham's announcement of her indefinite retirement from the simulation has been credited as a declination of a candidacy in 1996.
 * Claire Serrano, 64th United States Secretary of State since 1994; U.S. Senator from the Northwest since 1993; Senate Majority Whip from 1993 to 1994; Democratic presidential candidate in 1992

Independent candidates
Although there has never been a successful independent candidacy for president, three independent candidates ran for president in 1996. All candidates have since withdrawn from the race.

Withdrew before election

 * Bradley Scott, 80th Attorney General of the United States since 1996; 17th Chief Justice of the United States from 1993 to 1996
 * Jimmy Choo, U.S. Senator from the South from 1993 to 1995; 50th Governor of Alabama from 1991 to 1993
 * Avery Young, U.S. Representative from the 1st district since 1993