Who ran against Bill Clinton in 1996?

Ohio was won by incumbent United States President Bill Clinton of Arkansas, who was running against Kansas Senator Bob Dole. Clinton ran a second time with former Tennessee Senator Al Gore as Vice President, and Dole ran with former New York Congressman Jack Kemp.

1996 United States presidential election in Ohio

The 1996 United States presidential election in Ohio took place on November 5, 1996. All fifty states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1996 United States presidential election. Ohio voters chose twenty-one electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

Ohio weighed in for this election as 2% more third-party than the national average.

The presidential election of 1996 was a very multi-partisan election for Ohio, with over 11% of the electorate voting for third-party candidates. Most counties in the state turned out more for Dole than Clinton. Two notable exceptions to this trend were Cleveland's Cuyahoga County, and residents of several counties on the Eastern border with Pennsylvania, who voted largely for Clinton.

In his second bid for the presidency, Ross Perot led the newly reformed Reform Party to gain over 10% of the votes in Ohio, and to pull in support nationally as the most popular third-party candidate to run for United States Presidency in recent times.

, this is the last election in which the following counties voted for a Democratic presidential candidate: Columbiana, Harrison, Hocking, Jackson, Lawrence, Meigs, Perry, Pike, Scioto, Vinton, Carroll, Gallia, Guernsey, Huron, Noble, Ross, and Seneca.

Clinton's handling of the budget and the Bosnian War improved his approval ratings, and his own polling showed him consistently leading Republican challengers throughout 1996. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole defeated Pat Buchanan and publisher Steve Forbes in the 1996 Republican primaries, and Dole was formally nominated at the August 1996 Republican National Convention. At the convention, Dole selected conservative former Congressman Jack Kemp and announced that he favored a 15% across-the-board income tax cut. Perot ran for president again, this time as a member of the Reform Party.

Presidency of Bill Clinton

The presidency of Bill Clinton began at noon EST on January 20, 1993, when Bill Clinton was inaugurated as the 42nd President of the United States, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat, took office following a decisive victory over Republican incumbent President George H. W. Bush and Independent businessman Ross Perot in the 1992 presidential election. Four years later, in the 1996 election, he defeated Perot and Republican Bob Dole to win re-election. He was succeeded by Republican George W. Bush, who won the 2000 presidential election.

The nation experienced an extended period of economic prosperity during the Clinton presidency. Months into his first term, he signed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, which raised taxes and set the stage for future budget surpluses. He won ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement, a trade pact negotiated by President George H. W. Bush among the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Clinton's most ambitious legislative initiative, a plan to provide universal health care, never received a vote in Congress as he was unable to win sufficient congressional support for the policy. Clinton's party suffered a strong rebuke in the 1994 elections, and Republicans took control of both houses of Congress for the first time since the 1950s. The "Republican Revolution," as the 1994 elections came to be known, empowered Congressional Republicans led by Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich to propose several conservative policies. While Clinton vetoed many of these policies, he also signed some, including the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act. Disagreements with Congressional Republicans led to two shutdowns of the federal government between 1995 and 1996. In foreign policy, Clinton's first term saw American interventions in Somalia, Haiti, and the Balkans. Clinton also appointed two Supreme Court Justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.

Clinton's second term saw the first federal budget surpluses since the 1960s, but was partially overshadowed by his impeachment in 1998. His impeachment arose after he denied having an affair with a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. Though the House of Representatives voted to impeach Clinton, he was acquitted of all charges by the Senate. In 1997, Clinton signed into law a bill creating the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which was designed to help provide health care coverage for millions of children. In 1999, he signed the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act, which allowed for the consolidation of investment and commercial banks. In foreign policy, Clinton launched a major bombing campaign in the Balkans, which led to the creation of a United Nations protectorate in Kosovo. He played a major role of the expansion of NATO into former Eastern Bloc countries but remained on good terms with Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Clinton also pursued closer trade relations with several countries, most notably China.

Clinton left office with high approval ratings, though his preferred successor, Vice President Al Gore, was narrowly defeated by Texas Governor George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election. Since the end of Clinton's presidency, historians and political scientists have tended to rank Clinton as an average to above average president.

President George H. W. Bush's popularity in the aftermath of the successful Gulf War convinced many prominent Democrats to sit out the 1992 presidential election. With party leaders like Mario Cuomo and Dick Gephardt out of the running, the 1992 Democratic primary field consisted of relatively unknown candidates. Among those who sought the Democratic nomination were former Senator Paul Tsongas of Massachusetts, former Governor Jerry Brown of California, and Bill Clinton, who had served as the Governor of Arkansas since 1983. Clinton emerged as the front-runner for the nomination after the first set of primaries in February 1992. A founding member of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, Clinton overcome opposition from more liberal Democrats like Brown and clinched the Democratic nomination in April 1992.

Bush defeated a challenge from conservative commentator Pat Buchanan to win his party's nomination. Along with Bush and Clinton, independent candidate Ross Perot emerged as a major factor in the race. Perot, a billionaire businessman from Texas, ran a populist campaign that focused on voters disillusioned with both parties. Perot emphasized his opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement and his desire to balance the federal budget. Polls taken in early June 1992 showed Bush leading the race, followed by Perot and then Clinton. From July to September, Perot temporarily dropped out of the race, causing severe damage to his candidacy. At the 1992 Democratic National Convention, Clinton chose Senator Al Gore of Tennessee as his running mate, and the successful convention helped unify Democrats behind Clinton. While the 1992 Republican National Convention placed a heavy emphasis on social issues, Clinton's campaign focused on the state of the economy, which was still emerging from the early 1990s recession. Bill Clinton ran on school choice, balanced budget amendment, opposing illegal immigration and NAFTA.

On election day, Clinton won 43% of the popular vote and a wide majority in the Electoral College. Bush won 37.4% of the popular vote, while Perot took 18.9%, the strongest showing by a third party or independent presidential candidate since the 1912 election. Later studies showed that Perot drew his voters roughly equally from Clinton and Bush. Clinton's victory included a sweep of the Northeastern United States, and he also won several states in the Midwest, the West, and the South. In the concurrent congressional elections, Democrats retained control of both houses of Congress.

Clinton used his inaugural address to deal with his uncertain mandate from the voters and lack of national experience. He drew heavily upon his lifelong study of the Protestant Bible, his education at Catholic Georgetown University, and the inaugural addresses of Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, John Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, and Woodrow Wilson.

Mack McLarty, a long-time friend of Clinton who had led a successful business career and had served as the chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party, became Clinton's first chief of staff. Clinton convinced Lloyd Bentsen, a longtime Senator from Texas and the 1988 Democratic vice presidential nominee, to serve as his first Secretary of the Treasury. At the start of Clinton's first term, Bentsen, OMB Director Leon Panetta, Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, and policy coordinator Robert Rubin were Clinton's top economic advisers.

Clinton's first term foreign policy team was led by National Security Advisor Anthony Lake and Secretary of State Warren Christopher, both of whom had served in the Carter administration. Vice President Gore and First Lady Hillary Clinton emerged as two of the most influential figures of the Clinton administration, and Clinton solicited their opinions on a wide range of issues.

Clinton decided to appoint the first female Attorney General, settling on little-known corporate lawyer Zoë Baird. In what became known as the Nannygate matter, the Senate Judiciary Committee revealed that Baird had hired a Peruvian couple, both illegal immigrants, to work in her home. Baird withdrew her nomination and Clinton next chose Kimba Wood, who was quickly forced to withdraw due to somewhat similar problems. Janet Reno, a Florida state's attorney, was nominated for Attorney General a few weeks later, and she won confirmation in March 1993. After experiencing difficulty with these nominations, as well as that of Lani Guinier, Clinton brought in David Gergen, who had previously served in Republican administrations, to serve as Counselor to the President. Secretary of Defense Les Aspin resigned in the aftermath of the Battle of Mogadishu, and was succeeded by William Perry. Bentsen and McLarty also left office in 1994, and they were replaced by Rubin and Panetta, respectively.

After Clinton's re-election, Panetta stepped down and was replaced by former deputy chief of staff Erskine Bowles. Madeleine Albright became the first female Secretary of State, Sandy Berger succeeded Lake as National Security Adviser, and former Republican Senator William Cohen became the Secretary of Defense. According to reporter John Harris,
Berger's close rapport with Clinton made him the leading foreign policy figure of Clinton's second term, as well as the most influential National Security Advisor since Henry Kissinger. John Podesta assumed the position of Chief of Staff in 1998, while Lawrence Summers replaced Rubin as Treasury Secretary in 1999.

Clinton appointed two justices to the Supreme Court. The first vacancy arose in March 1993, when Associate Justice Byron White informed Clinton of his impending retirement. Clinton considered various nominating political leaders like Mario Cuomo and Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, whom he believed could become leaders on the court in a similar fashion to Earl Warren. After weeks of consideration, Clinton began to favor appointing an experienced jurist, and he conducted interviews with Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, both of whom served as federal appellate judges. Clinton announced Ginsburg's nomination in June 1993 and she was confirmed by the Senate two months later, making her the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court after Sandra Day O'Connor. Harry Blackmun retired in 1994, and Clinton successfully nominated Breyer to succeed Blackmun. The appointments did not greatly affect the ideological balance of the Rehnquist Court, as conservatives continued to hold a narrow majority on the Supreme Court.

Clinton also appointed 66 judges to the United States Courts of Appeals and 305 judges to the United States district courts. Among Clinton's appellate appointees were future Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, as well as Merrick Garland, who was nominated to the Supreme Court in 2016.

Clinton inherited major budget deficits left over from the Reagan and Bush administrations; fiscal year 1992 had seen a $290 billion deficit. In order to cut the deficit, Bentsen, Panetta, and Rubin urged Clinton to pursue both tax increases and spending cuts. They argued that by taming the deficit, Clinton would encourage Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan to lower interest rates, which, along with increased confidence among investors, would lead to an economic boom. Some of Clinton's advisers also believed that a focus on cutting the deficit would be politically beneficial, since it would potentially help Democrats shed their supposed "tax and spend" reputation. Though Secretary of Labor Robert Reich argued that stagnant earnings as a bigger economic issue than the deficits, Clinton decided to pursue deficit reduction as the major economic priority of his first year in office. In doing so, he reluctantly abandoned a middle class tax cut that he had championed during the campaign.

Clinton presented his budget plan to Congress in February 1993, proposing a mix of tax increases and spending reductions that would cut the deficit in half by 1997. Republican leaders strongly opposed any tax increase, and they pressured congressional Republicans to unite in opposition to Clinton's budget, and not a single Republican would vote in favor of Clinton's proposed bill. Senate Democrats eliminated the implementation of a new energy tax in favor of an increase in the gasoline tax, but Clinton successfully resisted efforts to defeat his proposed expansion of the earned income tax credit. By narrow margins, the Senate and the House of Representatives both passed versions of Clinton's budget bill, and a conference committee settled the differences between the House and Senate. The House passed the final bill in a 218–216 vote. After intensely lobbying Bob Kerrey and other Democratic senators, Clinton won passage of his bill in the Senate in 50–50 tie vote; Vice President Gore broke the tie. Clinton signed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (OBRA–93) into law on August 10, 1993. The bill provided for $255 billion in spending cuts over a five-year period, with much of those cuts affecting Medicare and the military. It also provided for $241 billion in new revenue over five years; most of that revenue came from an increased gasoline tax or from higher taxes on those who made over $100,000 per year.

After Republicans took control of Congress in the 1994 elections, incoming Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich promised a conservative "revolution" that would implement tax cuts, welfare reform, and major domestic spending cuts. Gingrich failed to deliver major conservative reforms in the first hundred days of the 104th Congress, but many observers continued to wonder if the Speaker would seize stewardship over domestic policy from the office of the president. Meanwhile, with conservatism on the rise and New Deal liberalism in retreat, Clinton hoped to forge a new consensus that did not totally reject government interventionism. In reaction to his party's electoral defeat, Clinton hired consultant Dick Morris, who advocated that Clinton pursue a policy of triangulation between conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats. By co-opting some of Republican ideas, Morris argued that Clinton could boost his own popularity while blocking the possibility of the drastic reforms advocated by some conservatives.

The Republican Congress presented Clinton with a budget plan that cut Medicare spending and instituted major tax cuts for the wealthy, giving him a November 14, 1995 deadline to approve the bill. After the deadline, the government would be forced to temporarily shut down due to a lack of funding. In reaction, Clinton presented his own plan that did not include spending cuts to Medicare, but would balance the budget by 2005. As Clinton refused to sign the Republican bill, major portions of the government suspended operations until Congress enacted a stopgap measure. The government shut down again on December 16 after Clinton vetoed a Republican budget proposal that would have extended tax cuts to the wealthy, cut spending on social programs, and shifted control of Medicaid to the states. After 21-day government shutdown, Republicans, in danger of being seen as extremists by many in the public, accepted Clinton's budget.

Combined with a strong economy, the 1993 deficit reduction plan produced smaller budget deficits each year. With the improving state of the federal budget, Clinton and congressional Republicans reached a budget agreement in 1997 that provided for relatively small changes to the budget. In 1998, the federal government experienced the first budget surplus since the 1960s. Reflecting the importance of the budget surplus, the "New York Times" described the end of budget deficits as "the fiscal equivalent of the fall of the Berlin Wall." Though Republican leaders called for large tax cuts in light of the budgetary surplus, Clinton successfully resisted any major budgetary changes in the last three years of his term. In 1997, Clinton agreed to a deal with Republicans that lowered the tax rate on capital gains to 18 percent, implemented a $500 child tax credit, increased funding for children's health care, and raised the federal cigarette tax from 24 cents per pack to 39 cents per pack. Republicans did, however, block some of Clinton's favored policies, including an increase of the federal minimum wage and legislation designed to provide prescription drugs to seniors.

When Clinton took office, approximately twenty percent of American adults lacked health insurance, despite the fact that the United States spent more on health care than other developed countries. Many liberals advocated the establishment of a single-payer healthcare system similar to that of Canada, while a group of congressional Republicans developed a plan consisting of government subsidies and the implementation of a mandate that would require individuals to purchase health insurance. The administration formed a task force, led by First Lady Hillary Clinton, that was charged with creating a plan that would provide for universal health care. Though Hillary Clinton had led a similar effort on education reform in Arkansas, the appointment of the president's wife to such a major position sparked controversy. Rejecting calls for a single-payer system, Clinton proposed a health care plan based on the extension of employer-based health insurance. Individuals not insured by employers would be insured by the government. The plan would also expand the government's regulatory role in a concept known as "managed competition," with the government setting a minimum level of benefits that each plan could provide. Additionally, the plan would prevent insurers from charging different rates to customers based on age and pre-existing conditions.

After winning the passage of OBRA–93 and the ratification of NAFTA in 1993, Clinton made health care his major area of legislative focus in 1994. Though many corporations supported Clinton's health care proposal in hopes of reducing their own costs, several other groups strongly objected to the plan. Liberals criticized Clinton for not proposing more far-reaching reforms, while conservatives attacked the expansion of government. Interest groups ran ad campaigns alleging that the Clinton health care bill would lead to health care rationing, reduced choices, and increased costs. The Health Insurance Association of America's "Harry and Louise" ad campaign proved especially important in influencing the public against the Clinton health care bill. Meanwhile, Congressmen Newt Gingrich and columnist Bill Kristol convinced congressional Republicans to resist any form of compromise. Clinton's decision not to engage congressional Democrats and moderate Republicans early in 1993, and his own refusal to compromise on various aspects of the bill, further damaged any hope of passing a major health care bill. With Republicans unified against his plan, and with his own party divided, Clinton decided to abandon health care reform in September 1994.

Within a month of taking office, Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. The act, which had been vetoed twice by Bush, guaranteed workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid medical leave for certain medical and family reasons, including pregnancy.

In August 1996, Clinton signed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The bipartisan bill granted people the right to keep their insurance plan if they changed jobs, and also contained several other health care reforms. In October 1996, Senator Ted Kennedy introduced a bill to provide health care coverage for children of the working poor, to be financed via a 75 cents a pack cigarette tax increase. Working with Clinton and Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, Kennedy won passage of the Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997.

Shortly after the end of the government shutdown, Clinton announced his plan to pursue major changes to the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, which provided financial assistance to low-income families with children. Clinton believed that the program inadvertently trapped many poor families and individuals in a cycle of poverty, and he favored shifting funding from AFDC to job training and child care programs. Republicans shared Clinton's goal of making major changes to the welfare system, but they were unwilling to fund the job training programs and wanted to prevent legal immigrants from receiving welfare benefits. Clinton twice vetoed Republican plans that terminated AFDC, but he ultimately decided that he favored the Republican reform plan over no reform at all. In July 1996, Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, which terminated AFDC. In its place, the bill created the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which imposed new work requirements for and lifetime limits on aid recipients, and shifted responsibility for the administration of the programs to the states. Due in part to the improving economy and the expansion of the earned income tax credit, the number of Americans receiving cash public assistance declined from 12.2 million in 1996 to 5.3 million in 2001.

Clinton presided over a "Goldilocks economy," a period of low inflation and low unemployment. During the 1990s, the Dow Jones Industrial Average quadrupled, and the share of families with investments in stocks rose from 32 percent in 1989 to 51 percent in 2001. Income inequality also grew, as the richest households earned a higher proportion of the total income. Nonetheless, median household income, adjusted for inflation to 2000 dollars, grew from $38,262 in 1995 to $42,151 in 2000. By 2000, the unemployment rate had declined to four percent, while the poverty rate had declined to 11.3 percent.

David Greenberg, a professor of history and media studies at Rutgers University, opined that:
Clinton proposed a $30 billion economic stimulus package in his first year in office, but his proposal was blocked by Senate Republicans, and he would be unable to win the passage of any similar proposal for the remainder of his presidency. Clinton held office at a time when monetarism had supplanted Keynesianism as the dominant theory of economic growth among many in Washington. Under the theory of monetarism, Clinton's fiscal policies would have relatively little impact on the economy. Instead, monetarists contended that the economy was guided by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, a group of appointed officials who set monetary policy. Throughout Clinton's presidency, Alan Greenspan served as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and he emerged as an especially prominent public figure as the economy improved in mid-to-late 1990s. Though much of the credit for the strong economy was assigned to Greenspan, the Clinton administration also basked in the approval of Americans who enjoyed the benefits of a strong economy, and good economic conditions helped Clinton remain popular despite controversies over his personal life.

Clinton presided over a period of deregulation in the telecommunications and financial industries. In 1999, Clinton signed into law the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act (GLBA). The act repealed a provision of the Glass–Steagall Act that had required banks to either classify themselves as either commercial bank, which were subject to federal oversight and protections like deposit insurance, or as investment banks, which faced less regulations but did not benefit from federal protections. The financial services industry and its allies had attempted to repeal this provision of the GLBA since the 1980s, and they were finally successful due to cooperation from Secretary of the Treasury Rubin and other members of the Clinton administration, who believed that the U.S. financial industry needed looser regulation in order for it to remain competitive. The bill passed both houses of Congress with only minimal resistance. Opposition to the plan came primarily from liberals like Senator Paul Wellstone, who feared that looser banking regulations would lead to financial crises.

Shortly before leaving office, Clinton signed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, which deregulated trading of derivatives. The bill also included the "Enron loophole," which lessened regulation of energy trading by companies such as Enron. Clinton also signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which represented the first major overhaul of the Communications Act of 1934.

Clinton supported the right of homosexual individuals to serve in the military, and, along with Secretary of Defense Les Aspin, he developed a plan that would allow openly gay individuals to serve in the military. Clinton's proposal received strong pushback from military leaders, especially Marine Commandant Carl Epting Mundy Jr. In response, General Colin Powell suggested a compromise solution in which the military would not ask recruits about their sexual orientation, but would retain the right to discharge those who were gay. Clinton resisted the compromise policy, which became known as "don't ask, don't tell," but congressional leaders of both parties made it clear that they would reverse any executive order allowing gay individuals to openly serve in the military. Clinton ultimately accepted the don't ask, don't tell policy, and over the ensuing ten years approximately 10,000 people were discharged from the military after they revealed their homosexuality. In September 1996, Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, which denied federal recognition to same-sex marriages.

On taking office, Clinton revoked a gag order that had prevented abortion counseling in federally funded clinics. He also signed an executive order allowing the use of fetal tissue in medical research. These early policies moves signaled Clinton's break with the socially conservative policies of his predecessors. Clinton also signed the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which made it a federal crime to obstruct abortion clinics and places of worship.

In November 1993, Clinton signed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which required a background check for gun purchasers. In 1994, Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which included a provision known as the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act provided funding for 100,000 local law enforcement officials, and established a federal three-strikes law that enhanced criminal penalties for repeat offenders. The Federal Assault Weapons Ban barred the sale of several kinds of semi-automatic assault rifles, but the provision did not apply to the 1.5 million semi-automatic assault rifles already in the possession of private owners, nor did it affect other types of guns.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, enacted by Clinton on October 21, 1998, served as the first significant amendment to the Copyright Act since 1976. The DMCA provided a framework for sound recording copyright owners and recording artists to seek public performance royalties under statute, which proved to be a landmark achievement for the recording industry. The law included a provision reiterating the "fair use" of copyrighted materials, and another provision that exempted internet service providers from responsibility for inadvertently transmitting copyrighted works. That same month, Clinton also signed the Copyright Term Extension Act, which retroactively extended copyright protection an extra twenty years.

Responding to declining home-ownership rates for low-income families, Clinton sought to reform the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) to encourage banks to make loans to inhabitants of low-income areas. The administration implemented new rules that would prevent banks from expanding if they failed to meet benchmarks for loans to low-income areas. Between 1993 and 1998, CRA lending increased at a faster rate than other loans, and home values in many CRA areas rose. Banks implemented new strategies designed to cater to lower-income borrowers, including the adjustable-rate mortgage. This effort was part of a broader initiative, the National Homeownership Strategy, which helped increase the share of Americans who owned their own homes from 64 percent to 67.4 percent during Clinton's presidency. Many of the sub-prime mortgages that allowed Americans to purchase homes would later play a role in sparking the Financial crisis of 2007–2008.

Clinton took office less than two years after the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, which marked the end of the Cold War. With the end of that long-standing geopolitical conflict, trade became an increasingly prominent issue in international politics, as countries sought reduced tariffs and other trade agreements. Clinton believed that globalization would promote economic prosperity and democratization throughout the world, and he pursued several major trade agreements. President Bush had signed the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico in the final year of his term, but the agreement had not yet been ratified when Clinton took office. Opposition to NAFTA crossed party lines, as organized labor allies like Democratic Congressman Dick Gephardt and conservative isolationists like Pat Buchanan both opposed ratification. With the fate of NAFTA still uncertain in the House of Representatives, Vice President Gore met Ross Perot in a televised debate on CNN. Gore's strong performance in the debate, as well as the Clinton administration's effective lobbying campaign, helped NAFTA win ratification in November 1993.

In total, the Clinton administration negotiated approximately 300 trade agreements with other countries. By granting China temporary most favoured nation status in 1993, his administration minimized tariff levels in Chinese imports. Clinton initially conditioned extension of this status on Chinese human rights reforms, but ultimately decided to extend the status despite a lack of reform. In 2000, Clinton signed a bill granting permanent normal trade relations to China, and American imports from China massively increased in the subsequent years. Clinton's last treasury secretary, Lawrence Summers, argued that Clinton's trade policies were technically "the largest tax cut in the history of the world" in that they reduced prices on consumer goods by lowering tariffs. Clinton's advocacy of trade agreements sparked a backlash among those who were opposed to various aspects of globalization and believed that the ratification of NAFTA had led to domestic manufacturing job losses. A 1999 WTO meeting in Seattle was overshadowed by major protests that descended into violence.

Unrest in Somalia had escalated into a full-scale civil war in 1991, and President Bush had dispatched 25,000 U.S. soldiers to the country to join a United Nations peacekeeping mission. By the late 1993, Somalia remained in a state of civil war, and 4,000 U.S. soldiers still served in the UN peacekeeping mission. In October 1993, U.S. special forces launched a raid on Mogadishu with the intention of capturing warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid, who had led attacks against U.N. forces. The raid ended in failure and in the deaths of eighteen Americans. The incident proved embarrassing for the Clinton administration, as many Americans questioned the presence of U.S. soldiers in Somalia. After Somali leaders signed a peace agreement in early 1994, Clinton removed U.S. forces from the country.

The experience in Somalia exacerbated internal debates around the role of U.S. military power in the Post–Cold War era. In a victory for those who favored non-intervention, the Clinton administration placed new limits on the deployment of U.S. troops, especially as part of U.N. peacekeeping missions. In April 1994, the Hutu of Rwanda engaged in a genocide against the minority Tutsi, killing 800,000 people in a three-month span. The UN sent a small force to provide aid, but the U.S., with no strategic or economic interest in the country, did not intervene. Clinton would later describe the non-intervention in Rwanda as the worst mistake of his administration.

A military junta in Haiti had ousted the country's democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, in 1991. Clinton was inclined to restore Aristide, in part due to stem the flow of Haitians fleeing to the U.S., but many Americans opposed a military intervention in a country that posed not threat to the United States. Despite congressional and public opposition, Clinton announced in September 1994 that the United States would remove the junta if it did not voluntarily relinquish power. At the same time, he sent a peace mission consisting of Powell, former President Jimmy Carter, and Senator Sam Nunn to convince the military government to step aside. As U.S. soldiers prepared to launch a strike against Haiti, the military government agreed to restore Aristide.

During the closing stages of the Cold War, Serbian nationalist Slobodan Milošević took power as the leader of the Socialist Republic of Serbia. His nationalist policies alienated leaders of the other constituent countries of Yugoslavia, a multi-ethnic state that had been established in 1918. Slovenia, Croatia, and the Republic of Macedonia each declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, but Serbian forces forcefully opposed Croatia's independence, beginning the Yugoslav Wars. In 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina also declared independence. As in Croatia, a significant minority of Serbs opposed to independence lived in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Bosnian War began between proponents and opponents of independence. ethnic cleansing campaigns
conducted by Bosnian Serbs provoked world condemnation, and the issue of whether to intervene in the Balkan Wars posed one of the greatest foreign policy questions as Clinton took office. Activists such Elie Wiesel pressured Clinton to help put an end to the ethnic cleansing, and Clinton himself wanted to do something to end the violence. General Colin Powell, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, convinced Clinton to abstain from a military intervention, arguing that the United States should not become involved in a region in which it lacked clear strategic interests.

In May 1994, after Serb forces invaded safe zones established by the United Nations Protection Force, Clinton authorized air strikes against Serb positions. The air strikes did not end Serb advances, and in July 1995 over 8,000 Bosniaks were killed in the Srebrenica massacre. Clinton and National Security Adviser Anthony Lake formulated a plan to end the genocide in Bosnia, with the key part of the plan being a major NATO air campaign against the Bosnian Serbs. After Clinton won the support of European leaders for the campaign, NATO launched Operation Deliberate Force. In reaction to bombing campaign and the advance of Bosniak forces, Milošević agreed to begin peace talks. The subsequent Dayton Agreement ended the Bosnian War and divided Bosnia into two autonomous regions.

In 1998, the Kosovo War broke out in Kosovo, an autonomous province of Serbia. A group of ethnic Albanians known as the Kosovo Liberation Army sought independence, launching attacks against Serb forces. In putting down the attacks, Serb forces engaged in an ethnic cleaning campaign against the Albanian population. Though NATO leaders were reluctant to become involved, and Russia threatened to veto any U.N. resolution allowing for military action, many of Clinton's advisers called for another intervention in the Balkans. Hoping to again force Milošević into peace talks, Clinton ordered a bombing campaign against Serb forces in March 1999. As Milošević refused to capitulate, NATO escalated the bombing campaign, resulting in the devastation of the Serbian capital of Belgrade. As domestic opposition to his leadership grew, Milošević agreed to withdraw troops and allow NATO-led peacekeeping force to be stationed in Kosovo. Kosovo's status would be disputed in subsequent years, while Milošević was overthrown in October 2000.

One of Clinton's major priorities was an expansion of NATO into former Eastern Bloc countries in Eastern Europe. Clinton believed that NATO would provide a stabilizing influence on these countries. NATO had been created as a bloc in opposition to the Soviet Union, and many Russian leaders felt threatened by the expansion of the military alliance. Clinton's NATO expansion also faced domestic resistance from those who feared alienating Russia. Upon taking office, Clinton cultivated a close relationship with Russian President Boris Yeltsin, and he had convinced Yeltsin to play a role in enforcing the Dayton Agreement in Bosnia. In 1997, Clinton won Yeltsin's reluctant assent to the expansion of NATO, clearing the way for the accession of Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic into NATO. Yeltsin pressed for a commitment not to expand NATO into the Baltic states, but Clinton was not willing to bind his successors to such a promise. The French pushed for the addition of Romania and Slovenia to NATO, but Clinton opposed this move, as he believed that too quick of an expansion into Eastern Europe would dilute the strength of NATO. The collapse of the USSR involved many new issues in Eastern Europe. Clinton tried to help Yeltsin avoid an economic depression and reform the Russian economy. He quietly heped Yeltin win reelection in 1996, and beat back the resurgence of communism in Russia.He helped Russia gain acceptance into the Group of Eight (G8).

Terrorism emerged as an increasingly important national security issue during Clinton's administration. In the closing years of the Soviet–Afghan War, Osama bin Laden had organized al-Qaeda, a militant Sunni organization. Bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders despised Western values, and were particularly incensed by the U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia. Al-Qaeda grew during the 1990s and engaged in terrorism in the Middle East and elsewhere. The group claimed responsibility for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa, and the bombing of a U.S. ship at port in Yemen. In retaliation, Clinton ordered the bombing of al-Qaeda facilities in Afghanistan and Sudan. The Central Intelligence Agency and the military tracked bin Laden's movements in an attempt to capture or kill him, but Bin Laden evaded capture or death within the mountainous and hostile country of Afghanistan.

Clinton sought to mediate the Arab-Israeli Conflict, encouraging the leaders of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization to reach the 1993 Oslo Accords. A subsequent agreement created the Palestinian National Authority, which was given control over the Gaza strip, a territory that Israel had taken control of in the 1967 Six-Day War. During his second terms, Clinton sought to revive the dormant peace process, specifically by convincing Israel to turn over control of the West Bank, another territory captured in the Six-Day War. Clinton hosted the 2000 Camp David Summit between Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, but the two sides were unable to reach an agreement. In September 2000, the Palestinians launched an uprising known as the Second Intifada, which would continue after the end of Clinton's presidency.

Clinton maintained the economic sanctions and the no-fly zones imposed on Iraq in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War. In retaliation for Iraq's attempted assassination of former President Bush, Clinton ordered cruise missile strikes on the headquarters of the Iraqi Intelligence Service. After Hussein repeatedly obstructed the UN commission charged with monitoring Iraq's WMD program, the U.S. and Britain engaged in a bombing campaign against Iraqi weapon facilities. These raids would continue intermittently until the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

In January 1995, Clinton's economic advisers informed him that the Mexican government would default on its loans unless the U.S. offered a $25 billion loan package. Though Clinton and Speaker of the House Gingrich both believed that preventing the Mexican economy was important to U.S. interests, Congress refused to authorize an aid package. The Clinton administration also helped limit the effects of the 1997 Asian financial crisis by keeping U.S. markets open.

Despite opposition from conservatives and veterans of the Vietnam War, Clinton normalized relations with Vietnam in 1995. That same year, he became the first U.S. president to visit Vietnam. Clinton was also the first president to visit Botswana, Slovenia, and South Africa.

In 1997, Tony Blair of the Labour Party won election as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Clinton and Blair shared a centrist approach to politics, and they jointly promoted their "Third Way" (between traditional left-wing and right-wing policies) on the international stage.

Prior to taking office, Bill and Hillary Clinton had invested in the Whitewater Development Corporation, a real estate development company owned by Jim McDougal and Susan McDougal that quickly went bankrupt. The McDougals were later charged with fraud due to their activities connected to a savings and loan association. The July 1993 death of Deputy White House Counsel Vince Foster raised new allegations about the Clintons' connections to the savings and loan associations, marking the start of what became known as the Whitewater controversy. To defuse allegations stemming from Foster's death, Clinton authorized Attorney General Reno to appoint a special prosecutor under the terms of the Ethics in Government Act. Later, a special three-judge panel convened and appointed Ken Starr, a former U.S. solicitor general, as an independent counsel charged with investigating the Whitewater controversy. Starr's investigation expanded beyond Whitewater, in part because of a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Clinton by Paula Jones, a former Arkansas employee.

In 1998, Starr's office learned that a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky, had engaged in an affair with Clinton. In a deposition related to the Jones lawsuit, Clinton swore under oath that he had not engaged in sexual relations with Lewinsky. Clinton was able to squash rumors of the affair until July 1998, when Starr reached an immunity deal with Lewinsky and obtained her confession of the affair. Clinton publicly apologized for having an affair with Lewinsky in September 1998. Though Clinton argued that he had not lied under oath in his answers to the questions asked at the Jones deposition, the House Judiciary Committee began impeachment proceedings against Clinton. The controversy over Lewinsky enveloped Congress and the presidency, derailing the administration's hopes for reforming Medicare and Social Security. Individuals from both parties were outraged by Clinton's affair with an intern, but many Democrats were mollified by Clinton's repeated public apologies and viewed the reaction from the media and Republicans as disproportionate to the gravity of the affair.

In a party-line vote, the House passed two articles of impeachment against Clinton. In January 1999, the Senate began the second presidential impeachment trial in U.S. history, after that of Andrew Johnson. Removal of the president would require a two-thirds vote of the Senate. Though Republicans held a majority in the Senate, both articles of impeachment failed to even win a majority of the vote. The impeachment proceedings may have boosted Clinton's popularity, as many viewed the Republican impeachment attempts as politically motivated. In 1999, Congress chose not to renew the independent counsel law that had allowed Starr's appointment, meaning that future investigations of a similar nature would be conducted under the oversight of the Justice Department rather than through a judicial panel. Clinton would later publicly acknowledge that he "knowingly gave evasive and misleading answers" in the Jones deposition.

A series of controversies, including the debate over gays in the military, contentious confirmation battles, and "Travelgate," sunk Clinton's approval ratings to just 37 percent in mid-1993. Further setbacks related to health care and foreign policy left Clinton in a weak position in the lead-up to the 1994 elections. Led by Newt Gingrich, House Republicans created the Contract with America, which promised an overhaul of the federal welfare system and passage of a balanced budget amendment, term limits, and deregulation. Republican won control of both chambers of Congress, picking up 54 seats in the House of Representatives and 9 Senate seats. As the victory gave Republicans unified control of Congress for the first time since 1955, some commentators referred to the 1994 elections as the "Republican Revolution."

Clinton continued to position himself as a centrist, stating in early 1996 that "the era of Big Government is over." Meanwhile, Dole, one of the oldest major party presidential nominees in history, proved to be ineffective campaigner. Dole was unable to find a winning topic to campaign on, and Clinton won by a wide margin in the popular vote and the Electoral College. Clinton swept the Northeast and won much of the Midwest, while Dole performed best in the Mountain states and the South. Despite Clinton's victory, Republican retained control of the House and the Senate in the 1996 congressional elections. With Republicans in control of Congress, Clinton refrained from proposing major domestic initiatives in his second term.

In the midst of the impeachment hearings, Clinton's approval ratings rose above 65 percent. Polls showed that many in the public did not condone Clinton's relations with Lewinsky, but they did not believe that it was grounds for removal from office. Defying predictions of congressional losses, the Democrats picked up five seats in the House of Representatives; neither party gained seats in the Senate. The election represented the first time since 1934 that the party holding the presidency picked up seats in a mid-term election. Gingrich resigned from office after the elections, and he was succeeded as Speaker of the House by Dennis Hastert.

Vice President Al Gore dispatched a challenge from Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey early in the 2000 Democratic primaries. Gore chose Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, a prominent intra-party critic of Clinton and the affair with Lewinsky, as his running mate. Texas Governor George W. Bush, the son of former President Bush, won the Republican nomination after defeating Senator John McCain of Arizona in the 2000 Republican primaries. For his running mate, Bush selected Dick Cheney, who had served as Secretary of Defense under George H. W. Bush. Pat Buchanan ran as the Reform Party nominee, and he called for a reduction in immigration. Ralph Nader ran as the Green Party candidate, winning support from many liberals who were disappointed by the centrist tendencies of Clinton and Gore.

Bush called for major tax cuts, a partial privatization of Social Security, and school vouchers. He also criticized Clinton for "nation building" in Haiti and other countries, and attacked Clinton's sexual indiscretions. Clinton and Gore had been close political partners for much of Clinton's presidency, but Gore kept his distance from Clinton during the presidential campaign. In the election, Gore won a narrow plurality of the popular vote, taking 48.4 percent to Bush's 47.9 percent and Nader's 2.7 percent. Gore won much of the Northeast, the Midwest, and the Pacific Coast, while Bush dominated the South and the Interior West. However, the winner of the election was unclear on election night, as neither candidate had definitively secured a majority of the electoral vote.

The outcome of the election hinged on Florida, which had endured an extremely close presidential election. Over the ensuing five weeks, both campaigns waged an intense legal battle over election law as Florida conducted a recount. The Supreme Court of Florida unanimously upheld the recount, but the Bush team appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. On December 12, in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ordered an end to the recount, leaving Bush as the winner of Florida and the winner of the election. Bush became the fourth individual in U.S. history, and the first since 1888, to win the election despite losing the popular vote. Republicans also retained control of the House and the Senate, giving the party unified control of Congress and the presidency for the first time since the 1954 election.

Polls of historians and political scientists have generally ranked Clinton as an average or above-average president. A 2018 poll of the American Political Science Association’s Presidents and Executive Politics section ranked Clinton as the 13th best president. A 2017 C-Span poll of historians ranked Clinton as the 15th best president.

Addressing Clinton's legacy, Russell L. Riley writes:

The Clinton presidency is still with the nation in ways that make it difficult to draw sound judgments about its lasting historical legacy. However, scholars are beginning to focus on some aspects of his administration in which Clinton's historical importance might be significant. For example, Clinton managed to remake the image and operations of the Democratic Party in ways that effectively undermined the so-called Reagan Revolution. His "New Democrat" Party co-opted the Reagan appeal to law and order, individualism, and welfare reform, and made the party more attractive to white middle-class Americans. At the same time, the reborn party retained traditional Democratic commitments to providing for the disadvantaged, regulating the excesses of the private market place, supporting minorities and women, and using government to stimulate economic growth. Moreover, Clinton capitalized on growing dissatisfaction with far right-wing extremism within the Republican Party. Nevertheless, Clinton's claims to a lasting, positive legacy for the Democratic Party have been severely undermined by two realities: the shift in control of Congress to the Republican Party on his watch and the loss by his would-be successor, Vice President Al Gore, in the 2000 presidential election. Thus, Clinton's partisan legacy remains complex and uncertain.

President Bill Clinton was renominated by acclamation and faced Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole in 1996. As in 1992, Ross Perot again ran an independent campaign. Exit polls suggested that Perot's impact on the vote was negligible. However, in both cases Perot voters prevented Clinton getting 50% of the national vote.

United States' presidential plurality victories

In the United States, Presidential plurality victories are those elections in which the winning candidate received less than 50% of the popular votes cast but the largest share of votes.

The popular vote in an American presidential election was first fully recorded and reported in the election of 1824. Since then, 19 presidential elections have occurred in which a candidate was elected or reelected without gaining a majority of the popular vote. The following is a list and description of
those elections in which a candidate won the election with a plurality of the popular vote. The elections of 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016 are not on this list because in those elections the winning candidate actually received "less" than a plurality.

In the election of 1844, James K. Polk was a dark horse (unanticipated) nominee of the Democratic Party. Polk faced two opponents in this election. The Whig Party nominated Henry Clay and the Liberty Party nominated James G. Birney. In the general election Polk received 1,339,494 votes, Clay received 1,300,004 votes, and Birney received 62,103 votes. Overall, Polk won 49.6% of the popular vote. In several large cities, Democrats fraudulently registered thousands of immigrant voters to stuff the ballot box for Polk. Despite the fraudulent votes, the most important factor in Clay's defeat was Birney's candidacy, as anti-slavery Whigs in New York voted for Birney. If Clay had retained one-third of the Birney vote in New York he would have won that state and the election.

Zachary Taylor was a war hero from the Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican–American War and was the Whig candidate in the election of 1848. Lewis Cass was the Democratic nominee, replacing retiring incumbent, James K. Polk. The Whigs did not develop a party platform and ran Taylor on his war record, while a section of the Democratic Party endorsed an expansion of slavery, which brought former President Martin Van Buren into the race as the Free Soil candidate. In the general election, Taylor received 1,361,393 (47.3%) votes, Cass received 1,223,460 votes, and Van Buren received 291,501 votes. Van Buren's candidacy undermined his former party, for without him Cass would have won New York and the election.

The election of 1856 saw the recently formed Republican Party competing in its first presidential election. John C. Fremont was the party's first candidate and ran on a platform advocating the abolishment of slavery. James Buchanan replaced the ineffective incumbent Franklin Pierce for the Democratic Party, and former President Millard Fillmore was the
candidate of the anti-immigrant American Party, also known as the "Know-Nothings". Buchanan did not campaign and carried most slave states and scored a decisive victory in the west. Overall, Buchanan received 1,836,072 (45.3%) votes, while Fremont received 1,342,345 votes, and Fillmore received 873,053 votes.

By the election of 1860, the Republican Party had become a unified force, having gained control of the House of Representatives. Abraham Lincoln became the Republican nominee after his backers promised spots in a Lincoln cabinet for delegate support. Stephen A. Douglas became the Democratic nominee after the Southern delegates walked out in protest over the Northern delegates refusal to endorse a pro-slavery platform. The Southern Democrats nominated John C. Breckinridge, and the Constitutional Union Party nominated John Bell of Tennessee. With the nation divided, Lincoln received 1,865,908 (39.8%) votes, Douglas received 1,380,202 votes, Breckinridge received 848,019 votes, and Bell received 590,901 votes. Lincoln's victory marked the lowest popular vote percentage victory in the history of the United States.

At the Republican convention to nominate a candidate for the presidency in May 1880 the main candidates Ulysses S. Grant and James Blaine failed to collect a majority of delegates. A compromise candidate was needed. James Garfield received the Republican nomination on the 36th ballot of the convention, while the Democratic Party nominated Winfield Scott Hancock on the second ballot. James Weaver was the candidate for the Greenback Party. Garfield ran the first "front porch campaign", while Hancock declined to campaign at all. Garfield received 4,446,158 (48.3%) votes, Hancock received 4,444,260 votes, and Weaver received 305,997 votes. Garfield won the popular vote by less than two thousand votes.

Grover Cleveland, the only President to serve non-consecutive terms, also has the unique distinction of having won a plurality of the popular vote three times without ever winning a majority.

In 1884, New York Governor Grover Cleveland with 48.9% of the popular vote and 219 electoral votes narrowly defeated Republican former United States Senator James G. Blaine of Maine with 48.3% of the popular vote and 182 electoral votes.

In 1888, President Cleaveland again won a plurality of the popular vote, but lost the electoral vote (and the election) to Benjamin Harrison.

In 1892, former President Grover Cleveland received his third consecutive Democratic nomination, while incumbent Benjamin Harrison was renominated by the Republican Party. James Weaver, the Greenback Party candidate in 1880, was the candidate of the People's Party and John Bidwell was the candidate of the Prohibition Party. The People's Party did well, pulling thousands of votes away from Harrison. Overall, Cleveland received 5,551,883 (46.2%) votes, Harrison received 5,179,244 votes, Weaver received 1,024,280 votes, and Bidwell received 270,770 votes.

Former President Theodore Roosevelt challenged his hand-picked successor, President William Howard Taft, for the Republican nomination. Despite losing 10 of 12 Republican primaries, the party regulars renominated Taft on the first ballot. Roosevelt refused to concede, formed the Progressive Party and became its nominee. Woodrow Wilson outlasted Champ Clark and became the Democratic nominee on the 46th ballot, while Eugene Debs was the nominee of the Socialist Party. In the general election, Taft and Roosevelt split the Republican vote, ensuring the victory of Wilson. Wilson received 6,293,152 (41.8%) votes, Roosevelt received 4,119,207 votes, Taft received 3,486,333 votes, and Debs received 900,369 votes. If Roosevelt had received the Republican nomination, he most likely would have won the election.

The election of 1916 was not the divisive election that 1912 had been. Woodrow Wilson was renominated easily, and Theodore Roosevelt backed the Republican candidate, Charles Evans Hughes, which meant there would not be a Progressive candidate. However, the Socialist Party did nominate a candidate: Allan Benson. In the general election, Wilson received 9,126,300 (49.2%) votes, Hughes received 8,546,789 votes, and Benson received 589,924 votes. Without the Socialist Party, Wilson would have won a comfortable majority vote.

Incumbent President Harry Truman was a decided underdog coming into this election. South Carolina governor Strom Thurmond was the candidate of the States' Rights Party, and former Vice President Henry A. Wallace was the candidate of the Progressive Party, which split the Democratic vote three ways. This made Republican candidate Thomas Dewey the favorite to win the election. However, President Truman campaigned hard and despite some newspapers (like the "Chicago Daily Tribune") calling the election early for Dewey, Truman pulled out one of the biggest upsets in election history. Truman received 24,179,345 (49.6%) votes, Dewey received 21,991,291 votes, Thurmond received 1,176,125 votes, and Wallace 1,157,326 votes.

Kennedy received 112,827 (0.17%) more votes than Nixon nationwide. Kennedy also won a 303 to 219 Electoral College victory. However, Nixon won the popular vote contest in more individual states (26 to 22).

The assassination of Robert Kennedy left Vice President Hubert Humphrey and Eugene McCarthy competing for the Democratic nomination. Humphrey won the nomination on the first ballot, but the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago was a disaster with the police battling peace activists who were protesting the War in Vietnam. The Republican convention went much more smoothly with former Vice President Richard Nixon also receiving the nomination on the first ballot. Alabama Governor George Wallace was a candidate of the American Independent Party. By election day the race was neck and neck, with Nixon pulling out a slim victory. Nixon received 31,785,480 (43.4%) votes, Humphrey received 31,275,166 votes, and Wallace received 9,906,473 votes.

The effect of Ross Perot's candidacy has been a contentious point of debate for many years. In the ensuing months and years after the election, various Republicans asserted that Perot had acted as a spoiler, enough to the detriment of Bush to lose him the election. While many disaffected conservatives may have voted for Ross Perot to protest Bush's tax increase, further examination of the Perot vote in the Election Night exit polls not only showed that Perotinton, but of the voters who cited Bush's broken "No New Taxes" pledge as "very important," two thirds voted for Bill Clinton. A mathematical look at the voting numbers reveals that Bush would have had to win 12.2% of Perot's 18.8% of the vote, 65% of Perot's support base, to earn a majority of the vote, and would have needed to win nearly every state Clinton won by less than five percentage points. Furthermore, Perot's best results were in states that strongly favored either Clinton or Bush, or carried few electoral votes, limiting his real electoral impact for either candidate. Perot appealed to disaffected voters all across the political spectrum who had grown weary of the two-party system. NAFTA played a role in Perot's support, and Perot voters were relatively moderate on hot button social issues.

Furthermore, Bush's approvals never went above 45% from February 1992 until weeks after the election, according to Gallup. In the recent history prior to 1992, only Jimmy Carter's term saw such numbers, during which he lost to Ronald Reagan. During the portion of the race when Perot had (temporarily exited), Bush continued to trail Clinton consistently, with polling numbers often double digits behind the Arkansas governor.

President Bill Clinton was renominated by acclamation and faced Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole in 1996. As in 1992, Ross Perot again ran an independent campaign. Exit polls suggested that Perot's impact on the vote was negligible. However, in both cases Perot voters prevented Clinton getting 50% of the national vote.


Who won the 1993 Independence Bowl?

The 1993 Independence Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Indiana Hoosiers at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana on December 31, 1993. The 18th edition of the Independence Bowl was the final contest of the 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season for both teams, and ended in a 45–20 victory for Virginia Tech. The game was the first bowl victory for Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer and began a record streak of 23 consecutive bowl appearances for Virginia Tech.

1993 Independence Bowl

The 1993 Independence Bowl kicked off at 12:30 p.m. EST on December 31 amid sunny skies and temperatures. Indiana took an early 7–0 lead, but Virginia Tech responded, taking a 14–7 lead with two touchdowns—one late in the first quarter, and the other early in the second. Indiana closed the gap to 14–13 with two field goals in the second. In the final 23 seconds of the first half, however, Virginia Tech scored an additional 14 points. Tech's defense recovered and returned a fumble 20 yards for a touchdown, then blocked a 51-yard field goal attempt and returned the ball 80 yards for the first blocked-kick touchdown in Virginia Tech history. After a scoreless third quarter, Virginia Tech scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to secure an insurmountable lead. Indiana scored one more touchdown and brought the game's final score to 45–20.

The game paid $700,000 to each team in exchange for their participation. The official attendance for the game was 33,819. Maurice DeShazo of Virginia Tech was named the game's offensive most valuable player (MVP), while Antonio Banks, also of Virginia Tech, was named the game's defensive MVP.

Several Independence Bowl records were set during the game, some of which still stand. Indiana's Thomas Lewis returned eight punts in the game and earned 177 receiving yards, including the third-longest pass in Independence Bowl History—a 75-yard reception from quarterback John Paci. Hokie Kicker Ryan Williams set the record for the most extra points in an Independence Bowl game with six, a mark that was tied during the 1995 Independence Bowl.

Indiana was coached by Bill Mallory, who would go on to accumulate the winningest record in IU football history. The Indiana Hoosiers football team ended the 1992 college football season with a record of 5–6, and prior to the 1993 season was picked to finish no better than eighth in the 11-team Big Ten conference during the regular season. From the start, however, Indiana set out to upset those expectations. Indiana raced out to a 3–0 record in the first three games of the season, with the third win coming against Southeastern Conference opponent Kentucky.

In the fourth week of the season, however, Indiana suffered its first loss: a 27–15 conference defeat at the hands of No. 22 Wisconsin. The Hoosiers recovered from the setback, however, and won their next four games—all of which were against Big Ten opponents. The fourth of those victories came against the Michigan State Spartans, who had replaced Wisconsin at the No. 22 spot in the country. Indiana held the Spartans scoreless in a tough defensive battle, earning a 10–0 victory. With a 7–1 record, Indiana appeared to be in position to compete for the Big Ten championship, but consecutive losses to highly ranked Penn State and Ohio State put an end to any thoughts of a championship. The Hoosiers ended the season with a 24–17 win over traditional rival Purdue and accepted a bid to the Independence Bowl.

The Virginia Tech Hokies football team ended the 1992 college football season with a record of 2–8–1. Some Tech fans called for Tech head coach Frank Beamer's firing after the worst Tech football season since 1987, but Tech athletic director Dave Braine refused to do so. After a shakeup that saw several assistant coaches replaced and new defensive and offensive formations implemented, Tech players and coaches promised a "complete turnaround" for the 1993 season.

In the first two games of the season, Tech followed through on that promise, winning 33–16 and 63–21 against Bowling Green and Pittsburgh, respectively. A loss to No. 3 Miami followed, but a victory over Maryland in the game that followed gave Tech a 3–1 record, already better than its 1992 win total. After a close loss at No. 14 West Virginia that was determined by a missed last-second field goal by Tech placekicker Ryan Williams, the Hokies won five of their last six regular-season games. These wins included victories over Big East opponent Syracuse and No. 23 Virginia, Tech's traditional rival. With an 8–3 regular-season record and ranked No. 22 in the country by the Associated Press, Tech was extended an invitation to the Independence Bowl, its first bowl bid since the 1986 Peach Bowl.

The matchup of No. 21 Indiana and No. 22 Virginia Tech was the first matchup of ranked teams in Independence Bowl history. Despite that fact, the bowl had difficulty selling tickets for the game. Slightly more than 33,000 tickets were sold by the day of the game, far less than the stadium's 50,459-seat capacity. In exchange for their participation in the game, each team received $700,000, the minimum payout required by the NCAA at that time. Spread bettors favored Virginia Tech to win by three points. The matchup was Indiana's first time playing Virginia Tech, and was the first time Virginia Tech played any team from the Big Ten.

Virginia Tech's turnaround from a 2–8–1 season in 1992 was the largest single-season turnaround in school history and was the second-best in the country that year. Tech hoped to improve upon a 1–4 all-time record in bowl games, while Indiana hoped to do likewise for its 3–4 historical bowl-game record. In the week prior to the game, bad weather in Virginia caused travel delays that prevented many fans and the Virginia Tech marching band from arriving at the game early. Two days prior to the Independence Bowl, Tech was shocked by the death of Dr. Richard Bullock, who served as the team's physician from 1971 to 1988. Bullock designed a special football neck protector worn by players during the 1980s and 1990s before being phased out in favor of more advanced padding.

Indiana's offense averaged 21.6 points and 320 total yards per game during the regular season, good enough for ninth in the Big Ten. As a whole, the Hoosiers accumulated 3,818 yards of offense before the Independence Bowl. 2,156 yards of this total were passing yards and came through the air, while the remaining 1,662 yards were gained by Indiana's running backs and fullbacks on the ground.

Indiana quarterback John Paci was the cornerstone of Indiana's offense, and completed 133 of 258 passes for 1,796 yards and eight touchdowns during the regular season. During the team's regular-season game against Penn State, Paci completed the longest passing play in Indiana history, completing a 99-yard pass to wide receiver Thomas Lewis for a touchdown. That play in part helped make Paci's performance against Penn State the fourth-highest single-game passing total for an Indiana quarterback in school history. Paci suffered a separated shoulder during the regular season, but despite the injury, he was predicted to start at quarterback against Virginia Tech and undergo surgery following the Independence Bowl.

Paci's favorite passing target was wide receiver Thomas Lewis, who completed the regular season having caught 55 passes for 1,058 yards and seven touchdowns. Lewis' 1,058 receiving yards were the second most ever accumulated by an Indiana player, and his 285 receiving yards in the Hoosiers' game against Penn State were the most in a single game by an Indiana player in school history. On the ground, Indiana's offense was led by running back Jermaine Chaney, who finished the regular season with 186 carries for 716 yards and six touchdowns.

Virginia Tech's offense was ranked 11th nationally in scoring, averaging 36.4 points per game, and 10th in rushing offense, averaging 242.8 yards per game. The totals were the most recorded to that point by a Virginia Tech offense. That high-ranking rushing attack was led by Dwayne Thomas, who accumulated 1,130 yards and 11 touchdowns during the regular season. Thomas' 11 touchdowns were the most for a Tech running back since 1969. Thomas was ably assisted by a capable offensive line anchored by center Jim Pyne, who earned consensus All-America honors in recognition of his performance. By being named to every All-America team in the country, Pyne became the first consensus All-American in Virginia Tech history.

Tech quarterback Maurice DeShazo was also a major part of the record-breaking Tech offense. DeShazo threw 22 touchdown passes during the regular season, setting what was then a school record. He completed 129 of 230 passes for 2,080 yards and seven interceptions in addition to the touchdown record. DeShazo's favorite target passing the ball was wide receiver Antonio Freeman, who set a Tech record with nine touchdown receptions during the regular season. Freeman caught 32 passes for 644 yards in addition to the touchdown mark.

The Hoosiers' defense was ranked seventh in scoring defense, allowing an average of just 13.8 points per game. In overall defense, Indiana was ranked 10th, allowing just 303.3 yards per game. In total, the Hoosiers allowed 3,654 yards; 1,997 of these were passing yards, while the remaining 1,657 were rushing yards.

One of the stars of that IU defense was defensive tackle Hurvin McCormack, who led the Hoosiers in sacks with seven. Another important defensive player was linebacker Alfonzo Thurman, whose 108 tackles during the regular season were the most of any Indiana player.

Virginia Tech's defense allowed a Big East-worst 2,761 passing yards and permitted an average of 388 total yards per game, fifth-worst in the conference. Linebacker Ken Brown had the most tackles of any Tech defender, accumulating 113 during the course of the regular season. Two Tech players tied for the most interceptions on the team. Torrian Gray and Antonio Banks each had three interceptions during the regular season.

The 1993 Independence Bowl kicked off at 12:30 p.m. EST on December 31, 1993, at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. Official attendance estimates indicate a crowd of 33,819, but many seats in the 50,459-seat stadium were empty, indicating a smaller-than-official crowd. The game was broadcast on ESPN in the United States, and Joel Meyers, Rick Walker, and Mike Mayock were the broadcasters. Weather at kickoff was sunny and.

Indiana received the Virginia Tech kickoff in the end zone for a touchback and began the first drive of the game at their 20-yard line. On the first play of the game, Indiana rushed up the middle for a six-yard gain. After Paci threw an incomplete pass, he attempted to scramble for the first down but was tackled one yard short. Indiana punted the ball, and after a block-in-the-back penalty against Virginia Tech, the Hokies began their first possession at their 15-yard line. After a five-yard false start penalty on Tech's first play, Hokie running back Dwayne Thomas rushed the ball for a 10-yard gain, making up twice the yardage lost to the penalty. Tech's second play was another rush by Thomas, who ran to the Tech 27-yard line for the game's first first down. Once there, DeShazo completed two consecutive passes, pushing Tech to their 45-yard line. Tech was able to continue the advance across midfield and into Indiana territory, but the Hoosiers' defense stiffened and denied Tech another first down. After a Hokie punt, Indiana began its second offensive drive at its 15-yard line.

Indiana's first play on the new drive was stopped for a loss, and the Hoosiers were forced to punt after a short gain was nullified by a Paci sack on third down. The kick was a short one, and Tech began its second drive from IU's 49-yard line. The first play was stopped for no gain, DeShazo threw two incomplete passes, and Virginia Tech punted after going three and out. Indiana recovered the ball at its 23-yard line, where their offense began work. A five-yard false start penalty against the Hoosiers pushed them back, and Indiana was stopped for little gain on the first two plays of its drive. On the third play, however, Paci connected on a 75-yard pass to Thomas Lewis, who ran into the end zone for a touchdown and the game's first points. Following the extra point kick, Indiana had a 7–0 lead with 5:36 remaining in the first quarter.

Virginia Tech returned Indiana's post-touchdown kickoff to its 27-yard line, and Tech's offense returned to the field hoping to answer the Hoosiers' score. Two rushes by Thomas gave Tech a first down near the 40-yard line. Aided by a penalty against Indiana, Tech gained another first down in the Hoosiers' side of the field with a pass by DeShazo. A 15-yard late-hit penalty against Indiana gave Tech another first down and pushed the Hokies to the Indiana 31-yard line. Tech continued to drive with runs from DeShazo, Thomas, and fullback Joe Swarm. Inside the Indiana 10-yard line, Tech was stopped for losses on consecutive plays before DeShazo connected on a 14-yard touchdown pass to Thomas. The extra point was good, and with nine seconds remaining in the first quarter, Virginia Tech tied the game at 7–7.

Indiana fielded Virginia Tech's post-touchdown kickoff and returned it to their 25-yard line. The Hoosiers attempted a long pass, but the throw fell incomplete and the quarter came to an end with the score still tied at 7–7.

Indiana began the second quarter in possession of the ball and facing a second down at its 25-yard line. After a rushing play was stopped for a loss and Paci was forced to throw the ball away to avoid a sack, Indiana punted for the first time in the second quarter. Tech resumed offense at its 41-yard line. DeShazo completed a pass to the Indiana 47-yard line, then a 25-yard toss to Cornelius Wright, who carried it to the Indiana 22. Swarm carried the ball for a first down inside the Indiana 10-yard line, and two plays later, he carried it across the goal line for Virginia Tech's second touchdown of the game. Following the extra point, Tech took a 14–7 lead with 11:14 remaining in the first half.

Indiana's Jermaine Chaney fielded the post-score kickoff and returned it 51 yards, setting up Indiana inside Tech territory. On the Hoosiers' first play, Paci completed a 34-yard pass to tight end Ross Hales for Indiana's second first down of the game. Just outside the Tech 10-yard line, Indiana was stopped short and prevented from scoring a touchdown. Indiana's head coach sent in placekicker Bill Manolopolous, whose 26-yard kick soared through the uprights and cut Virginia Tech's lead to 14–10 with 8:47 remaining before halftime.

Tech returned Indiana's post-score kickoff to the 22-yard line, where the Hokie offense returned to action. Tech picked up nine yards on a pass from DeShazo, but two plays later, DeShazo threw his first interception of the game as Indiana's Mose Richardson jumped in front of a Tech pass. Following the turnover, Indiana's offense began work from the Virginia Tech 31-yard line. The Hoosiers picked up a first down rushing the ball, but a holding call on first down pushed Indiana away from the end zone. Following the penalty, Virginia Tech's defense prevented the Hoosiers gaining another first down, and IU was forced to attempt another field goal. As before, Manopolous' kick—this one a 40-yard attempt—was good, and Indiana sliced Tech's lead to a single point, 14–13, with 5:25 remaining in the first half.

The Hokies returned the post-score kickoff to their 20-yard line, and Tech's offense began work. Thomas gained a first down with three consecutive runs, then the Hokies fumbled when a backwards pass from DeShazo fell incomplete. Indiana recovered the ball, and the turnover allowed the Hoosiers' offense to start work from the Tech 25-yard line. On Indiana's first play, however, Virginia Tech cornerback Tyronne Drakeford intercepted Paci's pass. Following the turnover, Tech's offense started work at its 20-yard line. The Hokies picked up a first down through the air, then DeShazo scrambled for another. A 10-yard holding penalty pushed Tech backward, and the Hokies were forced to punt the ball away.

Indiana's offense began play from the Hoosiers' 34-yard line following the kick. Paci scrambled for several yards, then completed a pass for a first down at the 50-yard line. On the next play, however, Paci fumbled the ball, which bounced into the hands of Tech defensive end Lawrence Lewis, who returned it 20 yards for a touchdown. The score and extra point gave Tech a 21–13 lead with 23 seconds remaining before halftime. Virginia Tech's post-score kickoff was returned to the Tech 42-yard line, potentially setting up an Indiana field goal try before halftime. Paci completed a pass to the 36-yard line, and the few seconds remaining in the first half apparently ran off the clock before Indiana could use its final timeout to stop the clock.

Virginia Tech players and coaches attempted to leave the field, only to be informed that Indiana called a timeout with one second remaining. Despite Tech head coach Frank Beamer's protests, Indiana's Manolopoulos was able to return to the field to attempt a 51-yard goal. The kick was blocked and the ball recovered by Tech's Antonio Banks, who returned it 80 yards for a touchdown. The score, which came with no time remaining on the clock, gave Tech a 28–13 lead at halftime.

Because Virginia Tech kicked off to Indiana to begin the game, Indiana kicked off to Virginia Tech to begin the second half. In response to the celebration following the 80-yard touchdown prior to halftime, Virginia Tech was assessed two 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. Indiana kicked off from the Tech 40-yard line, and the ball was downed at the Virginia Tech 11-yard line. A false-start penalty against the Hokies didn't prevent them from gaining a first down on a pass from DeShazo to Swarm. Swarm picked up another first down on his own, advancing the ball to the Tech 38-yard line with a rush up the middle. Tech continued to advance the ball with Thomas, Swarm and DeShazo rushing the ball and picking up first downs. Now on the Indiana side of the field, DeShazo attempted a deep pass, but the ball was intercepted by Indiana cornerback Jason Orton.

Following the turnover, Indiana's offense began work at its 32-yard line. Despite the opportunity presented by the interception, the Hoosiers were unable to gain a first down and punted back to Virginia Tech. Tech's Steve Sanders returned the kick to the Tech 27-yard line, and Tech's offense returned to the field. The Hokie offense was no more successful than Indiana's had been, and Tech punted after going three and out. Following the kick and a short return, the Hoosiers began work at their 41-yard line. After being stopped for no gain on two consecutive plays, Paci completed a long pass to Tech's 40-yard line for the Hoosiers' first first down of the second half. Indiana continued advancing the ball via short passes, but came up one yard short of a first down. Instead of punting on fourth down, Indiana attempted to gain the first down via a rush up the middle. Tech's defense held fast, and Indiana turned the ball over after failing to gain the needed yard.

Indiana's defense also held fast on the next possession, and Tech was unable to gain a first down following the turnover. Tech's punt was returned to the Indiana 38-yard line, where the Hoosier offense returned to the field. At first, the Hoosiers were successful moving the ball as they picked up a first down in Tech territory via a pass from Paci. The success was short-lived, however, as the Hoosiers were unable to gain a first down once on the Tech side of the field and had to punt. Sanders returned the kick to the Tech 21-yard line, where Tech began its third possession of the second half. Tech picked up a first down via two DeShazo passes, but couldn't gain another. Tech's punt was downed at the Indiana 20-yard line, and Indiana's offense began work with 3:02 remaining in the quarter.

Indiana earned a first down with two rushes, but as before, Tech's defense stiffened and refused to allow a second as Tech's Bernard Basham sacked Paci for a loss. Indiana's punt was fair caught at the Tech 30-yard line as the quarter came to an end. With one quarter remaining in the game and neither team having scored in the third quarter, the score remained 28–13.

Virginia Tech began the fourth quarter in possession of the ball with a first down at its 30-yard line. The Hokie drive fizzled, as had most of the offense in the third quarter, after DeShazo was sacked for a big loss on third down. Indiana returned the Tech punt to its 43-yard line, and Indiana brought in its backup quarterback, Chris Dittoe, to lead the offense. After being sacked on his first play, Dittoe completed a pass to near midfield, making up the yardage that had been lost on the sack. Despite that gain, Indiana couldn't make up the yardage lost to the sack and appeared to be ready to punt the ball. Instead, the Hoosiers faked the punt and threw a pass to an undefended Indiana player who dropped the ball. Following the turnover, Virginia Tech's offense started work at the Indiana 49-yard line. After being stopped short on two rushes, DeShazo completed a 42-yard pass to Antonio Freeman, who raced down the field and into the end zone. The extra point was good, and with 9:37 remaining in the game, Tech took a 35–13 lead.

Tech's post-touchdown kickoff was downed in the end zone for a touchback, and Indiana's offense started work at its 10-yard line after a Hoosier penalty. On the first play of Indiana's drive, Dittoe was sacked and fumbled the ball, which rolled into the arms of a Virginia Tech defender. The Hokie offense quickly returned to the field and Tech's Tommy Edwards scored on the first play after being set up at the Indiana five-yard line after the turnover. The extra point gave Tech a 42–13 lead with 9:21 remaining.

Indiana's offense started at its 20-yard line after a touchback on the kickoff. Dittoe threw two incomplete passes, was sacked, and the Hoosiers punted after going three and out. The Indiana punt was a poor one, flying out of bounds at the Indiana 28-yard line and giving Tech excellent field position. With a large lead secured, Virginia Tech backup quarterback Jim Druckenmiller came into the game for the Hokies, who were unable to gain a first down. Despite failing to advance the ball 10 yards, the excellent starting field position allowed Tech kicker Ryan Williams to attempt a 42-yard field goal, his longest kick of the season. The kick sailed through the uprights, and Tech extended its lead to 45–13 with exactly six minutes remaining in the game.

Following a touchback, Indiana's offense started from its 20-yard line. The Hoosiers picked up a first down with two short rushes, then Dittoe completed a first-down pass to Lewis and advanced the ball into Tech territory. On his second play in Tech territory, Dittoe completed a long pass to Lewis for Indiana's first touchdown of the second half. The score cut Virginia Tech's lead to 45–20, but with only 4:26 remaining in the game, the odds were long against Indiana challenging Tech's lead in a serious fashion. The Hoosier kickoff went out of bounds, and the Hokie offense began a drive from its 35-yard line. Virginia Tech began running out the clock, executing rushing plays and staying in bounds to maximize the amount of time run off the game clock. Tech was unable to get a first down, and the Hokie punt was returned to the Indiana 29-yard line. Indiana was stopped on three consecutive plays and appeared to be punting the ball. As they had earlier in the game, however, the Hoosiers executed a trick play, snapping the ball to linebacker Alfonzo Thurman instead of the punter. Thurman ran forward for 37 yards—the Hoosiers' longest run of the game—and a first down. Despite the gain and a 15-yard pass interference penalty against Tech, Indiana was unable to score. Time ran out in the fourth quarter, and Virginia Tech earned the 45–20 victory.

In recognition of his performance during the game, Virginia Tech quarterback Maurice DeShazo was named the game's offensive most valuable player. DeShazo completed 19 of his 33 pass attempts for two touchdowns, 193 yards, and two interceptions. DeShazo's favorite passing target, wide receiver Antonio Freeman, finished the game with five catches for 66 yards and a touchdown. Running back Dwayne Thomas, Tech's second-leading receiver, had four catches for 27 yards and a touchdown. He also led Tech's offense on the ground, carrying the ball 24 times for 65 yards. Fullback Joe Swarm was the second-leading rusher for the Hokies, accumulating 40 yards on nine carries.

Indiana's offense outgained the Hokies through the air and finished with 276 passing yards, its second-highest total that season. Starting quarterback John Paci completed 10 of 22 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown, while backup quarterback completed 7 of 14 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. Both players' favorite target was Thomas Lewis, who finished the game leading all receivers with six catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, the Hoosiers were led by linebacker Alfonzo Thurman, who, although a defensive player, ran for 37 yards on a fake punt.

Virginia Tech's defense performed well overall against the Hoosiers. The 20 rushing yards allowed by the Tech defense were the fewest permitted all season. In addition, the Hokie defense accumulated seven sacks and four tackles for loss. The seven sacks were the most for Tech that season, and Indiana's 11 first downs also were the fewest Tech allowed that season. The Hokie defense also performed well on an individual level. Antonio Banks and Torrian Gray each had nine tackles, tying for the most of any player in the game. Banks also had a fumble recovery for a touchdown, an interception, and a pass breakup. For these accomplishments, he was named the game's defensive MVP. Tech linebacker Ken Brown finished with eight tackles.

The Hoosiers' defense had some success stopping Tech behind the line of scrimmage, accumulating seven tackles for loss during the course of the game. Indiana cornerback Mose Richardson had nine tackles and one interception, leading the Hoosiers in tackles, and teammate Chris Dyer came in second for IU with seven.

The block of Bill Manolopolous' 51-yard field goal attempt by Tech defensive lineman Jeff Holland prior to halftime was the 36th blocked kick in Frank Beamer's seven years as Tech head coach. The 80-yard touchdown return of the blocked kick by Antonio Banks was the first such touchdown in Virginia Tech history.

Virginia Tech set several then-records during the game. Its 21 second-quarter points were the most ever scored in that quarter, and tied the record for most points in any quarter. It set the Independence Bowl record for most points scored, and tied the record for fewest first downs allowed. Some records set during the game still stand. Indiana's Thomas Lewis returned a record eight punts in the game and earned 177 receiving yards, including the third-longest pass in Independence Bowl History—a 75-yard reception from quarterback John Paci. Hokie Kicker Ryan Williams set the record for the most extra points in an Independence Bowl game with six, a mark that was tied during the 1995 Independence Bowl.

Virginia Tech's victory was just its second bowl win in school history and brought the Hokies to a final 1993 record of 9–3. Indiana's loss took it to 8–4, one win short of tying a nine-win season in 1967 that featured an appearance in the Rose Bowl. Tech's win was also its first televised victory since 1990. Despite those accolades, the victory failed to move the Hokies up in the AP poll, which kept Tech at No. 22 in the final ranking of the season.

At the time, Tech officials viewed the victory as a turning point for the program. Virginia Tech president Paul Torgersen said, "Incredible.... A very fine job. We've turned it around. No question, we've turned it around." Later observers also concurred, pointing to the game as the start of Virginia Tech's 23-season bowl appearance streak, which included a trip to the national championship game.

Indiana, which had appeared in bowl games six times in the eight years prior to the Independence Bowl, suffered after the loss. Indiana went 6–5 in the 1994 season, and head coach Bill Mallory was fired after two consecutive losing seasons in 1995 and 1996. The Hoosiers would not appear in a bowl again until the 2007 season, when they played in the 2007 Insight Bowl.

Several players from each team later went on to play in the National Football League. Tech center Jim Pyne played for nine years in the NFL before becoming an assistant coach in the league. He subsequently had his number retired by Virginia Tech, becoming just the fourth player in Tech history to be honored in that fashion.