George H. W. Bush Bob Dole From January 29 to June 4, 1996, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 1996 United States presidential election.

In February 1995, newly inaugurated Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich declined to run, despite urging from some members of the party's conservative wing.

Former Governor of Tennessee Lamar Alexander had promising showings in the early Iowa and New Hampshire primaries—finishing third in both contests behind only Dole and Buchanan—but his support dropped off in later primaries and he ultimately failed to win any state's delegates.

Alan Keyes, who served as Reagan's Ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council and Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, was notable for being the only African American candidate in the race, but he ultimately failed to garner much support.

More attention was drawn to the race by the budget stalemate in 1995 between the Congress and the President, which caused temporary shutdowns and slowdowns in many areas of federal government service.

Apple writing for The New York Times, "People in Delaware began calling their primary the Rodney Dangerfield election – it couldn't get any respect.

[9] After the votes were counted, Buchanan finished a devastating third place, Dole was the runner-up, and Forbes pulled off a shocking, come-from-behind victory.

Exit polls showed that Forbes's support came from those who voted for third-party candidate Ross Perot back in 1992, as well as from the large number of voters who cited "taxes" as the most important issue of the race and those who viewed Buchanan as too "extreme" and Dole as too moderate and "mainstream".

Buchanan's and Forbes's early victories put Dole's expected front runner status in doubt during the formative months of the primary season.

[10] He proceeded to win the rest of the states, eventually giving him enough delegate commitments to claim status as the GOP presidential presumptive nominee.

After becoming the nominee, Dole selected the former secretary of housing and urban development of the Bush administration, Jack Kemp, as his running mate.