Bill Clinton Democratic Bill Clinton Democratic The 1996 United States presidential election in Kentucky took place on November 5, 1996, as part of the 1996 United States presidential election.

Kentucky was won by President Bill Clinton (D) over Senator Bob Dole (R-KS), with Clinton winning 45.84% to 44.88% by a slim margin of 0.96%, thus marking Kentucky the closest contest in the entire election.

Billionaire businessman Ross Perot (Reform-TX) finished in third, with 8.67% of the popular vote.

[2] As of the 2024 presidential election[update], this is the last time that the Democratic nominee carried Kentucky, as well as any of these 36 counties: Powell, Montgomery, Nicholas, Lawrence, Bourbon, Nelson, Simpson, McCracken, Hopkins, Calloway, Graves, Greenup, Clark, Marshall, Meade, Bell, Logan, Ohio, Johnson, Marion, Harrison, Henry, Union, Trigg, Morgan, Webster, Caldwell, Martin, Carroll, McLean, Livingston, Trimble, Gallatin, Lyon, Carlisle, and Hickman.

Until this election a swing state, Kentucky has been carried by Republicans by double-digits in every subsequent election, and the party's margin of victory has almost exclusively increased in the 21st century.