Michigan was won by incumbent United States president Bill Clinton of Arkansas, who was running against Kansas senator Bob Dole.

In his second bid for the presidency, Ross Perot led the newly reformed Reform Party to gain over 8% of the votes in Michigan, and to pull in support nationally as the most popular third-party candidate to run for the United States presidency in recent times.

As of the 2020 presidential election[update], this is the last election in which Houghton, Alcona, Cheboygan, Crawford, Dickinson, Kalkaska, Luce, Mackinac, Mecosta, Lapeer, Keweenaw, Montcalm, Tuscola, Branch, Baraga, Chippewa, Huron, Wexford, Osceola, Montmorency, and Oscoda Counties voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.

[3] The year 1996 marked a turning point for Michigan, as it would become the most Democratic-leaning of the three Rust Belt swing states (also consisting of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania), a status it held until 2024.

Even though Michigan would vote for Donald Trump in the 2016 U.S. presidential election alongside Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, it was still the most Democratic-leaning of the three states.