[2] After winning a majority of delegates in the Democratic primaries of 1992, the campaign announced that then-junior U.S. senator from Tennessee, Al Gore, would be Clinton's running mate.

Bush's sky-high approval ratings after Operation Desert Storm, American media gave the Democratic Party little chance of winning the presidency in 1992.

But each bowed out early; neither Bradley nor Rockefeller considered themselves ready to run, Gephardt seemed to accept Bush's re-election as a sure thing, and Gore had opted to spend more time with his family in the wake of a tragic accident that threatened the life of his young son.

[5] Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton addressed the sexual misconduct allegations in an interview by Steve Kroft on an episode of 60 Minutes aired after the Super Bowl XXVI.

However, on the last day the convention convened on July 16, 1992, Ross Perot dropped out of the presidential race and left a gap for both Bush and Clinton to scramble for newly undecided voters.

Throughout election night, Clinton over performed in rural areas of the country such as in the mountain west, winning Montana, Colorado, and New Mexico (16 electoral votes).

Clinton also won rural voters in the south and mid-west, carrying states such as Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Louisiana, Georgia, and Iowa (57 electoral votes).

This choice blunted a major strategy of the Bush campaign to paint Clinton and Gore as 'Northern liberals' in the mold of previous candidates George McGovern, Walter Mondale, Michael Dukakis, and, to a lesser extent, Hubert Humphrey.

Frymer argues that the open hostility of the Republican Party towards minorities allowed Clinton to pursue the votes of white "Reagan Democrats" with sub-textually racist messages without losing support among the African American community.

[16] Clinton, while serving as governor of Arkansas, refused to pardon a brain-damaged black man on death row named Rickey Ray Rector who had been convicted of killing a police officer.

This was a widely publicized event that may have been influenced by Clinton's desire to not be painted "soft on crime," as failed Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis had been by the notorious Willie Horton ad.

Clinton also visited the Stone Mountain Correctional Facility in Georgia shortly before Super Tuesday to promote his "tough on crime" message.

[16] Mary Matalin, Bush's campaign director, called Clinton's speech "a stroke of genius" by dealing with "the Jesse Jackson factor" by "publicly humilat[ing] him.

Bill Clinton also focused on the economy in 1992 due to the recession and ran on school choice, balanced budget amendment, opposition to illegal immigration and support for NAFTA.