Ross Perot syphoned off enough conservative votes that allowed Bill Clinton to garner enough Electorial Votes to win the Presidency.
Originally Posted by Jackie S
That is a myth and nothing more! There is no way of knowing the exact number of Perot voters who would have voted for Clinton but there is no documented evidence that would suggest that it would have been anywhere close to 100%.
Unlike you, I will admit, mine is just a guesstimate but I suspect it would probably be in the 35-40%. I suspect my guesstimate is much closer to reality than yours.
Bottom line, even if Perot were not in the race, Clinton would have still had an electoral victory. There is no documented evidence to support otherwise. End of sentence!
If you are going to draw the 3rd party electoral parallel, you might want to consider the Nader factor in Florida, during the 2000 election. I suspect a much higher percentage of Florida's Nader voters would have voted for Gore than Shrub. Certainly, no where close to a 50/50 split! If anything, it would probably be 75/25 or possibly even more. Certainly not less!
The final electoral tally in 1992 was 370-168, meaning Clinton had more than twice as many electoral votes as GHWB! On the other hand, the final electoral count in Bush v Gore came down to Florida and Florida alone. The Bush victory in Florida was razor thin and there were clearly, more than enough Nader votes to make up the difference for Gore.
Jackie, your dog just ain't gonna hunt!