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The 1992 Republican presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1992 U.S. presidential election. Incumbent President George H.W. Bush was again selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1992 Republican National Convention held from August 17 to August 20, 1992 in Houston, Texas.
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For only the third time in the 20th century, after the elections of 1912 and 1976, a sitting Republican president was seriously challenged for his party's nomination. President George H. W. Bush was challenged by conservative commentator Pat Buchanan, and during the early counting of the votes at the New Hampshire primary, it appeared that the president might actually lose. However, Buchanan faded by the end of the evening, and Bush won all the rest of the primaries. Bush's margins in many of the primaries weren't as large as expected, and led to the rise of Ross Perot as an independent candidate.
Former Democrat and Louisiana State Representative David Duke also ran in a number of primaries, but he didn't receive any delegates. Former Governor Harold Stassen of Minnesota also made a quixotic bid for support in the Minnesota primary, winning enough votes to entitle him to one delegate, but was later denied his single vote by machinations at the Minnesota Republican Party's 1992 state convention.
As Buchanan's candidacy relied heavily on a strong showing in the New Hampshire primary, President Bush made New Hampshire a focal point in his reelection bid. However, New Hampshire still remained a pivotal base for Buchanan's Primary campaign.
Due to Bush turning his back on his "read my lips" pledge, Buchanan found support in the economically battered and conservative state of New Hampshire. Making Bush's tax-hikes a central theme of his campaign, Buchanan enjoyed healthy grass-roots support despite lagging behind the President in pre-primary polling.
Bush countered the threat posed by Buchanan by touring New Hampshire himself. He memorably told an audience at Exeter town hall: "Message: I care".[1]
On Primary night, President Bush carried New Hampshire with 53% of the vote, but Buchanan received a larger than expected second place showing of 37% of the vote.[2]
Despite many in the Bush campaigning trying to push Buchanan out of the race, the strong showing made the Buchanan campaign hope for an outpouring of campaign contributions which galvanized the campaign into making efforts to pull out strong showings such as in the Georgia primary.
Despite an impressive New Hampshire showing, Buchanan's campaign never attracted serious opposition to President Bush in further contests. Most of Buchanan's "victories" were larger than expected showings that were still considered landslide Bush wins by most in the media.
Popular vote result:[3]
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