The 1990 Presidential Election

[The Duke]

We are in bizarro world.  Presidential elections still happen every four years, but the cycle is moved up two years starting in 1990.

The budget deficit is skyrocketing, propelling independent candidate Ross Perot into the race.  The President is forced to renege on his no new taxes pledge to sign a budget deal as the nation's enters recession.  Then in August, a week before the Republican National Convention, Saddam Hussein invades Kuwait.  As Americans go to the polls in November, war clouds are on the horizon, with a half million coalition troops assembling in Saudi Arabia, and more on the way.

How does the war play out in the campaign?  Would Ross Perot run at all in 1990?  Which issue looms larger, war or the economy?

The fifth in a series.

[ilikeverin]

The biggest issue on the campaign trail would be my birth

[kashifsakhan]

Clinton still wins, but its alot closer. Perot runs and wins 2 states

CLINTON - 297
BUSH - 233
PEROT - 8

[Jake]

There is no way Clinton wins with troops deployed overseas and Bush still popular.

[Reignman]

Bush, but it's close.

[Colin]

Bush, but it's close.

No it wouldn't be, period. This was the beginning of Operation Desert Shield and before the whole no new taxes thing would basically destroy him. His approval rating were high and he was about to lead the country into a war that most supported and that had multilateral international backing. He also still had most of the Reagan support behind him which would propel him along. Bush might actually do better than he did in 1988 because of this.

[TomC]

There is no way Clinton wins with troops deployed overseas and Bush still popular.

[MasterJedi]

There is no way Clinton wins with troops deployed overseas and Bush still popular.

^^^^^^

[Nym90]

Bush wasn't really that popular in 1990. It wasn't until during and after the war that his ratings spiked.

The Democrats gained seats in both houses of Congress in the midterms that year. Bush was not as unpopular as he was in 1992 but his ratings still weren't all that great, and he had just recently reneged on his "no new taxes" pledge in October. This obviously would have and did hurt turnout among the GOP base.