Sex and Gore

Photographs of Bill Clinton and Al Gore with white text on a red background.

In 1992, Democratic candidate Bill Clinton ran for the U.S. presidency against Republican incumbent George H.W. Bush. Clinton, who was at that time the governor of Arkansas, was not seen as a strong opponent and people cast doubt that the Democratic Party would choose him as their nominee. When he was nominated, Clinton decided on Al Gore as his running mate and became popular among young voters.

Clinton ended up winning the election, but a dark shadow was cast over his first term when Paula Jones—an Arkansas state employee–leveled an allegation of sexual misconduct against Clinton. Though the suit filed by Jones was eventually settled out of court, it left a permanent stain on Clinton’s reputation. In the subsequent presidential election, political opponents leveraged Clinton’s past to undermine his reelection efforts. Some deemed the Democrat to be unsuitable for the presidency given the sexual allegations made against him. Clinton, however, ended up winning the 1996 election. His second term, like the first, was met with fresh scandals including his sexual relations with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.