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The 1988 United States presidential election was the 51st quadrennial presidential election held on Tuesday, November 8, 1988. Incumbent Republican Vice President George H. W. Bush defeated the Democratic Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis.
- Election
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The 1988 United States presidential election in Iowa took...
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The 1988 United States presidential election in Wisconsin...
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The 1988 United States presidential election in Ohio took...
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The 1988 United States presidential election in Delaware...
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The 1988 United States presidential election in South Dakota...
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- Election
- Overview
- The campaign
United States presidential election of 1988, American presidential election held on Nov. 8, 1988, in which Republican George Bush defeated Democrat Michael Dukakis.
The 1988 campaign featured an open contest on both the Republican and Democratic sides, as Republican Pres. Ronald Reagan was entering the last year of his second term. Numerous contenders on the Democratic side entered the race. Commentators referred derisively to them as “The Seven Dwarfs.” They included former Arizona Gov. Bruce Babbitt, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, Missouri Rep. Richard Gephardt, Tennessee Sen. Al Gore, civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, and Illinois Sen. Paul Simon. Three candidates who were somewhat more inspiring had decided not to run: former senator Gary Hart of Colorado, who dropped out because of a sex scandal, reentered the race and then dropped out for good; New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley; and New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, who simply declined to run.
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The Republicans, seeking a candidate who could match the stature and electability of Reagan, were similarly at a loss. The nominal front-runner, George Bush, suffered from a reputation as a “wimp” who in 22 years of public life—as a former representative, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and, for more than seven years, Reagan’s vice president—had failed to distinguish himself as anything more than a docile instrument of someone else’s policy. There were three interesting Republican alternatives: Bob Dole of Kansas, the Senate minority leader, who was respected for his wit and intelligence though considered by some to be overly acerbic; former New York representative Jack Kemp, revered among many conservatives as Reagan’s true ideological heir; and the Rev. Pat Robertson, a popular televangelist. None of the three, however, made it through the primary season.
Biden retired from the race after he was caught quoting, without credit, from the speeches of Neil Kinnock, the British Labour Party leader. Among the other Democrats, Babbitt, Simon, and Gephardt all dropped out along the way after failing to string together enough primary victories—or raise enough money—to continue. Babbitt, though he gained attention with a courageous promise to raise taxes to help reduce the swollen U.S. budget deficit, did not come across well on television. Simon’s characteristic bow tie and old-fashioned big-government approach to domestic problems failed to attract enough support. Gephardt managed to win the crucial Iowa caucuses, but his basic theme—trade protectionism—did not play well outside the Midwest.
That left Gore, Jackson, and Dukakis. Young, attractive, and Southern, with a reputation as a centrist, Gore appeared to have momentum after he won five Southern primaries on a single day, "Super Tuesday," March 8. Yet his campaign fizzled in New York, where he had unwisely accepted the backing of New York City’s controversial mayor, Ed Koch. When the votes were counted for the April 19 New York primary, Dukakis had finished first, providing a major impetus to his campaign. Dukakis, who was born and raised in Brookline, Mass., the son of Greek immigrants, went on to become the first Greek American nominated for the presidency. Jackson, who by then had the second highest delegate count and was the first African American to mount a serious presidential campaign, decided to continue running through the final four primaries, California, Montana, New Jersey, and New Mexico, on June 7.
In the 1988 presidential election, Republican Vice President George H. W. Bush defeated Democratic Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts. Bush won the popular vote by just under eight points, and won 426 of the 538 electoral votes.
1988 Election Facts. Dukakis won West Virginia; however one elector cast a vote for Dem. Vice-President candidate Lloyd Bentsen (with Dukakis as Vice-President) Popular vote totals from Federal Elections 88. Issues of the Day: Stock market crash, Iran-Contra, Progress in US-USSR relations (INF Treaty)
270 electoral votes to win. Change history with the 1988 presidential election interactive map. Update a state winner by clicking it to rotate through candidates. Alternately, select a candidate color in the Map Color Palette, then select states to apply. Use the edit button in the Palette to update candidate information.
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1988 Presidential General Election Results. National JavaCompare! In West Virginia, One Dukakis Elector cast her vote for Lloyd Bensten (President) and Michael Dukakis (Vice President). Electoral Vote Map Note: there is no implied geographical significance as to the location of the shaded areas for West Virginia's split electoral votes.
45.6. 111. * Lloyd Bentsen (Democratic) received one electoral vote from a faithless elector in West Virginia. Party. Nominees. Electoral Vote. Popular Vote. Presidential. Vice Presidential.
