1988 Presidential Election

November 8, 1988 · The Long Realignment · 538 electoral votes, 270 to win

Bush became the first sitting vice president elected since Van Buren, riding peace, prosperity and a brutal negative campaign against Dukakis. A faithless elector voted for Bentsen, the losing VP nominee.

Elected

George H. W. Bush

Republican

Electoral vote

426 of 538

Popular vote

53.4%

48,886,597 votes

Turnout

52.8%

VEP 52.8% · VAP 51.4%

The result

EV share
George H. W. BushRepublicanDan Quayle426
48,886,59753.40%40
Michael DukakisDemocraticLloyd Bentsen111
41,809,47645.60%11
Lloyd BentsenDemocraticMichael Dukakis1
00.00%—
Ron PaulLibertarianAndre Marrou—431,7500.47%—
Lenora FulaniNew Alliance——217,2210.24%—

91,345,044 votes recorded for the candidates listed.

Results by state

AlabamaGeorge H. W. Bush59.7%9Michael Dukakis · 40.3%
AlaskaGeorge H. W. Bush59.6%3Michael Dukakis · 36.3%
ArizonaGeorge H. W. Bush60.7%7Michael Dukakis · 39.3%
ArkansasGeorge H. W. Bush57.2%6Michael Dukakis · 42.8%
CaliforniaGeorge H. W. Bush51.8%47Michael Dukakis · 48.2%
ColoradoGeorge H. W. Bush53.9%8Michael Dukakis · 46.1%
ConnecticutGeorge H. W. Bush52.6%8Michael Dukakis · 47.4%
DelawareGeorge H. W. Bush56.3%3Michael Dukakis · 43.7%
District of ColumbiaMichael Dukakis85.3%3George H. W. Bush · 14.7%
FloridaGeorge H. W. Bush61.2%21Michael Dukakis · 38.8%
GeorgiaGeorge H. W. Bush60.2%12Michael Dukakis · 39.8%
HawaiiMichael Dukakis54.8%4George H. W. Bush · 45.2%
IdahoGeorge H. W. Bush63.3%4Michael Dukakis · 36.7%
IllinoisGeorge H. W. Bush51.0%24Michael Dukakis · 49.0%
IndianaGeorge H. W. Bush60.1%12Michael Dukakis · 39.9%
IowaMichael Dukakis55.1%8George H. W. Bush · 44.8%
KansasGeorge H. W. Bush56.5%7Michael Dukakis · 43.5%
KentuckyGeorge H. W. Bush55.8%9Michael Dukakis · 44.2%
LouisianaGeorge H. W. Bush55.2%10Michael Dukakis · 44.8%
MaineGeorge H. W. Bush55.8%4Michael Dukakis · 44.2%
MarylandGeorge H. W. Bush51.5%10Michael Dukakis · 48.5%
MassachusettsMichael Dukakis54.0%13George H. W. Bush · 46.0%
MichiganGeorge H. W. Bush54.0%20Michael Dukakis · 46.0%
MinnesotaMichael Dukakis53.6%10George H. W. Bush · 46.4%
MississippiGeorge H. W. Bush60.5%7Michael Dukakis · 39.5%
MissouriGeorge H. W. Bush52.0%11Michael Dukakis · 48.0%
MontanaGeorge H. W. Bush53.0%4Michael Dukakis · 47.0%
NebraskaGeorge H. W. Bush60.5%5Michael Dukakis · 39.5%
NevadaGeorge H. W. Bush60.8%4Michael Dukakis · 39.2%
New HampshireGeorge H. W. Bush63.2%4Michael Dukakis · 36.8%
New JerseyGeorge H. W. Bush56.9%16Michael Dukakis · 43.1%
New MexicoGeorge H. W. Bush52.5%5Michael Dukakis · 47.5%
New YorkMichael Dukakis52.1%36George H. W. Bush · 47.9%
North CarolinaGeorge H. W. Bush58.1%13Michael Dukakis · 41.9%
North DakotaGeorge H. W. Bush56.6%3Michael Dukakis · 43.4%
OhioGeorge H. W. Bush55.5%23Michael Dukakis · 44.6%
OklahomaGeorge H. W. Bush58.4%8Michael Dukakis · 41.6%
OregonMichael Dukakis52.4%7George H. W. Bush · 47.6%
PennsylvaniaGeorge H. W. Bush51.2%25Michael Dukakis · 48.8%
Rhode IslandMichael Dukakis55.9%4George H. W. Bush · 44.1%
South CarolinaGeorge H. W. Bush62.1%8Michael Dukakis · 37.9%
South DakotaGeorge H. W. Bush53.2%3Michael Dukakis · 47.8%
TennesseeGeorge H. W. Bush58.2%11Michael Dukakis · 41.8%
TexasGeorge H. W. Bush56.3%29Michael Dukakis · 43.7%
UtahGeorge H. W. Bush68.5%5Michael Dukakis · 31.5%
VermontGeorge H. W. Bush51.8%3Michael Dukakis · 48.2%
VirginiaGeorge H. W. Bush60.3%12Michael Dukakis · 39.7%
WashingtonMichael Dukakis50.8%10George H. W. Bush · 49.2%
West VirginiaMichael Dukakis52.4%6George H. W. Bush · 47.6%
WisconsinMichael Dukakis51.8%11George H. W. Bush · 48.2%
WyomingGeorge H. W. Bush61.4%3Michael Dukakis · 38.6%

The state table accounts for 112 of Michael Dukakis's 111 official electoral votes. The remainder reflect split delegations, district allocations, faithless electors or votes not counted, as recorded at the electoral count.

The Congress it seated

101th Congress

1989–1991

Divided government

Senate

55–45

Democratic vs Republican

House

260–175

Democratic vs Republican