Election 1988 Results
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1988 presidential election results by state and county
Vice President George H.W. Bush beat Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis by 426 electoral votes to 111, winning what amounted to a third Reagan term.
George H. W. Bush (Republican) beat Michael Dukakis in 1988, winning 426 electoral votes to 111, with 1 going to other candidates. Michael Dukakis carried 11 states and George H. W. Bush 40. Across the states, the Democratic and Republican vote came to 41,826,297 and 48,886,597 (R+7.7 of all votes cast).
The closest states were Washington (D+1.6), Illinois (R+2.1) and Pennsylvania (R+2.3). 9 states changed party from 1984: Hawaii to the Democrats, Iowa to the Democrats, Massachusetts to the Democrats, New York to the Democrats, Oregon to the Democrats, Rhode Island to the Democrats, Washington to the Democrats, West Virginia to the Democrats and Wisconsin to the Democrats.
Early projection, based on early and incomplete polling: the likely matchups, each weighted by the betting markets' odds of both nominations, not a result. Each county is its 2024 presidential margin moved by its state's projected swing; set a national vote and every state, district and county moves by the same amount from our projection. Colours run in 100 steps from a safe Republican to a safe Democratic margin. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.
About the 1988 presidential election
Reagan left office popular, with the economy growing and relations with the Soviet Union improving. Republicans nominated his vice president, George H.W. Bush, who pledged "read my lips: no new taxes." Democrats chose Michael Dukakis, the governor of Massachusetts, who left the convention with a double-digit lead in some polls. Bush's campaign attacked Dukakis as soft on crime and weak on defense, including advertisements about a Massachusetts prison furlough program. Dukakis was slow to respond, and the lead disappeared. Bush won 40 states and close to 54 percent of the popular vote, becoming the first sitting vice president elected president since Martin Van Buren in 1836. Dukakis did win back nine states from Reagan's 1984 total, including New York, Massachusetts, Washington, Oregon, Iowa and Wisconsin, and held the District of Columbia. He took Washington by 1.6 points. Several big states were close the other way: Bush carried Illinois by 2.1 points, Pennsylvania by 2.3 and Maryland by 2.9. A West Virginia elector voted for Dukakis's running mate, Lloyd Bentsen, for president, so the final count was 426 for Bush and 111 for Dukakis. Democrats kept control of both houses of Congress.
Every state
| State | Democrat | Votes | Republican | Votes | Others | Margin | EV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Michael Dukakis | 549,506 (39.9%) | George H. W. Bush | 815,576 (59.2%) | 13,394 | R+19.3 | 9 |
| Alaska | Michael Dukakis | 72,584 (36.3%) | George H. W. Bush | 119,251 (59.6%) | 8,281 | R+23.3 | 3 |
| Arizona | Michael Dukakis | 454,029 (38.7%) | George H. W. Bush | 702,541 (60.0%) | 15,303 | R+21.2 | 7 |
| Arkansas | Michael Dukakis | 349,237 (42.2%) | George H. W. Bush | 466,578 (56.4%) | 11,923 | R+14.2 | 6 |
| California | Michael Dukakis | 4,702,233 (47.6%) | George H. W. Bush | 5,054,917 (51.1%) | 129,914 | R+3.6 | 47 |
| Colorado | Michael Dukakis | 621,453 (45.3%) | George H. W. Bush | 728,177 (53.1%) | 22,764 | R+7.8 | 8 |
| Connecticut | Michael Dukakis | 676,584 (46.9%) | George H. W. Bush | 750,241 (52.0%) | 16,569 | R+5.1 | 8 |
| Delaware | Michael Dukakis | 108,647 (43.5%) | George H. W. Bush | 139,639 (55.9%) | 1,605 | R+12.4 | 3 |
| District of Columbia | Michael Dukakis | 159,407 (82.6%) | George H. W. Bush | 27,590 (14.3%) | 5,880 | D+68.3 | 3 |
| Florida | Michael Dukakis | 1,656,701 (38.5%) | George H. W. Bush | 2,618,885 (60.9%) | 26,727 | R+22.4 | 21 |
| Georgia | Michael Dukakis | 714,792 (39.5%) | George H. W. Bush | 1,081,331 (59.8%) | 13,549 | R+20.3 | 12 |
| Hawaii flip | Michael Dukakis | 192,364 (54.3%) | George H. W. Bush | 158,625 (44.8%) | 3,472 | D+9.5 | 4 |
| Idaho | Michael Dukakis | 147,272 (36.0%) | George H. W. Bush | 253,881 (62.1%) | 7,815 | R+26.1 | 4 |
| Illinois | Michael Dukakis | 2,215,940 (48.6%) | George H. W. Bush | 2,310,939 (50.7%) | 32,241 | R+2.1 | 24 |
| Indiana | Michael Dukakis | 860,643 (39.7%) | George H. W. Bush | 1,297,763 (59.8%) | 10,215 | R+20.2 | 12 |
| Iowa flip | Michael Dukakis | 670,557 (54.7%) | George H. W. Bush | 545,355 (44.5%) | 9,702 | D+10.2 | 8 |
| Kansas | Michael Dukakis | 422,636 (42.6%) | George H. W. Bush | 554,049 (55.8%) | 16,359 | R+13.2 | 7 |
| Kentucky | Michael Dukakis | 580,368 (43.9%) | George H. W. Bush | 734,281 (55.5%) | 7,868 | R+11.6 | 9 |
| Louisiana | Michael Dukakis | 734,281 (45.1%) | George H. W. Bush | 883,702 (54.3%) | 10,219 | R+9.2 | 10 |
| Maine | Michael Dukakis | 243,569 (43.9%) | George H. W. Bush | 307,131 (55.3%) | 4,335 | R+11.5 | 4 |
| Maryland | Michael Dukakis | 826,304 (48.2%) | George H. W. Bush | 876,167 (51.1%) | 11,887 | R+2.9 | 10 |
| Massachusetts flip | Michael Dukakis | 1,401,406 (53.2%) | George H. W. Bush | 1,194,644 (45.4%) | 36,755 | D+7.9 | 13 |
| Michigan | Michael Dukakis | 1,675,783 (45.7%) | George H. W. Bush | 1,965,486 (53.6%) | 27,894 | R+7.9 | 20 |
| Minnesota | Michael Dukakis | 1,109,471 (52.9%) | George H. W. Bush | 962,337 (45.9%) | 24,982 | D+7.0 | 10 |
| Mississippi | Michael Dukakis | 363,921 (39.1%) | George H. W. Bush | 557,890 (59.9%) | 9,716 | R+20.8 | 7 |
| Missouri | Michael Dukakis | 1,001,619 (47.9%) | George H. W. Bush | 1,084,953 (51.8%) | 6,656 | R+4.0 | 11 |
| Montana | Michael Dukakis | 168,936 (46.2%) | George H. W. Bush | 190,412 (52.1%) | 6,326 | R+5.9 | 4 |
| Nebraska | Michael Dukakis | 259,646 (39.2%) | George H. W. Bush | 398,447 (60.2%) | 4,279 | R+21.0 | 5 |
| Nevada | Michael Dukakis | 132,738 (37.9%) | George H. W. Bush | 206,040 (58.9%) | 11,289 | R+20.9 | 4 |
| New Hampshire | Michael Dukakis | 163,696 (36.3%) | George H. W. Bush | 281,537 (62.5%) | 5,292 | R+26.2 | 4 |
| New Jersey | Michael Dukakis | 1,320,352 (42.6%) | George H. W. Bush | 1,743,192 (56.2%) | 36,009 | R+13.6 | 16 |
| New Mexico | Michael Dukakis | 244,497 (46.9%) | George H. W. Bush | 270,341 (51.9%) | 6,449 | R+5.0 | 5 |
| New York flip | Michael Dukakis | 3,347,882 (51.6%) | George H. W. Bush | 3,081,871 (47.5%) | 55,930 | D+4.1 | 36 |
| North Carolina | Michael Dukakis | 890,167 (41.7%) | George H. W. Bush | 1,237,258 (58.0%) | 6,945 | R+16.3 | 13 |
| North Dakota | Michael Dukakis | 127,739 (43.0%) | George H. W. Bush | 166,559 (56.0%) | 2,963 | R+13.1 | 3 |
| Ohio | Michael Dukakis | 1,939,629 (44.1%) | George H. W. Bush | 2,416,549 (55.0%) | 37,521 | R+10.9 | 23 |
| Oklahoma | Michael Dukakis | 483,423 (41.3%) | George H. W. Bush | 678,367 (57.9%) | 9,246 | R+16.7 | 8 |
| Oregon flip | Michael Dukakis | 616,206 (51.3%) | George H. W. Bush | 560,126 (46.6%) | 25,362 | D+4.7 | 7 |
| Pennsylvania | Michael Dukakis | 2,194,944 (48.4%) | George H. W. Bush | 2,300,087 (50.7%) | 41,220 | R+2.3 | 25 |
| Rhode Island flip | Michael Dukakis | 225,123 (55.6%) | George H. W. Bush | 177,761 (43.9%) | 1,736 | D+11.7 | 4 |
| South Carolina | Michael Dukakis | 370,554 (37.6%) | George H. W. Bush | 606,443 (61.5%) | 9,012 | R+23.9 | 8 |
| South Dakota | Michael Dukakis | 145,560 (46.5%) | George H. W. Bush | 165,415 (52.8%) | 2,016 | R+6.3 | 3 |
| Tennessee | Michael Dukakis | 679,794 (41.5%) | George H. W. Bush | 947,233 (57.9%) | 9,223 | R+16.3 | 11 |
| Texas | Michael Dukakis | 2,352,748 (43.3%) | George H. W. Bush | 3,036,829 (56.0%) | 37,833 | R+12.6 | 29 |
| Utah | Michael Dukakis | 207,343 (32.0%) | George H. W. Bush | 428,442 (66.2%) | 11,223 | R+34.2 | 5 |
| Vermont | Michael Dukakis | 115,775 (47.6%) | George H. W. Bush | 124,331 (51.1%) | 3,227 | R+3.5 | 3 |
| Virginia | Michael Dukakis | 859,799 (39.2%) | George H. W. Bush | 1,309,162 (59.7%) | 22,648 | R+20.5 | 12 |
| Washington flip | Michael Dukakis | 933,516 (50.0%) | George H. W. Bush | 903,835 (48.5%) | 27,902 | D+1.6 | 10 |
| West Virginia flip | Michael Dukakis | 341,016 (52.2%) | George H. W. Bush | 310,065 (47.5%) | 2,230 | D+4.7 | 6 |
| Wisconsin flip | Michael Dukakis | 1,126,794 (51.4%) | George H. W. Bush | 1,047,499 (47.8%) | 17,315 | D+3.6 | 11 |
| Wyoming | Michael Dukakis | 67,113 (38.0%) | George H. W. Bush | 106,867 (60.5%) | 2,571 | R+22.5 | 3 |
Margin: the Democrat's share of all votes minus the Republican's. Margins are Democrat minus Republican, of all votes. Certified results, from the states' own archives, the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Heideman (2026) and Algara & Amlani (2021). Maine and Nebraska are shown whole, without their district votes. By county: "As they were" draws each county as it stood on election day; "Today's" shares the old votes among today's counties by area. County boundaries: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries (CC BY-NC-SA 2.5). How these results were checked.