United States Presidential election7 Nov 2028in 729 days Senate D 97% House D 58% Calendar Track record Research
PollingForecast.com United States
Closest results
United States · Election results history · 1988 president · South Dakota
Election 1988 Results

Each election opens in its own mode: the forecast before the votes are counted, the live count while races are still too close to call, and the results once every race is decided.

1988 presidential election in South Dakota

George H. W. Bush (Republican) beat Michael Dukakis (Democrat) in South Dakota in 1988, 52.8% to 46.5%, a margin of 6.3 points and 19,855 votes.

South Dakota voted 1.4 points more Democratic than the country as a whole, where the margin was R+7.7.

The Republican hold continued from 1984, when Ronald Reagan won.

Republicans led in 46 of the 66 counties as they stood then and Democrats in 20. The largest, Minnehaha, cast 56,095 votes and went to the Democrat by 4.2 points. The closest was Deuel, where 5 votes separated the two parties.

United States
Results
2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1980 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970 1969 1968 1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961 1960 1959 1958 1957 1956 1955 1954 1953 1952 1951 1950 1949 1948 1947 1946 1945 1944 1943 1942 1941 1940 1939 1938 1937 1936 1935 1934 1933 1932 1931 1930 1929 1928 1927 1926 1925 1924 1923 1922 1921 1920 1919 1918 1917 1916 1915 1914 1913 1912 1911 1910 1909 1908 1907 1906 1905 1904 1903 1902 1901 1900 1899 1898 1897 1896 1895 1894 1893 1892 1891 1890 1889 1888 1887 1886 1885 1884 1883 1882 1881 1880 1879 1878 1877 1876 1875 1874 1873 1872 1871 1870 1869 1868 1867 1866 1865
If only voted How this works
If the polls miss like

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.

Result

CandidatePartyVotesShare
George H. W. Bush won Republican 165,415 52.8%
Michael Dukakis Democratic 145,560 46.5%
All other candidates 2,016 0.6%
Total312,991

Every county

CountyDemocratRepublicanOthersTotalMargin
Minnehaha 29,135 51.9% 26,765 47.7% 195 56,095 D+4.2
Pennington 12,068 38.0% 19,510 61.4% 179 31,757 R+23.4
Brown 8,673 50.1% 8,537 49.3% 92 17,302 D+0.8
Brookings 4,860 47.2% 5,394 52.3% 51 10,305 R+5.2
Codington 4,570 47.0% 5,050 52.0% 94 9,714 R+4.9
Lawrence 3,705 39.5% 5,570 59.4% 104 9,379 R+19.9
Beadle 4,523 49.3% 4,611 50.2% 46 9,180 R+1.0
Meade 3,212 37.9% 5,189 61.2% 72 8,473 R+23.3
Yankton 3,777 47.0% 4,186 52.0% 80 8,043 R+5.1
Davison 3,705 47.6% 4,024 51.7% 57 7,786 R+4.1
Hughes 2,853 38.3% 4,545 61.1% 44 7,442 R+22.7
Lincoln 3,190 47.2% 3,537 52.3% 30 6,757 R+5.1
Clay 2,859 55.0% 2,307 44.4% 34 5,200 D+10.6
Lake 2,663 52.0% 2,439 47.6% 20 5,122 D+4.4
Union 2,612 57.4% 1,907 41.9% 31 4,550 D+15.5
Hutchinson 1,594 36.9% 2,700 62.6% 22 4,316 R+25.6
Roberts 2,267 52.6% 2,012 46.7% 32 4,311 D+5.9
Turner 1,780 42.0% 2,436 57.5% 23 4,239 R+15.5
Charles Mix 2,205 52.7% 1,966 47.0% 13 4,184 D+5.7
Grant 1,988 47.7% 2,148 51.5% 36 4,172 R+3.8
Spink 2,071 51.0% 1,969 48.5% 22 4,062 D+2.5
Day 2,137 56.6% 1,616 42.8% 21 3,774 D+13.8
Butte 1,256 35.1% 2,291 64.0% 35 3,582 R+28.9
Bon Homme 1,574 46.1% 1,826 53.4% 17 3,417 R+7.4
Fall River 1,380 40.4% 2,002 58.6% 35 3,417 R+18.2
Tripp 1,219 36.3% 2,113 63.0% 24 3,356 R+26.6
Kingsbury 1,472 47.7% 1,592 51.6% 23 3,087 R+3.9
Walworth 1,094 35.8% 1,940 63.4% 26 3,060 R+27.6
Custer 1,180 38.9% 1,806 59.5% 50 3,036 R+20.6
McCook 1,492 49.7% 1,501 50.0% 9 3,002 R+0.3
Moody 1,715 59.4% 1,161 40.2% 13 2,889 D+19.2
Gregory 1,138 41.8% 1,566 57.5% 18 2,722 R+15.7
Hamlin 1,258 47.5% 1,380 52.1% 13 2,651 R+4.6
Edmunds 1,259 48.4% 1,327 51.1% 13 2,599 R+2.6
Hand 1,101 42.7% 1,461 56.7% 16 2,578 R+14.0
Deuel 1,246 49.3% 1,251 49.5% 31 2,528 R+0.2
Marshall 1,372 54.3% 1,142 45.2% 11 2,525 D+9.1
Clark 1,164 48.0% 1,247 51.4% 13 2,424 R+3.4
Perkins 851 38.7% 1,326 60.4% 20 2,197 R+21.6
Douglas 695 32.5% 1,438 67.2% 6 2,139 R+34.7
Brule 991 50.2% 971 49.2% 12 1,974 D+1.0
McPherson 571 29.5% 1,358 70.1% 7 1,936 R+40.7
Potter 701 37.0% 1,175 62.1% 17 1,893 R+25.0
Aurora 987 53.2% 856 46.2% 11 1,854 D+7.1
Dewey 1,007 56.3% 765 42.8% 17 1,789 D+13.5
Miner 955 54.4% 795 45.3% 5 1,755 D+9.1
Todd 1,117 66.6% 535 31.9% 24 1,676 D+34.7
Sanborn 770 48.3% 815 51.1% 10 1,595 R+2.8
Hanson 776 49.4% 786 50.0% 10 1,572 R+0.6
Faulk 714 45.7% 842 53.9% 5 1,561 R+8.2
Jerauld 751 49.0% 777 50.7% 6 1,534 R+1.7
Lyman 631 42.6% 843 57.0% 6 1,480 R+14.3
Shannon 1,206 81.5% 256 17.3% 17 1,479 D+64.2
Corson 722 49.9% 710 49.0% 16 1,448 D+0.8
Haakon 379 28.1% 958 70.9% 14 1,351 R+42.9
Bennett 579 45.9% 663 52.5% 20 1,262 R+6.7
Campbell 334 26.7% 909 72.6% 9 1,252 R+45.9
Stanley 511 41.9% 698 57.3% 10 1,219 R+15.3
Jackson 450 39.4% 671 58.8% 20 1,141 R+19.4
Hyde 436 42.8% 546 53.6% 37 1,019 R+10.8
Sully 393 39.1% 571 56.8% 42 1,006 R+17.7
Harding 259 28.8% 633 70.3% 8 900 R+41.6
Mellette 385 45.2% 460 54.0% 7 852 R+8.8
Ziebach 427 53.7% 362 45.5% 6 795 D+8.2
Jones 261 33.2% 521 66.3% 4 786 R+33.1
Buffalo 334 68.2% 151 30.8% 5 490 D+37.3

Counties as they stood in 1988; some have since been split, merged or renamed. Margin: the Democrat's share of all votes minus the Republican's. Sources and how the results were checked.

South Dakota in every presidential election we hold

YearWinnerMargin
2024 Donald Trump (R) R+29.2
2020 Donald Trump (R) R+26.2
2016 Donald Trump (R) R+29.8
2012 Mitt Romney (R) R+18.0
2008 John McCain (R) R+8.4
2004 George W. Bush (R) R+21.5
2000 George W. Bush (R) R+22.7
1996 Bob Dole (R) R+3.5
1992 George H. W. Bush (R) R+3.5
1988 George H. W. Bush (R) R+6.3
1984 Ronald Reagan (R) R+26.5
1980 Ronald Reagan (R) R+28.8
1976 Gerald Ford (R) R+1.5
1972 Richard Nixon (R) R+8.6
1968 Richard Nixon (R) R+11.3
1964 Lyndon B. Johnson (D) D+11.2
1960 Richard Nixon (R) R+16.4
1956 Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) R+16.8
1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) R+38.5
1948 Thomas E. Dewey (R) R+4.8
1944 Thomas E. Dewey (R) R+16.7
1940 Wendell Willkie (R) R+14.8
1936 Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) D+11.5
1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) D+29.2
1928 Herbert Hoover (R) R+21.0
1924 Calvin Coolidge (R) R+36.3
1920 Warren G. Harding (R) R+41.0
1916 Charles Evans Hughes (R) R+3.9
1912 Theodore Roosevelt (other)
1908 William Howard Taft (R) R+23.8
1904 Theodore Roosevelt (R) R+49.4
1900 William McKinley (R) R+15.6
1896 William Jennings Bryan (D) D+0.2
1892 Benjamin Harrison (R) R+36.6